Product Description
In The Country Cooking of Ireland, internationally acclaimed food and travel writer Colman Andrews brings to life the people, countryside, and delicious food of Ireland. Fast emerging as one of the world's hottest culinary destinations, Ireland is a country of artisanal bakers, farmers, cheesemakers, and butteries, where farm-to-table dining has been practiced for centuries. Meticulously researched and reported, this sumptuous cookbook includes 250 recipes and more than 100 photographs of the pubs, the people, and the emerald Irish countryside taken by award-winning photographer Christopher Hirsheimer. Rich with stories of the food and people who make Ireland a wonderful place to eat, and laced with charming snippets of song, folklore, and poetry, The Country Cooking of Ireland ushers in a new understanding of Irish food. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

Should NOT have been a James Beard winner
How ridiculous that this book won the James Beard Award for Best International Cookbook! First, this richly photographed and expensive book is more of a coffee table book than a cookbook. Just having recipes does not fulfill the promise of a book about Irish country cooking. There are NO recipes in this book that you could not find in anything from Fanny Farmer, to JOY OF COOKING, or any Betty Crocker or Good Housekeeping cookbook. The only difference are the gorgeous photographs. Case in point, what is unique about potato and onions? liver and onions? baked fish? Irish soda bread? And even a recipe for... tah dah ... OATMEAL! Compared to Lidia Bastianich's amazing research in capturing the history, geography, ecology, culture and recipes on every page (!) in LIDIA COOKS FROM THE HEART OF ITALY -- which should have been the clear sure winner of the James Beard International Award -- THE COUNTRY COOKING OF IRELAND is elementary, rudimentary, far too basic and overall trite (just look in the index and see for yourself). Save your money unless collecting Irish cookbooks is your passion, but don't expect any great meals from this coffee table book.

Simply beautiful book!
Just got this and wow!This is a coffee table-sized book, gorgeous photographs and mouth-watering recipes.The inclusion of geographic recipe origin and other Irish lore makes the book quite unusual.I like to pick it up anywhere, envisioning my family roots from the Emerald Isle.

The Country Cooking of Ireland
I have recently returned from a grand holiday in Ireland.Driving from region to region I was able to experience the taste and see the differences in the food offered.The Country Cooking of Ireland contains not only wonderful recipes, but stories giving the history that developed many specialities.The book also provides resources for obtaining specific products.The photos make you think you are able to smell the dishes, beautifully done!Recipes are easy to follow, truly an award winning book.

Great Irish recipes
This is an excellent book, with beautiful photos and great recipes. I know we'll enjoy it.

Irish Food
My son got me this cookbook for my birthday this past week and I'm starting to fall in love with it. I'm looking forward to cook one of the great meals from their recipes. ... Read more

Product Description
Irish Traditional Cooking combines the delicious, historic recipes of Ireland with colourful anecdotes and detailed appreciation of the dishes in Ireland’s culture.Imbued with a passion to preserve the traditions of Irish cooking, Darina Allen has journeyed all over Ireland, researching and recording different recipes and regional dishes.From County Cork where she learnt from Joan Twomey how to cook apple cake in a bastible on an open fire, to County Kerry, where she collected bairneachs (limpets) off the rocks to make the traditional Good Friday soup, to Granny Toye in County Monaghan who passed on eighty years of pancake-making experience.

Ireland's rich culinary heritage is brought to life in this comprehensive and entertaining appreciation of more than 300 traditional dishes. Each recipe is complemented by tips, tales, historical insights and common Irish customs, many of which have been passed down from one generation to the next through the greatest of oral traditions. Darina's fascination with Ireland's culinary heritage gives great detail and breadth to Irish Traditional Cooking. Sections on Broths & Soups, Fish, Game, Vegetables and Food from the Wild illustrate how comprehensive this book is in its treatment of Irish Traditional Cooking. Darina uses the finest of Ireland's natural produce to give us recipes such as Sea Spinach Soup, Ballymaloe Irish Stew and traditional Irish Sherry Trifle. The result is a book which will entice you to discover the pleasures of the emerald isle's cuisine. Irish Traditional Cooking won the acclaimed Langhe Ceretto-SEI prize. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (22)

Good, but Sometimes Impractical for US Cooks
This book is very well written an authoritative. Recipes are clear and accurate. My only gripe is that so many of these recipes might be off-putting for American cooks. Do you have easy access to perywinkles, puffins, wild game, nettles etc.? So many dishes are just not do-able. However the recipes that do work are worth the price of the book. Great venison pie, scallops and mushrooms in cream, a great version of roast chicken, fish in bay leaves, and Guiness stew are awesome. So I have no regrets in buying the book, just wish I could get some of the ingredients called for.
The desserts are almost all based on candy fruit or fruitcake type things so if you hate candied fruit you won't like that section.
Great recipe for Irish coffee!

