5 comments about Mcguire's Irish Pub Cookbook.

1. I admit that I was really excited to find this book. We ate at McGuire's in Pensacola a couple of times, and I desperately wanted their Shepard's Pie recipe. It's not in the book! It's one of the most popular dishes at the restaurant. Furthermore, the recipe for that incredible brown bread that they serve at the table is not in the book either!
   I was planning a special birthday party for my very-Irish mother, and really wanted to make both of these for her. It was pretty disappointing. However, the dessert choices were amazing.
   If you are buying this to be able to have recipes from your favorite dishes from the restaurant, you may be disappointed!



2. McGuire's Irish Pub is an institution in Pensacola, Florida. As the premier Irish pub on the Gulf Coast, they serve up some of the best pub fare to be found in the area. The range of dishes available is amazing--from casual to special. If you've ever been to McGuire's and you've loved the food, you have to pick this up. If you haven't been to Pensacola, pick this up and see what you're missing.



3. `McGuire's Irish Pub Cookbook' by cookbook author for hire, Jessie Tirsch is a book-length add for the bar and restaurant in Pensacola, Florida by the same name. While this may immediately discredit the book in some people's minds, I found this to be an excellent presentation if Irish-American bar food, with the Irish influence being dominant.
   
   Two words of warning to people whom may be encouraged to visit McGuire's Irish Pub. The first is that like Boston's `The Bull and Finch', the model for the bar portrayed in the TV series, `Cheers', `McGuire's' promises to be very busy, turning over a chair about once every half hour, in their public rooms. When I visited `The Bull and Finch', I barely had time to have a pint of beer and score a beer class including the `Cheers' logo plus a tee-shirt. The second is that many recipes in this book are not actually served at the pub today. But, neither of these considerations detracts in any way from the quality of the book.
   
   My basis for evaluating this book is my recently reviewed `The Scottish-Irish Pub and Hearth Cookbook' by Kay Shaw Nelson. The first thing that comes home to me is the similarity of available shellfish in Scotland and Ireland compared to the shellfish available in the Gulf of Mexico. Both `terroirs;' have ample supplies of fresh shrimp (prawns), oysters, mussels, and clams. Thus, subtropical Pensacola can do a great imitation of dishes from the oceanic fauna of the North Sea and the North Atlantic. The second thing where I find a great parallel between American pubs and Scotch - Irish pubs is the fact that the hamburger in its many permutations is a staple bar food for both regions. I was so surprised to find so many good hamburger recipes in Ms. Nelson's book that I was tempted to believe the hamburger was an Irish invention.
   
   This book begins with a very long illustrated Foreword by the bar's owners, McGuire and Molly Martin which chronicles the history of the bar, supplemented with many excellent pictures of some of the bar's more interesting interior decorations, featuring the mythical Uncle Nathan and some of the 12 huge moose heads.
   
   The book begins, I am very pleased to say, with a chapter on breads and brunch. This is appropriate not only because it begins with brunch, but it also has all the recipes for the breads and rolls used for hamburgers and the like in later chapters. Most recipes are recognizably Irish, although at least three are clearly from that very un-Irish country, Italy, with the very similar flag.
   
   The remaining chapters are:
   
   Finger Foods: Appetizers and Party Picks
   Between the Bread: Creative Sandwiches
   The Kettle: Soups and Stews
   Creature Comforts: Fish, Fowl, and Meat
   Under Cover: Savory Pies and Tarts
   Noodles And: Pasta and Crepes
   And With It All: Side Dishes
   The Eating of the Green: Salads
   Celebrations: Passionate Potables
   Sweet Sign-Offs: Heavenly Desserts
   St. Pat Tricks: Tips, Techniques, Stocks, Etc.
   
   I just had to check if the salads chapter included a recipe with watercress, the original shamrock. Oddly, I found that close to half of the salads recipes were based on pasta and seafood, but with lots of representatives of the spinach, cabbage, and carrot clans.
   
