January 23 is National Pie Day, a celebration of one of the oldest forms of baked goods. A pie is made of pastry dough that covers or encases some sort of filling, which can be either sweet or savory. There is evidence of sweet pies being eaten by Egyptian pharaohs as early as 1300 BCE, and a recipe for a chicken pie was found on a Sumerian tablet from sometime around 2000 BCE.

In the United States, we most often think of pie as a dessert, filled with fruit or a sweet custard. Perhaps the quintessentially American pie is apple pie; John T. Edge explores its history and cultural significance – with recipes, of course -- in Apple Pie (e-book, print). Adrienne Kane takes a broader look at classic American pies, focusing on regional specialties, in United States of Pie (e-book).

Pies are among the most popular cookbook subjects. Kate Lebo offers an introduction to pie-making in Pie School (e-book, print); Phoebe Wood and Kirsten Jenkins offer The Pie Project (e-book), focusing on the most decadent desserts. Allison Kave shares her innovative contest winners in First Prize Pies (e-book), and Nancie McDermott focuses on Southern Pies (e-book, print). Cheryl Perry and Felipa Lopez mix modern, sophisticated ingredients with traditional techniques in For the Love of Pie (e-book).

Some bakeries now specialize exclusively in pies, and their recipes often feature unexpected ingredients or novel twists on old classics. Holly Ricciardi runs Philadelphia's Magpie (e-book); sisters Emily and Melissa Elsen offer recipes from Brooklyn in The Four & Twenty Blackbirds Pie Book (e-book, print).

Pies are popular enough that even those with specific dietary needs can find a cookbook to suit them. Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero provide 75 recipes for Vegan Pie in the Sky (e-book); Jennifer Katzinger features sweet and savory pies in Gluten-Free & Vegan Pie (e-book, print). If you're cooking for only one or two people, you might enjoy the Handheld Pies (e-book) of Sarah Billingsley and Rachel Wharton, or the compact pastries of Dani Cone's Cutie Pies (e-book).

And we can't entirely overlook the savory side of pie. Here in the United States, that often takes the form of the pot pie, a single-serving dish filled with meat, vegetables, and gravy. Pot pies, shepherd's pies, and other savory pies are featured in Ken Haedrich's Dinner Pies (e-book).

Also This Week

• January 24, 1848: James W. Marshall discovered gold at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California, beginning the California Gold Rush. Over the next seven years, more than 300,000 people came to California hoping to strike it rich; San Francisco grew from 500 residents in 1847 to 36,000 in 1852. California was admitted to the United States as the 31st state in 1850, without ever having been a territory. Edward Dolnick tells the story of the Gold Rush in The Rush (e-book, e-audio, print).
• January 25, 1858: Victoria, the Princess Royal (daughter of Queen Victoria), was married to Prince Frederick William of Prussia. As their processional music, they used the Bridal Chorus from Wagner's opera Lohengrin (it's in Act III under the title "Treulich geführt"); their recessional was the Wedding March from Mendelssohn's incidental music for A Midsummer Night's Dream. It was not the first time that either piece had been used as part of a wedding service, but this royal wedding made both pieces so popular that they are now the standard choices in the English-speaking world.
• January 23, 1928: Jeanne Moreau was born. Moreau was one of cinema's biggest international stars in the 1950s and 1960s, appearing in films by most of the major directors of the French New Wave. She directed a few films in the 1970s, and continued to act into her mid-eighties. Moreau stars with Henri Serre and Oskar Werner in François Truffaut's 1962 classic Jules and Jim (streaming, DVD).
• January 25, 1938: Etta James was born. James was an R&B singer, most successful from the mid-1950s through the 1960s. Her hits included "Dance With Me, Henry," "Something's Got a Hold On Me," "I'd Rather Go Blind," and her signature song, "At Last." Her style shifted toward jazz later in her life, and she continued to record critically acclaimed albums until shortly before her death in 2012. Much of James's music is available for streaming at Hoopla.