Irish Traditional Cooking
I had this book sent to my Irish Daughter-in-Law and she loves it.I am so happy that I gave this to her and that she is so happy with it.

good old fashioned recipes
Found some great info and recipes in this book, as well as pictures of the products.

Great Recipes
My wife is already turnin the pages to find the next meal - can't wait.So far SO GOOD

Same Book, Different Title
Attention:"The Complete Book of Irish Country Cooking" and "Irish Traditional Cooking" are the same book, under different titles.DO NOT BUY BOTH.As for the book itself, it is more comprehensive than any of the books by Margaret M. Johnson (e.g., "The Irish Heritage Cookbook" and "The Irish Spirit") but less detailed.In other words, Ms. Allen includes more recipes but the instructions in each recipe are not as thorough.Given a choice, I would choose one of Ms. Johnson's books over Ms. Allen's.Ms. Johnson's recipes are more appealing as well, and more accessible.I might eat a bowl of nettle soup if it were presented to me but I would not seek it out or look for nettles to make it.Ms. Allen's book contains many recipes for things like Nettle Soup that most people will never make.Ms. Johnson's books include one mouth-watering recipe after another, each of which makes me want to run to the grocery store for the ingredients. ... Read more

Product Description
Providing a thorough introduction to the art of Irish cookery, a treasure trove of more than 250 traditional recipes includes hearty, flavorful, and wholesome dishes that range from Watercress Soup to Apple Amble Tart. 25,000 first printing. Tour. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Same Book, Different Title
Attention:"The Complete Book of Irish Country Cooking" and "Irish Traditional Cooking" are the same book, under different titles.DO NOT BUY BOTH.As for the book itself, it is more comprehensive than any of the books by Margaret M. Johnson (e.g., "The Irish Heritage Cookbook" and "The Irish Spirit") but less detailed.In other words, Ms. Allen includes more recipes but the instructions in each recipe are not as thorough.Given a choice, I would choose one of Ms. Johnson's books over Ms. Allen's.Ms. Johnson's recipes are more appealing as well, and more accessible.I might eat a bowl of nettle soup if it were presented to me but I would not seek it out or look for nettles to make it.Ms. Allen's book contains many recipes for things like Nettle Soup that most people will never make.Ms. Johnson's books include one mouth-watering recipe after another, each of which makes me want to run to the grocery store for the ingredients.

Wonderful book
I have always been fascinated by the homey and satisfying food of traditional Irish cooking. This book is full of information on different traditional Irish dishes. There are no contemporary or imaginative dishes in here, and many don't sound very appetizing.(does oatmeal soup sound good to anyone?) That is not the point of this book though. The point is to preserve the dishes that the earliest settlers in Ireland lived off of, and to preserve the Irish heritage in doing so. Miss Allen puts a large emphasis on using seasonal, organic ingredients that are naturally available to you. If you're interested in traditional Irish cookery, this book is well worth the money.

What every cookbook should be.
A very nice cookbook,with plenty of color photos & clear concise instructions,covers all the food groups,beautifully done.

What every cookbook should be.
A very nice cookbook,with plenty of color photos & clear concise instructions,covers all the food groups,beautifully done.