   The last chapter on general techniques is useful, but pretty familiar to experienced amateur cooks. The desserts chapter is generally true to Irish puddings, tarts and use of fruits. I was just a bit surprised at the many desserts including chocolate, as this is not a big ingredient in native Irish recipes.
   
   Every chapter seems to be a bit over half of true Irish recipes, with the remainder being imports from French and Italian cuisines, especially Italian. Several of the new inventions are interesting, but my favorite is the `Baby Reuben Egg Rolls with Honey-Beer Mustard'. Like basil and tomatoes, the pairing of corned beef and cabbage (or sauerkraut) is so great that the pairing seems to work in just about any preparation, especially with its constant companions, beer and mustard.
   
   If you don't want the ad and the blarney in the headnotes, and want something a bit more authentic, get `The Scottish-Irish Pub and Hearth Cookbook', but if all you want are good Irish-American bar food recipes, you will not be disappointed with this offering.



4. Very interesting recipes. I guess they weren't exactly what I expected... they seem truly authentic to this Americanized Irish girl. I thought "pub" food was more like bar food... nachos, pizza, etc. I was very far off. So if you want authentic, this is the book for you.



5. I actually purchased this as a gift for a friend that loves her Irish heritage & loves to cook even more, and she hasn't stopped raving about how great this cookbook is. Apparently it's become her favorite cookbook. Giving it 5 stars for this reason.

5 comments about Darina Allen's Ballymaloe Cooking School Cookbook.

1. I am a professional chef and have reviewed many cookbooks. This cookbook is one of the best I have ever seen and used. I was so impressed by it that I went and attended the 13 week course at the School in Ireland. The recipes are timeless,delicious,and will work every time if followed properly. This is what cooking should be fresh, beautiful, and nutritious.



2. I had the good fortune to take a three-day "cookery" course from Darina Allen at her school in County Cork. She is the Julia Childs of Ireland. The demonstrations were great and then the students got to cook selected recipes the next morning. I recommend this book because it has 1. tested and easy-to-follow recipes. (The school always has students and instructors working from the written recipes.) 2. The Irish specialties, particularly the breads, are wonderful. Ireland is now a "foodies" paradise with hundreds of homemade cheeses and other artisan specialties, superb seafood, and a whole "slow food" movement. This cookbook is in its way a bible to what's going on. It is one you will use again and again.



3. This cookbook is great and contains a plethora of easy to follow recipes from appetizers to desserts. A must-have for your kitchen library.



4. I am a professional cook and a cookbook collector and have been to the Ballymaloe Cookery School. I got this book for myself because I was so pleased with the school and felt it was a good basic source book. I ended up giving it away at a bridal shower to a young American on her way to Sweden to marry. It was then I realized what a great cookbook this is for beginning cooks/ for Americans living abroad and for Europeans living here in the US because of the measurement equivalents as well as the very global recipes. Great down to earth and humorous writing as well as clear and concise instructions.I'm ordering another for myself.
   Marcia Dunsmore



5. I attended the Ballymaloe Cookery School and thought Darina Allen's recipes and presentation was "spot on!!" I came home and ordered her cookbook immediately. The bread recipes (especially the grainy, wheaty breads) are terrific. Her recipe measurements are perfect. Her ethnic recipes are also wonderful.

5 comments about The Naked Chef.

1. The book is really good. I love this so much I bought Happy Days with the Naked Chef too. The recipes I have tried out so far have worked every time and the instructions are clear. Although I loved cooking, I was not what anyone would call a professional in the kitchen. I would have balked at anything that sounded too complex. The mushroom risotto and the chickpea and leek soup are two of the recipes I make most often. I also tried the Roasted butternut squash in a risotto just as he suggests. It was brilliant and had to be one of the most economical meals I have made. Spotted Dick pudding, minestrone, Fruit crumble, marinated chickpeas, roast chicken have all turned out very well. Such an encouragement for me, the cook..



