No comments about The Down Under Cookbook: The Authentic Guide to Australian Cooking and Eating Traditions.

2 comments about Food and Feast in Tudor England.

1. As a serving wench in the King's Feast Hall at the Texas Renaissance Faire, I am asked all sorts of questions about the food, the utensils, the beverages, and anything having to do with food and feasting during King Henry VIII's time. "Food and Feast in Tudor England" is not only enjoyable to read (i.e. more than just a dry recitation of the facts), but highly informative as well. Each chapter covers a various aspect such as Food and Society in the 16th Century, Kitchens and Kitchen Equipment, Health and Diet, and Tableware to name a few. As with her other books, Alison Sim has written this book in an interesting, informative, easy-to-digest manner. In addition to knowledge for knowledge's sake, this book is a must-have for anyone involved in Tudor/Renaissance role-playing. When I answer the feast hall patrons' questions, I will be giving them facts and not something made-up!



2. This is a really fascinating book for anyone with a passing interest in either history or food! Yes, you foodies out there will find it to be a really good read.

   The different chapters of the book deal with different aspects of the everyday life. And it is well written too - not just a dry historical text, but a rich detailing of what was available to eat and how it looked. Most people have seen grand feasts on TV or movies, such as whole roasted peacocks with their feathers put back, and yes, you can read of such extravaganzas right here!

   It is a really interesting book - guaranteed to generate conversation if you leave it out the next time you have a dinner party. It is good fun too, and always interesting!

5 comments about Elegant Irish Cooking: Hundreds of Recipes from the World's Foremost Irish Chefs.

1. I saw a demonstration he gave using recipes from this book a few weeks ago. The samples provided were outstanding. I went home and made the smoked salmon stuffed chicken breast, and it was a hit with everyone



2. The recipes in this book are terrific! Anyone looking for an escape from "traditional" Irish cookery books will love these unique and tasty recipes. Well worth the price! Clear, consise directions. Even the beginner cook will be able to make these dishes tonight! (All that being said, some related books I'd like to recommend on generations-old Irish recipes are Irish Heritage Cooking, Irish Traditional Cooking, and Celtic Folklore Cooking.)



3. Elegant Irish Cooking is an impressive compendium of 166 classic and progressive recipes in celebration of Irish cuisine and culinary traditions. Relying heavily on indigenous ingredients, these fabulous recipes showcase the techniques, excellence, and variety of Irish dining. From Pan Roasted Quail with Kildare Boxty; Cream of Watercress Soup with Warm Herbal Drop Scones; and Poached Sole Fillets in a Clonmel Cider Sauce; to Warm Salad of Emyvale Duck with Orange and Balsamic Dressing; Roasted Rack of Wicklow Lamb with an Herb Crust and Mint-Butter Sauce; and Moore Street Vegetable Tart, (and enhanced throughout with color photography by Ron Manville), Elegant Irish Cooking will grace any cookbook collection and enhance any family meal or celebratory occasion.



4. The book is beautiful and full of history and depth. The recipes are authentic and delicious. Highly recommended for a beautiful St. Patrick's Day dinner or night of Irish food.



5. `Elegant Irish Cooking' by culinary scholar, teacher and professional chef, Noel C. Cullen Ed.D, CMC, AAC is a great foodie book; however it may not be the first Irish cookbook you want to get if all you want is a good cookbook with traditional Irish recipes. If that is what you need, go for `Irish Traditional Cooking' by leading Irish cooking school owner, Darina Allen or the much more ethnographic `Celtic Folklore Cooking' by culinary writer and folklorist, JoAnne Asala.
   
   If Irish culinary traditions and cooking are major interests for you, this is an excellent second or third Irish cookbook, depending on whether you are more interested in cooking technique, fine dining and entertaining, or culinary lore. If your primary interest is in technique, get `ballymaloe cooking school cookbook' by school co-owner and Irish TV cooking show host, Darina Allen. Otherwise, go with this one.
   
   Due to the author's dual life as both a chef and an academic, the book offers rewards for both interests. While Cullen is currently a professor in culinary and hospitality skills at Boston College, he trained and worked as a serious high end chef in many Irish and French restaurant kitchens and learned first hand the lessons of cooking to local products, at the same time unlearning his French cooking doctrines while he reached the upper levels of Irish `haute cuisine'.
   