A host of wholesome food recipes
The best of Irish country cooking all in one volume! Stews,Casseroles, nourishing natural country foods.Excellent! ... Read more

Product Description
This book offers a taste of some of the best-loved recipes and traditional dishes that have helped to earn Ireland?s reputation for culinary excellence. It begins with an insight into some of the key ingredients, from vegetables, herbs and fruit to meat, fish and dairy. There then follows a range of over 60 traditional step-by-step recipes. ... Read more

Product Description
Talk about the luck of the Irish! One of the most beloved of Irish institutions (there are more than one thousand in Dublin alone), the traditional pub has served generations as the venue for local gossip, sporting news, a ceilidh or two, literary soirees, real estate deals, political debates, revolutionary plots, and, lest we forget, for knocking back a pint of Guinness or a "ball of malt." The food's not bad either—as The Irish Pub Cookbook so deliciously demonstrates. It's a celebration of over 70 pub classics: thick soups and stews; savory tarts and meaty pies; big bowls of salad (times change!); and desserts of the seconds-are-always-appropriate variety. There's shepherd’s pie, fish and chips, seafood chowder, and whiskey bread pudding for those with a taste for the quintessential. Contemporary specialties such as Bacon, Blue Cheese, and Courgette Soup; Salmon Cakes with Dill and Wine Sauce; Braised Lambshanks with Red Currants; and White Chocolate Terrine spotlight modern Irish cooking's richly deserved acclaim. Complete with pub photos, history, and lore, nobody leaves hungry when The Irish Pub Cookbook is in the kitchen. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (11)

Every recipe I have tried is perfect!
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! :)

Awesome recipe book!
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.

I just ate one of the best meals of my life!
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.

Good Food
I'm not Irish, but these are tasty recipes and they'redoable.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.

A great resource for good Irish food.
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! ... Read more

Product Description
The dishes presented in Elegant Irish Cooking are served in Ireland's best restaurants and homes. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

A Class Act for novice and professional alike.
This book suprised me.It had beautiful pictures of the food you were going to attempt, and Irish scenery.Some of the recipes were well above my level of expertise and ability to aquire ingredients, but a suprising number were very do-able and ended up really pretty good! There is background on the food and lots of photos of the chefs whose recipes are listed. It could make a nice coffee table book except it is too valuable in the kitchen. There are things that I will try to make once a year, some deserts that I will never attempt, and some chicken and lamb recipes that I have made at least once a month if not more. Some friends that have come over for dinner, have commented on on how good Irish cuisine really is. Elegant Irish Cooking is'nt the only cook book that I have used to convince guests that Irish cooking is good, but it is one of my favorites to use when I am trying to impress them with the fact that Irish cooking is more than potatoes, corned beef and cabage.

Excellent Irish 'haute cuisine'. Buy It'.
`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 thisbook. 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.

Beautiful book with authentic, delicious recipes
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.

An impressive compendium of 166 classic and recipes
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.

Not Your Grandmother's Cookbook!
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.) ... Read more

Product Description
The Irish Spirit combines the Emerald Isle's favorite recipes with a touch of ale, stout, cider, or whiskey, creating terrific new flavor combinations. Whether scallops and shrimp are poached in single-malt whiskey, tender brisket is simmered in ale and topped with a golden cheese cobbler, or old-time pineapple upside-down cake is updated with a buttery, toffee liqueur topping, each recipe is enhanced by Ireland's famous spirits. In addition to the terrific recipes is the fascinating history of Irish whiskey, stories of classic events like Belfast's popular Pub Crawl, and the origins of the infamous "black and tan," making this spirited cookbook a delight for all with a touch of the Irish. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

The Irish Spirit: Recipes Inspired by the Legendary Drinks of Ireland
If you are a Vegan, this book is not for you. The recipes are of a hearty kind. The presentation is superb as are the photographs. Tradition mixed with new age. A delight for the pallette. Just remember the spirits are for the cooking not the drinking before hand. Highly recommended to any who enjoy food at it's best.

Makes cooking a pleasure
This is absolutely an awesome cookbook. Being Irish, wanting to go to Ireland, and loving to cook made this a must have.Highly recommended for anyone who likes to cook. Kathy ... Read more

Product Description
This celebration of Irish whiskey contains 25 recipes that use whiskey, including: shellfish flambeed in whiskey; whiskey cakes; Irish ham with a spicy whiskey topping; and Irish coffee. Each recipe is accompanied by a watercolour illustration. ... Read more

Product Description
In this handy book, the author gathers together a collection of delicious recipes including old favourites like colcannon, boxty and Dublin coddle, as well as exciting new suggestions such as Parmesan potato cakes, new potatoes with olive oil and bay leaf, and even a delicious potato pizza! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