2. its very interesting and have lots of ideas.Very easy to prepare the food . no need to weight the ingredient.



3. jamie oliver is the best! he is funny, cute, and most inportantly passionate about food. i am currently in culinary school, and jamie's first book.... the naked chef, is the reason i am doing what i am doing. his book makes cooking look so fun and relaxed... exactly what it should be!!!! (i should know... i spend 7 hours in cooking class every day.) the pictures are colorful and artistically taken. give this book as a present to anyone, chef or not. i remember staying up way late at night reading his words and looking at pictures..... mmmmmmm its to bad hes married already!



4. Jamie Oliver clearly knows what he is doing as far as Italian cuisine goes, the recipes were good, not all that simple though very authentic. My major dissapointment was the text quality, I've skimmed through its pages about five times, by the third time its pages were falling out of it.



5. I would juast like to say that not only is Jamie Oliver the sexiest Brit I have ever laid eyes on he is one of my most favorite chefs in the would. I love his rustic fresh and natural aproach to great food. I have been a foodie since i was an earlie teen and have been watching food network since day one and have always loved watching the food shows in the public broadcast stations as well.
   
   To date, I have to say that Jamie Oliver is one of the most interesting chefs I have ever had the pleasure of watching.
   
   Not only is this book a great addition to you cooking collection but so are any of the books who's pages have been graced by his unique talent.

5 comments about Jamie's Kitchen.

1. I now have all of Jamie Oliver's books and DVDs. I am eagerly awaiting his book on Italy to be released. B. Marold says it best, so anything I say will be redundant. What I like (love really) about his cookbooks, including this one, is that all of the recipes are cook-able. The meat, fish, salad, and dessert recipes are simple, but incredibly tasty. I own numerous cookbooks, but few are as easy to manouver as Jame Oliver's. The photographs are wonderful and he is adorable. Perhaps he makes it look too easy, but it is once you read the recipe and get down to business in your kitchen. I love this cookbook. It has everything you need to cook and serve a delicious and healthy meal. I would also recommend both his DVDs. His energy is infectious. If you love London (and England) as I do, you get colorful glimpses of restaurants and markets in each episode. His friends are deightful. Especially Gennaro his Italian 'father' and mentor.
   
   I wish I had recorded all of his earlier programs (The Naked Chef) when they were on the Food Network. These tapes are not available now. He deserves all of the success he has garnered for himself. Go out and buy this book and all his other books. And don't forget the DVDs.



2. I love Jamie's books! I love all the pictures, the great simple recipes, and insight into Jamie's world.
   
   This book was written during the time when he started training young unemployed kids to become chefs. The chapters include some great unusual salads, cooking without heat, poaching, cooking in pouches, stewing, frying, roasting, grilling, and baking.
   
   There is only one recipe per page, and include a beautiful picture of the prepared product. In between the recipes there are tons of pictures of Jamie, for all the fans out there.:)
   
   These books are definitely a writing from the heart.



3. Just looking at the pictures (as many of Jamie, it seems, as of the food) and reading the recipes, I tagged 6 as both appealing and do-able. That's not too many from a book of this size. Of course it's all a matter of personal taste, but just for example, an inordinate number of recipes call for mint, which is fine if you're crazy about mint. If not, not. I'd recommend leafing through this at the library or book store before purchasing.



4. This was the first of many Jamie Oliver books that my husband and I own and it's the one that started our obsession with his recipes. We regularly make the recipe for Lebanese chicken and have served it many times for guests who rave about it. The Chinese chicken parcels and Asian eggplant are also fantastic. Oliver uses a number of ingredients regularly that may be odd additions to some folks. He is big on lemon, mint and other fresh herbs, for example. But trust him, the combination of ingredients always work out well.
   As other people have mentioned, his choice of measurement units (i.e. a knob of butter (British term?) or handful - my hands are small, my husband's big) are sometimes confusing. I have also noticed that when a recipe says it serves 4 it often feeds 6-8. Overall, however this is a great book.



