Most Helpful Customer Reviews
|
|
66 of 83 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A different tempo from Gordon Ramsay, 17 Oct 2008
as he leaves his chef's jacket at work!
From the front cover flap:-
'Away from the high-octane energy of the professional kitchen, Gordon's home is a relaxed family affair, where cooking s fun and everyone gets involved in preparing food for family and friends. The food Gordon cooks here embodies his strongly held views: use in-season, fresh ingredients at their peak; support local producers and farmers' markets whenever we can; and celebrate our food culture and its many influences.....
...'Cooking for Friends' is full of Gordon's best-loved versions of classic British dishes.....and contains more than 100 of his favourite recipes, which he loves to cook and eat with friends and family - uncomplicated recipes but with Gordon's remarkable feeling for flavour and his technical know-how.'
From the introduction:-
'As a chef, I work at a thousand miles an hour, but when I'm at home, I want to slow down. I leave my chef's jacket at work, and I walk into a domestic setting, where everything is completely different. At home, our kitchen is family-run, and it's a relaxed place. A lot of people see cooking as a chore, but we bring an element of fun into it..........'
269 high quality matt pages split over 9 chapters:-
Hot and cold soups
Pasta and grains
Fish and shellfish
Meat and poultry
Pies and tarts
Vegetables and salads
Puddings and ices
Chocolate and coffee
Basics
sandwiched between a 9-page introduction and a full index, which is enhanced with finished-dish illustrations shown in italics.
Each chapter opens with some relevant notes and a list of the recipes contained within, for quick reference.
Each recipe is clearly laid out with a bold title and relevant text, along wiith the method, the number of servings and the list of ingredients. The page numbers are on the edge of the right hand page, which aids quick flicking!
The book is interspersed with illustrations of the finished dishes, although these are rather fewer than expected, in my opinion.....(hence my four star rating)...... along with on-location shots of GR, his family and friends.
My favourite pud is no particular secret, and, as I share Gordon's passion for the caramelized apple flavour and texture in an Apple Tarte Tatin..... his recipe for 'Caramelized Apple Pie', from page 207, really hits the spot:-
'I love the flavour of caramelized apples in a tarte tatin, and this is a way of bringing that flavour into a classic apple pie.
Also, because the apples are pre-cooked, they won't shrink during baking and create air pockets inside the pie.
I like to serve the pie while it's still warm with either a little pouring cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.'
A delicious twist which makes the finished product taste divine, and following on from G's 'Lamb Shank Cassoulet` served with sautéed savoy cabbage and chunks of malted grain bread....simply SUPER to share, after an October stroll in the woods with all our friends!
Which... of course....is what this book is all about!
A taste of other recipes within:-
Asparagus velouté
Conger eel bisque
Crayfish chowder
Farfalle with bacon, peas and sage
Grilled vegetable lasagne
Gordon's posh kedgeree (video feature above)
Wild mushroom barley risotto
Fish curry with lime and coconut rice
Grilled herrings with harissa
Fisherman's stew
Poached rabbit legs with gremolata
Pork fillet stroganoff
Home-made bangers
Classic mixed grill
Angus beef olives
Sweet potato and duck rösti with fried duck eggs
Honey roast ham
Shepherd's pie with Branston pickle
Cornish chicken pie
Fish pie with oysters and scallops
Roast winter vegetables
Spicy cauliflower stir-fry
Mixed mushroom salad
Pickled onions
Autumn fruit salad with thyme and ginger
Custard tart
Lemon meringue pie
Chocolate swirl cheesecake
Chocolate and coffee pots
Dark chocolate marquise
All in all, a 'homely'-type book, which is clear from the GR notes throughout, e.g.:-
From 'Pasta and grains`:-
'At home, we don't just stick to rice and spaghetti. Tana has begun to feed the kids a vegetarian meal once a week, which means being creative in combining pulses, grains and pasta with a variety of vegetables.
The kids love it when she experiments.
When the weather is cold we use a lot of barley, adding it to soups, stews, and winter salads. Barley can even take the place of rice in risotto.
The excellent barley risotto here has featured many a time on our restaurant menus............'
|
|
|
63 of 80 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Easy to follow, 17 Sep 2008
Gordon Ramsay is a GREAT chef - but sometimes his recipes can be too complex for the enthusiastic amateur like myself.
However, this book is just right - in that the recipes are excellent and there is some great stuff in here but, most importantly, the recipes are well written and easy to follow.
I think this is perfect for those who want to cook quality dishes for dinner parties but not spend several days in the kitchen preparing for it!!
Highly recommended.
|
|
|
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
No more books Gordon!, 29 Oct 2009
Just how can a chef find time to run so many restaurants, appear on so much tv, contribute on a regular basis to magazines and write so many books every year? This book is proof that he has an army of people doing quite a lot of the work for him - look at the credits and you will see that somebody else has come up with the recipes. If somebody has their name over the door of a restaurant you expect them to be in the kitchen. If somebody has their name on a book cover you would expect them to have written it. Otherwise, you feel cheated, don't you? The book itself is not designed particularly well and is not easy to use. The recipes do not inspire and there aren't the insights and unique tips you would expect from such a lauded chef. Give it a miss.
|
|
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews
|
by Gordon Ramsay
by Gordon Ramsay
by Nigella Lawson
by Rick Stein