   The book begins with an excellent essay on the history of Irish food, including its high point during the Middle Ages monasteries and its low points during the potato famine. My only disappointment with this chapter is that it does not explain the mystery of why agronomists did not import one or more of the hundreds of other New World potatoes into Ireland when the potato blight affected only that one strain on which Irish livelyhood depended. On the other hand, this essay is very revealing about the curious fact that while Ireland is an Island, like the Greek Islands, there is a lot less seafood eaten than one may expect. Most fishing yields are sold to foreign markets or the Irish simply do not have a great taste for the fruits of the ocean, other than salmon and trout.
   
   The title of the book and the author's background are excellent indicators of what we are given with the recipes in this book. We do not get standard recipes for traditional Irish dishes, although all the most traditional Irish produce such as milk, cream, cheese, apples, pears, potatoes, berries, lamb, pork, and game are well represented. Also represented is the one type of ingredient Ireland shares with another major Island nation Japan. This ingredient is seaweed. In fact, seaweed is historically important in that those who lived near the sea escaped the worst of the potato famine, not because they had fish, but because they had seaweed to eat.
   
   While the book is primarily dedicated to Irish `haute cuisine', there is much here for the average cook. Opening the book at random shows me an excellent opening section in the chapter on `Salads, Dressings, & Cold Sauces' which details many variations on the classic French Vinaigrette. This may not be earthshaking for someone with 20 French cookbooks on their shelves, but for someone who only has room for a few good Irish cookbooks, this is great stuff.
   
   I also find Cullen's plan for presenting a recipe very appealing, where each step is numbered, making it very easy to keep one's place in the procedure. It also means that each step is clearly identified, instead of being buried in a dense paragraph of text. This is especially rewarding in that the same gool schema is applied to all recipes, even those many which were contributed by `guest chefs', major chefs at restaurants and schools in Ireland. This also means that the many recipes which do not have a `guest chef' author are the creations of the book's author.
   
   If by some chance, you have only room for a single Irish cookbook and this one appeals to you, I must say that many traditional dishes do find their way into the book; however, I cannot guarantee that the procedure is the same you would find at home in a private house in Dublin.
   
   I especially recommend this book over `The New Irish Table' by Irish-American culinary journalist, Margaret M. Johnson, which also deals with recipes from Irish cooks, but more from the local pub than from the larger restaurants.
   
   Last but not least, I find this an exceptionally well designed book for the average list price of $35. An excellent addition to any cookbook collection, and most especially to an Irish cookbook collection.

1 comments about At Home in Ireland : Cooking and Entertaining With Ava Astaire McKenzie.

1. Beautiful pictures, wonderful recipes, and a nice note or two with picture of Ava's famous Father. You can see that a lot of time and effort went into this book.

1 comments about A Little Book of Irish Baking (Little Cookbook).

1. I bought both the authors books, A LITTLE BOOK OF IRISH BAKING and A LITTLE BOOK OF SCOTTISH BAKING. I was surprised that all of the illustrations are the same, and many of the recipes are identical although she did change the title of a few of the recipes.
   Also the recipes are written for a european audience so some of the ingredients are unfamiliar. It would have been better if the author had written one book and called it THE LITTLE BOOK OF IRISH & SCOTTISH BAKING but she didn't so save your money and pick one of her books.

No comments about Food & Cooking in Sixteenth-Century Britain: History and Recipes (Food & Cooking in Britain).

No comments about A Little Irish Cook Book (International Little Cookbooks).

No comments about Best Irish Festive Cooking (Best of Irish Cookery).

1 comments about Best of Irish Meat Recipes (Best of Irish).

1. Best Of Irish Meat Recipes is a cookbook collection of over fifty inspirational recipes for the gourmet with a taste for Irish flavor. From beef, lamb, pork, and poultry, to game and dishes that use cured, spiced, or smoked meats, Best Of Irish Meat Recipes does not disappoint in its sumptuous suggestions and explicit instructions. Some recipes for more exotic meats also offer substitutions of easier-to-find types of meat. From Tripe and Onions, to Roast Haunch of Venison, Bacon and Cabbage, Smoked Duck with Beetroot and Orange, and more, Best Of Irish Meat Recipes is enthusiastically recommended for preparing sumptuous dinners in the Irish tradition.

No comments about Irish Food and Cooking.