5. A great cookbook! I love Jamie so I'm very pleased with this book! Can't wait to begin cooking with Jamie!

5 comments about The River Cottage Cookbook.

1. This book is great, I am captured by the beginning part of each chapter, it rates up there with the Jamie at home book by Jamie Oliver



2. After falling in love with Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's The River Cottage Meat Book, I couldn't wait to get my hands on the River Cottage Cookbook, another book originally published in the UK and now available here. This is, without question, a wonderful, 5-star book... but I think "cookbook" is a bit of misnomer. There are 100 recipes, but they are illustrative of the author's advice rather than a set of "what to make for dinner" options.
   
   Instead, most of the 430 pages are devoted to what I can only call instructions for a sustainable food-aware lifestyle. That might sound a little hippie-ish or zenlike, but I can't come up with a better expression. So let me get more specific by quoting from his introduction: "One of the most satisfying things about my life at River Cottage is that I've hardly ever had a bad meal here. ...I have never had that experience that used to seem all too common, where I find myself thinking, 'Why am I eating this rubbish?'" His goal, says F-W [don't ask me to type that name again!], is to help you maximize the amount of pleasure you get from food and minimize, or even eliminate, the rubbish.
   
   The result is a book chock full of food *awareness*. The author isn't promoting complete self-sufficiency; he's happy to buy things (like bananas and wine) he can't promote himself. However, most of this book addresses the practical matters of raising and butchering livestock, growing a garden, fishing, and eating wild food. If you're old enough to remember the Foxfire books, and other "back to the land" titles that were common in my hippie youth, this book will bring such books to mind.
   
   Organizationally, the book is split into four main sections (garden, livestock, fish, hedgerow) and then subsections within them (hedgerow includes wild meat, hedgerow greens, wild mushrooms, fruits and nuts, recipes). There's also a addendum for the U.S. edition, which discusses such things as the regional differences in "organic" labels.
   
   He has plenty of specific advice in every category. The garden section covers how to prepare a garden, including dealing with pests and how to choose which plants to grow. Fortunately, for those of us unwilling or unable to plant a garden (much less those of us in Arizona, for whom his English recommendations are a wee bit unrealistic) F-W has plenty of advice on the best way to buy the items.
   
   Since he expects that you're reading this book in order to become a small farmer yourself (or, at the very least, to understand where your food comes from), F-W assumes you need instruction on how to schedule the tasks involved in slaughtering pigs, build a ladder for chickens, or clean squid (aka cuttlefish). "There is no officially sanctioned way to dispatch a cuttlefish," he writes. "But personally I don't like to let them suffocate. So I give them a firm smack between the eyes with a stick or stone, and that seems to do the trick." The section on identifying, capturing and cooking the American signal crayfish (which has all but extinguished its native English cousin) made me want to wade into a creek immediately. (Even better, now I have more food-sourcing trivia than do most of my friends.)
   
   Look how far I got before I mentioned a recipe! These are good, maybe great recipes, all very much in the comfort-food sort of cooking vein, knowing you'll have leftovers. After a recipe for pot-roast chicken and vegetables are three additional recipes: cold chicken with potatoes and anchovies; chicken with bacon, peas and cream (a sauce for pasta); and Mallorcan chicken croquettes.
   
   Which is not to say the recipes are all peasant food. A random sample includes fennel risotto with scallops; classic boudin noir (since you'll have the pig blood...); homemade ketchup (start with 6 pounds of tomatoes); nettle soup.
   
   I do love this book. It is entertaining, enlightening, laugh-out-loud funny ("Honey, I have to read this to you!" material abounds), and I have his chicken-in-the-pot recipe in my oven while I'm writing this review. I'm not sure how useful the book will be to me in the long run -- something tells me I shall not be raising any chickens, though I do like his instructions for smoking fish. But it is an incredibly *readable* book, and wholeheartedly enjoyable.