For those who love a well-cooked potato
Over the years I've bought loads of cookbooks featuring cuisines from all over the world. I love using new ingredients, but at the end of the day the potato remains at the heart of many meals. I was delighted to be given this cookbook. I never knew there were so many ways to cook a potato, and so far all the recipes I've tried have turned out very well. I like the nuanced info on how to get the best out of your potato variety. It's not a big cookbook, but I like that too. It's a great gift for potato loving friends, and even hough some recipes include meat, in general it's an excellent choice for vegetarians. ... Read more

Product Description
Traditional Irish Cooking is not just an ordinary book of recipes, but also gives an insight into the Irish way of life. Containing around 100 recipes and 21 sauce recipes, it includes both traditional and classic dishes, as well as several ânouvelle Irish cuisineâ recipes, endeavoring to combine the best of local ingredients in a more exotic and imaginative manner than that of classic country cuisine. Each of these recipes is accompanied by an anecdote to give the reader a flavor of Irish life: vivid descriptions of unfamiliar ingredients; quotes on food; restaurant and pub descriptions; local points of interest connected with food; short literary extracts; potted biographies of well-known Irish characters; and details on stout, porter, ale cider and whiskey.

This incredibly comprehensive and informative book will appeal to every reader, from the vegetarian to the most avid carnivore, and from the casual snack-maker to the professional chef, with most being quick, easy and simple to prepare, and each recipe having a step-by-step guide to preparation.

... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

All things Irish
Traditional Irish cooking: The Fare of Old Ireland and Its History by Andy Gravette and Debbie Cook is a small, collectible cook book for anyone with Irish inclinations.Although it has no pictures, the text tells the history of the various types of food, giving great insite to the people, the country, and the history. The recipes are written in easy to follow directions and create excellent fare in centuries tested ways.From breads to Guinness, meals from beginning to end, this book gives great and interesting information for all things Irish. ... Read more

Product Description
This is a sumptuous collection of signature recipes from 40+ of the best-loved hotels, restaurants and country houses in Ireland. Completely revised and updated, this volume is a collection of the best-loved recipes from more than forty historic country houses, hotels, and restaurants throughout Ireland. The recipes featured in "Irish Country House Cooking" celebrate the natural riches of the land and sea that surround the featured establishments - local seafood, freshwater fish, game, fruit, vegetables, herbs, farmhouse cheeses, and more. The recipes vary greatly in style, from the country classics of Hayfield Manor in County Cork to the city chic of Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud in Dublin, but all are clearly described for home cooks to make with confidence. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Irish Country House Cooking
Avery good cookbook for tradational Irish cooking.Wish there were more "everyday" ideas in it. ... Read more

Product Description
Paul Flynn, of the Tannery Restaurant in Dungarvan and weekly food writer in the Irish Times magazine, is renowned for flair, flavours and good food. This exciting cookbook is presented in alphabetical order by the major ingredient. Each chapter opens with a short essay discussing the ingredient followed by three to four dishes which can be made from it. Many dishes are deceptively simple but are guaranteed to broaden the horizons of all who cook. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Great book, brings Irish cooking to the Modern Age
This is a great book by one of the most innovative chefs in Ireland.He give a good background description on a number of his favourite ingredients.He shows you how to cook some of the best ingredients in Ireland in an innovative and modern way. If you want to move past recipes for bog standard Irish fare like stews and soups this would be worth having.I've over 30 cooksbooks and this ranks near the top. ... Read more

Product Description

Irish pubs, whether in Ireland or the US, evoke warmth, friendliness, and home-away-from-home atmosphere. These days, however, that atmosphere comes as much from the food as the drink.

Irish Pub Cooking is a collection of recipes, some familiar and some new, which will inspire you to recreate the Irish pub food experience in your own home. It will also give you an insight into the true nature of Irish cooking from the straightforward preparations to the essence of Irish flavors. The readily available ingredients and easy-to-follow instructions will allow you quickly and painlessly to prepare wholesome Irish pub food with relative ease in your own kitchen.

