But before trading your apron for a Costco card, take it from flour-splattered pros: You, too, can achieve flaky goodness — no Sara Leegene required.

"Everybody's mom or grandma made pies. It's wholesome," says Rodney Henry, who brings Dangerously Delicious Pies, the pie shop he founded a decade ago in Baltimore, to D.C. this month (1339 H St. NE; 202-398-7437).

But pie goes back much further than your childhood kitchen. "It's a holdover from Anglo-Saxon cooking," says James Peterson, author of "Baking," ($40, Ten Speed Press). "It's a very old French technique to wrap things in pastry then stick them on the hearth to cook." In the olden days, bakers didn't stress about crust, since the dough wasn't eaten but functioned simply as an archaic ancestor of Pyrex.

Plouffe will discuss his management tactics, the five year plan, and his new book, "The Audacity To Win," at the Politics & Prose event held at the Sixth & I Synagogue.

» Sixth & I Synagogue, 600 I St. NW; Mon., Nov. 23, 7 p.m., $8; 202-408-3100. (Gallery Place)

Written by Express' Anne Polsky
Photo courtesy Penguin Books

POLITICIANS WRITING AUTOBIOGRAPHIES and creating buzz is not a new thing, but former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin is probably getting more attention than she deserves with her upcoming memoir, "Going Rogue: An American Life

Though the book (written with the help of a ghostwriter, Lynn Vincent, a senior writer for the conservative Christian publication World Magazine) comes out Nov. 17, it's already a bestseller, placing at No. 1 both on Amazon's and Barnes & Nobles' sale charts off and on since September. All this for a woman who, among other various media snafus, called current Vice President Joe Biden old in an interview with Katie Couric, when her running mate, John McCain, was 72 at the time? Party foul.

And while there are some things that are we welcome as a result of Palin's book — for example, Tina Fey announcing that she will once again start doing impersonations of the politician, don't you know, and the anthology "Going Rouge: Sarah Palin, An American Nightmare" — we actually kind of want to read it.

Why?

Because we'd love to see her put her crazy spin on some of her most bizarre and telling moments — specifically, the five we've listed below, though The Atlantic's Andrew Sullivan is keeping a long list of doozies that could be covered.

(Also, have you heard? She can see Russia from her backyard — and prolly peep Alaska, too.)

Snooping? Maybe. We like to think of it as "searching for a window into someone else's soul," but you can be mean about it if you want to.

In "Yours Ever: People and Their Letters," Thomas Mallon has compiled a fascinating and detailed look into the private correspondence of notable historical figures, such as Sacco and Vanzetti, Madame de Sevigne and F. Scott Fitzgerald. He'll be speaking this weekend at Politics and Prose.

» Politics and Prose, 5015 Connecticut Ave. NW; Sat., Nov. 21, 1 p.m, free; 202-364-1919. (Van Ness)

Written by Express' Anne Polsky
Photo courtesy Pantheon

One thing's for sure, our leafy suburbs have produced some serious musical rage.

This weekend, Mark Jenkins and Mark Andersen, the authors of "Dance of Days: Two Decades of Punk in the Nation's Capital" will discuss the updated edition of their book. The re-release features deeper research into the scene's origins and highlights local heroes Dischord Records, Positive Force, Henry Rollins, Minor Threat and Fugazi.

» Politics and Prose, 5015 Connecticut Ave. NW; Sat., Nov. 14, 3 p.m, free; 202-364-1919. (Van Ness)

Written by Express' Anne Polsky
Photo courtesy Soft Skull Press

One of the finest was The Washington Post's cartoonist Herbert Block, better known as Herblock. The ardent liberal and four-time Pulitzer Prize-winner delighted in using his poison pen to skewer D.C.'s elite. None other than Katharine Graham wrote of him, "Since he arrived at The Post, five editors and five publishers have learned a cardinal rule: Don't mess with Herb."

Former colleague and friend Haynes Johnson will discuss Herblock's more than 70-year body of work and the biography he co-authored, "Herblock: The Life and Works of the Great Political Cartoonist" at Politics and Prose. The book includes a DVD containing more than 18,000 cartoons.

» Politics and Prose, 5015 Connecticut Ave. NW; Thu., Nov. 12, 7 p.m, free; 202-364-1919. (Van Ness)

Written by Express' Anne Polsky
Photo courtesy W.W. Norton & Co.

Tonight, the Shakespeare Theater will be simulcasting an interview with Stephen King about his latest novel, "Under the Dome." Go find out what's behind the master storyteller's creative process — and hey, make friends with some fellow King fans while you're at it.

» Lansburgh Theatre, 450 7th St.NW; Mon., Nov. 16, 7 p.m., $14; 202-547-1122. (Gallery Place)

Photo by Dick Dickinson/Scribner

NPR reporter and "literary detective" Paul Collins will be speaking at Folger tonight about his new tome, "Book of William: How Shakespeare's First Folio Conquered the World." Collins is an engaging, funny writer who clearly loves literature, so this should be worth the time. If you love books, check out his previous memoir, "Sixpence House," about what it's like to live in a town composed mainly of bookstores.

» Folger Theatre, 201 East Capitol Street, SE; Mon., Nov. 16, 7 :30 p.m., $12; 202-544-4600. (Capitol South)

Photo by Kenneth Ulappa

» EXPRESS: So, why are you pitching a new pilot? Was "Road Tasted" canceled?
» DEEN: "Road Tasted" was really a nice hit for the Food Network. It was right about the time they declared it a hit show and placed the reorder that my son was born. It's my first child, and it was projected to be like six months on the road filming. I just couldn't, so I kind of retired from TV. But I've always kept my eyes open for an opportunity to stay here [in Savannah, Ga.] and do it. We're going to shoot a pilot at the end of this year.

People enjoy seeing our family. It doesn't take you long to figure out that we're just real people. People can find a recipe for meat loaf, but I think people are looking for a recipe for a close family and a happy life.