3. Halfway through this book so far but it is SO informative and inspirational. I can't wait to start my own organic garden!



4. I think the book is quite amazing - I haven't had the opportunity to read a cookbook like this before. It is a book that one must take seriously - its not the sort of book you pull off the shelf when you are wondering what to cook for dinner. This is about how you approach food from birth to death, seed to fruit.
   
   This a book that needs to time to read and digest and then think about what you can apply to your life style and where you live. River Cottage was a place only one can dream about, however to produce the results takes a lot more work than is immediately obvious.
   
   I would have like a little bit more information on how the book focuses on lifestyle and what is needed to make theis book come to reality - it is for many the stuff of dreams.



5. Holy moly. I was raised on a pig farm, so I bought this book because of the cute piggies on the cover. Unsavory! The maniac on the cover (see image) cooks them in the first chapter! I mean first he plays a game of football with them. You know, runs around the field and spikes them when he scores a TD (as seen on cover...no defenders... whatta doosh). He even goes as far as to punt them when he is unable to convert on 2nd down. That's right... 2ND DOWN!

5 comments about Scotland and its Whiskies: The Great Whiskies, the Distilleries and Their Landscapes.

1. This is a quality production. The photos and the descriptions are fantastic. I found myself pouring a glass of scotch from whichever region I was reading that night, ie. Islay, Speyside, etc, and enjoying the dram more than usual.



2. This book was purchased along with MJ's 5th Edition Whisky guide. I found it an excellent read while enjoying a nice glass of single malt. The pictures are beautiful and MJ's commentary make me want to visit Scotland and tour the distilleries myself.



3. I bought this book for a friend who likes single malt scotch & non-fiction books. After looking at it, I read it & bought my friend another copy. The writing is terrific & the photography beatiful. My friend & I are planning a trip to Scotland when we retire & I have started enjoying a wee dram of the water of life occasionally.



4. Great book! It is a great resource. The book was in excellent condition and arrived in a timely mannner.



5. I bought this book for my Dad's Christmas present. He is a scotch drinker and likes information about the different scotchs, but more than that, loved the pictures and writing about Scotland. Makes a great gift!

5 comments about Jamie's Italy.

1. Book arrived quickly and in condition described. Although we like Jamie's cooking style, the book was a little shallow.



2. I am a US citizen of northern Italian heritage. I want to start learning the language, and learning to cook Italian. This book was recommend to me by a family member. I have briefly read parts of it, and have begun cooking some of the recipes.
   
   1). I absolutely enjoy Jaime's style of writing. It is humorous and gives me a sense of the Italian people from whence he gets his recipes. He interacts with the common man (woman and child) to get his recipes and insight into the people.
   
   2). Each recipe is discussed in depth including the cultural aspects of the town from which it is from. Different towns, different variations.
   
   3). Jaime inserts his opinions about the food and the people he runs into. This greatly enrichs the understanding for me, of the particular dish.
   
   All of the above helps me to have a greater appreciation for the food and of the Italians from whence the recipes came. It's not just a plate of chow. It is a little bit of a culinary adventure.
   
   Thanks, Jaime!



3. Was not happy with the condition of the cover of this book. It was written on in black pen that can not be erased. Also it is ripped. Would not order again from this person. The inside of the book was okay.



4. I don't know what people were drinking when they wrote their reviews of praise. I used three recipes last night, and against my better judgement, I promised myself I would not tinker and make a truly Jamie Oliver night of it. Well, disaster struck. Two of the three, the starter and the dessert were miserably uncooperative. The main course saved the evening but perhaps not my reputation as a decent cook. I did break the rules a bit and doubled the sugar in the rice pie (Torta di Riso), and the remarks at table?.. "What's missing is sugar." The texture was rubbery, the taste unequalled in blandness (despite the massive orange rind input) and I ended up with enough filling and crust for two pies. The shortcrust pastry was yummy though. For the fried ricotta (Ricotta Fritta), I had a feeling there was not enough binding (balance of ricotta, flour and egg was wrong), and sure enough, they fell apart horribly in the pan, much more horribly than Jamie had warned. I just kept coddling them in the pan until something presentable could be mustered for my guests. The taste was saved by my not being as sparing with the salt as was advised. The stuffed pork chops (Costolette di Maiale) were the big hit of the evening, but given what preceded and what followed, I suppose we were all looking for a winner and something to fill our bellies! It's a lovely book to look at, the photographs are amazing, I like Jamie's chatty style of writing, and his love of Italy and Italian cooking is infectious, but I would not try another recipe without lending it some much-needed help.



5. I recently bought this cookbook for my brother who had tried a lot of Jamie's grilled recipes. He cooks a lot of Italian so I thought it'd be a good match. He loved it! I have heard about some great recipes already! Interesting ingredient combination in some of them. I will definitely have to find a copy for myself sometime soon.

5 comments about Jamie's Dinners: The Essential Family Cookbook.

1. I've been getting into family-themed cookbooks lately and purchased Jamie's Dinners having looked at it many times in the bookstore. Made The Ultimate Burger and Chips (p.6) last night. Prior to this recipe, I used the master recipe from another well-known cookbook. I had always received the usual: "thanks mom, that was good."
   
   My family came to me after having Jamie Oliver's burger dinner and said: "We'd Like to Thank JAMIE OLIVER". That was a first! It was one of those devour-experience-swoon kind of experiences. If it's any indication of what the cookbook offers, it is a very good start indeed.
   
   The burger/fries preparation was different to what I was accustomed to. I wondered if the burgers were going to hold up to the heat because the patties (fries were parboiled) had several wet ingredients introduced to it. They came out perfectly moist and flavorful and had minimal shrinkage in the pan. These burgers stayed flat instead of morphing into round pucks in the pan like most burger recipes.
   
   It was a pleasure to prepare this recipe - I'm of the camp that looks at a recipe and, to use Jamie Oliver's word, - uses a "glug" here a "glug" there - this is the kind of recipe book that has an easygoing but basic straightforward approach to cooking and isn't whacking you on the head for "perfection". One doesn't feel the need to fret or worry about how it's going to turn out. It turns out all good and to me that is the essence of the family meal experience.



2. You can never go wrong with Jamie,I own all of his books and this is my favorite. He makes the simplest ingredients come to life. Gives you a whole new perspective on english food.



3. Recipes are hard to follow and there is not enough dessert recipes like Oliver's way of cooking;it is energetic fast and so simple
   in this book the instructions were written in paragraphs , which is not that easy to follow if you are
   standing in the kitchen with messy hands.
   the instructions could have been written in a more organized way (bulitens?)
   Family dinners aren't complete without desserts. Are they?
   The book doesn't contain a lot of dessert recipes
   Nonetheless, I like a lot of recipes in this book



4. With the photo of the book shown for purchase having the slip cover on it I expected to get a book with the slip cover on. I did not and could not give it as a gift had to go out and buy one quickly instead and keep this one for myself.



5. I am a medium-skilled cook who enjoys cooking and hosting. I don't like overly simple recipes, but I also don't like to spend all day making something. I like food of all types, particularly Asian and Indian. I tend to be a healthy eater who prefers cooking with natural ingredients.
   
   I have found some of my all-time favorite recipes in this book. There is an Indian seafood stew that is really amazing. Another favorite dish includes tortillas with hummus, beef and a simple lettuce salad inside. I also really love the simple Quesadilla recipe. There are also basic recipes like great guacamole and pesto.
   
   One thing I like about this cookbook is that it isn't exact in it's measurement. It tells you to add an ingredient without really getting finnicky about how much. Of course, this requires a little knowledge of ingredients, but I have found it empowering to need to use my brain rather than simply following a recipe.
   
   Many cookbooks have a bunch of recipes I'll never use alongside a few favorite recipes I'll make all the time. This book has a higher percentage of recipes that I actually make on a regular basis. I find that they are original but not too far from classic. Really unusual food is fun to make once but maybe not to make again. This cookbook doesn't stray too far, so the recipes are attractive to repeat.
   
   One of the greatest things about this cookbook is it has show me the beauty of parsley. I never cooked with parsley and thought it was just something you throw on a plate to make the fish sticks look healthier. Jamie uses a lot of fresh ingredients, so it is easy to eat healthy from this cookbook. The cookbook isn't full of lean recipes, but at least the recipes are made from natural ingredients and accompanied with lots of fresh herbs.
   
   Overall, very happy! I also own Jamie at Home, and so far I prefer Jamie's Dinners.

5 comments about The Irish Pub Cookbook.

1. My husband and I traveled to Ireland in 2002 and fell in love with the country. We ate at local pubs for almost every meal and decided that we needed to learn to replicate many of these meals. He bought me this book for Christmas several years ago and I have used many of the recipes over and over again.
   
   We have a St. Patrick's party every year and have used this cookbook almost exclusively. We consistantly make the Blue-Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms, but have made a few changes with it. The Seafood Chowder is a crowd pleaser. I also love the Bacon, Blue-Cheese and Courgette (Zucchini) soup. The star of our cookbook, though, is the Black and White Guinness Mousse. I make this dessert 4 or 5 times a year. It is my most requested dessert and it is a wonderful presentation. My cookbook literally opens up to that page on its own.
   
   Coming from a woman who has hundreds of cookbooks, this is one of my favorite. I am lucky enough to have Kerrigold butter sold in our local supermarket and I can also source true bangers, which makes a nice treat for our family. I would highly recommend this if you are looking for truly authentic Irish recipes. Slainte!



2. I'm not Irish, but these are tasty recipes and they're doable. You don't have to import all your ingredients from Ireland and even using our American butter as opposed to "Irish" butter, mentioned in some of the recipes, still gives you tasty results. Both my husband and I have liked the recipes I've made so far and we don't always agree. It makes me want to go to Ireland on a pub food crawl instead of just the traditional liquid pub crawl.



3. This cookbook was just catapulted to one of my favorites. I prepared the Wicklow Lamb with Braised Green Beans and Mashed Potatoes for dinner tonight, and it was one of the best meals I have EVER had! I am an average cook, and found the recipes to be extremely easy and tasty. I have also made some of the soups and stews with great results.



4. I have LOVED every recipe I've made from this book so far. I recently visited Ireland and wanted to re-experience some of the food we ate there. This book is authentic and the recipes are taken from famous pubs in Ireland. The recipes are also pretty simple. You don't need a ton of exotic stuff or tools to make them. These recipes are purely good ol' comfort food.



5. I've had this book for a couple of years and I can't get over how delicious the recipes are! The soups are my favorite which doesn't sound very exciting but the flavors are perfect and really easy to make. This is my go to recipe book when I want something simple and satisfying and sure to please my entire family! :)

5 comments about The Complete Robuchon.

1. Many great chefs, at some point in their careers, decide to put together a masterwork cookbook, a summation of everything in their career they think is important. Most are huge coffee table books -- Thomas Keller's French Laundry Cookbook, Julia Child's The Way To Cook, Ferran Adria's A Day at elBulli. One might expect something from a man who is considered one of the world's five or ten greatest chefs similar to the work he did with Patricia Wells, a book of three-star recipes and fiendish creativity. Now Robuchon's masterwork, Tout Robuchon, arrives in English translation... and it is a simple, almost spartan homage to the French home kitchen of the 21st century, as much at home next to The Joy of Cooking as it is the great classics of food porn.
   
   To the extent that this comes as a shock, it shouldn't. Chefs, perhaps more than the foodies they cater to, tend to seek out the simplest things, both for inspiration and sheer enjoyment -- little things like spaghetti aglio e olio, mole, hanger steaks, and the like, things that slide under the radar, comfort foods, and various oddments. Robuchon goes with that idea and takes it deep; while he doesn't quite pull off the French Kitchen Bible of the 21st Century, there's more than enough in here to get a sense of what real home cooking is like in modern France, starting with a concise but solid discussion of kitchen techniques and ingredients (somewhat Americanized to be sure, probably by the translator) and moving into a broad survey of recipes, many long familiar to readers of Julia Child or Madeleine Kamman, some pulled from more recent influences (north African lamb tagine for example). Surprisingly, some things -- brown sauces for example -- are wholly absent, perhaps no longer relevant outside classical haute cuisine. However, the true classics of French cuisine are well-represented -- cassoulet, boeuf bourgignon, and at least four different versions of pot-au-feu -- as well as newer influences.
   
   Robuchon is not a great writer, but he is clear and to the point, and though not given to Cook's Illustrated-style background explanations, is meticulous about technique when necessary. The book lacks illustrations of any sort, but the layout is impeccably clean (if somewhat different from the original French version) and the recipes both creative and down-to-earth. As masterworks go, it's both accessible and inexpensive, and goes out of its way to show what Robuchon thinks is most important.
   
   I leave with this thought: many years ago, former Houston Rockets star Hakeem Olajuwon made a point to have his sneaker manufacturer (Spalding, if I remember correctly) create a line of signature sneakers that would be affordable to all of his fans. I had a pair, got probably a year out of them, and picked them on precisely that general principle, and they were pretty good sneakers. Ever since then I've always held an admiration for people who make a point to see that everyone can share in their life's work without the stain of elitism or absurd prices. Joel Robuchon has done this for his native cuisine, and for that, he's pretty awesome in my book.



2. Fantastic Book. Filled with information that is inspiring and is a perfect gift for any Chef or Inspiring Chef or for yourself. Learn from the best Chef in the world Joel Robuchon.



3. This book reminds me a lot of Paul Bocuse's book on basics, without being as stodgy and earnest. Robuchon is a good teacher. Don't buy the book if you want pictures - there aren't any.



4. With all due respect to Julia Child, who worked to teach cooking itself to Americans as well as French recipes to cook with, and with all due awareness of the almost infinite number of other cookbooks on French home and bistro cooking, "The Complete Robuchon" by Joel Robuchon is probably the single best cookbook of essential French cooking, traditional dishes and classic recipes available for the home cook.
   
   The attention to detail, organization and completeness of the book and the succinct and readable way all the topics and recipes are written makes this book a pleasure to own, to read and to draw endless inspiration and ideas from. This is NOT a Thomas Keller style coffee table cook book (such as "The French Laundry Cookbook", for example) filled with lush pictures, sprawling magazine style layouts and ornate texts. It's a thick, heavy handful of high quality, succinct knowledge and recipes for traditional French cooking.
   
   Some reviewers in France have complained that this is just a book of old tried and true French cuisine. What is too close to home and old fashioned to some may be a trove of great knowledge to other readers in other cultures and countries. Some felt, evidently, that if the great Robuchon's name was attached, especially with a title like "The Complete Robuchon", that the book should include only haute cuisine and cutting edge innovations. But, just as being a solid draftsman with a command of classical visual vocabulary is perhaps essential to being a painter, even if one is working to subvert or evolve that art, having a firm and complete command of classical and French home cuisine is an immeasurable asset in understating how to innovate and draw on that tradition to create new and exciting things. This book is a great bargain, and will always be a source of solid information and recipes.



5. Like this book very much. The recipe is very precise and delicious. I really learned a lot ...