• Traditional pub-food favorites including Shepherd's Pie, Fish and Chips in Lager Batter and many more
• Modern updates of old standbys include Braised Rabbit with Parsnip Puree, Baby Back Ribs in Guinness BBQ Sauce and Corned Beef, Cabbage and Potato Wrap
• Appetizers include Boxty with Smoked Salmon and Buttermilk Fried Crispy Onion Strings
• Lots of great soups, salads, pies and curries: try Bacon and Cabbage Chowder, Cottage Pie with Mashed Potatoes or Lamb Curry
• A variety of side dishes, sauces, and dressings
• Classic and modern desserts like Irish Coffee Baked Alaska, Soda Bread and Butter Pudding with Whiskey Sauce and Irish Apple Tart

Customer Reviews (1)

So- so cook book
Bought this book as part of the 4 for 3 offer. Still, don't think it was worth the price. Much smaller than I thought (probably should have paid closer attention to the dimensions). Although there are some nice recipes in here, I think I would have been much better off spending a few more dollars and buying something with a little more content. I guess, considering it was a 4 for 3, it's ok. Never would have spent full price. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Excellent book from an excellent seller.
Warning: this cookbook is so good that people will borrow it and you will never see it again!I was pleased to find an inexpensive replacement on Amazon, as apparently it has become fairly collectible in some quarters.It is my understanding that Sheridan was known for bringing the joy of cooking back to Ireland after years of austerity and frugality during the war.Being of Irish descent, these recipes are homey, familiar and comforting.If you are not, it doesn't matter.Irish peas (fresh peas with fresh butter, mint and a little sugar) should be on everyone's plate... mmmmm.For some novice cooks the recipes might be a bit difficult to follow in spots.Sheridan assumes a certain basic level of cooking skill that some young and/or inexperienced cooks don't necessarily have in this day and age.For example, a recipe may say "put X in pan" and the reader is supposed to automatically know to first heat the pan, place oil in the pan once hot and slice up the ingredient before adding to the pan.It's not too frequent though, and most people should be able to figure little things like this out.As far as the seller, (anyone know how to review someone's Amazon store?) the book arrived days before the anticipated due date, had the "free shipping w/ $25 total Amazon purchase" option even though I did not have to buy the remaining $25 of qualifying merch from this seller, the book was packed with care and was in the condition described-- YAY!Excellent all around.

Excellent cook book
After reading the many cooking tips and recipes, I fell in lovewith this book.The results were exactly like my first generationgrandmothers cooking long ago.If you want authentic this is the book to follow. ... Read more

Product Description
A collection of Irish recipes. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Favourite Irish Recipes
I received this item in excellent condition.I can find things on Amazon I cannot find in my local stores.I'm very satisfied with their service. ... Read more

Product Description
Everybody loves a fool -- especially made fluffy with ripe strawberries or tangy apple. From the author of The New Irish Table comes this celebration of the Emerald Isle's classic desserts. From lemony puddings and marmalade-slathered scones to fruit-filled tarts and berry-laden crumbles, these contemporary renditions of the traditional desserts of Ireland make perfect use of common staples such as oatmeal, fruit, dairy products, and, of course, whiskey. Steel-Cut Oat Pudding is enhanced with orange zest, nutmeg, and plump golden raisins. A chocolate, walnut, and caramel tart becomes a treat for grownups with a splash of the hard stuff. A final chapter offers the most memorable of holiday delectables including mincemeat tarts, Christmas pudding, and a really good fruitcake. A glossary and source list define and locate unusual ingredients. With gorgeous painterly photographs depicting the food and countryside, this wonderful cookbook serves as a sweet reminder of the people and cuisine of Ireland. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Irish Puddings,Tarts,Crumbles and Fools Cookbook Praise
I received this cookbook in satisfactory time. My compliments to all that created this great dessert cookbook. I tried a few of the recipes and they are wonderful! If you like these types of deserts I highly reccomend it. The book has wonderful photos and quite a bit of regional information on the recipes and areas of Ireland that it includes.Irish Puddings, Tarts, Crumbles, and Fools: 80 Glorious Desserts

Great cookbook
A large number of excellent recipes. A must have for those who enjoy culinary adventures.

Very nice collection of Irish baking. Buy It!
`The New Irish Table' and `Irish Puddings, Tarts, Crumbles, and Fools' by Irish-American culinary journalist, Margaret M. Johnson who seems to provide low end books covering Irish culinary practice, beginning with her `The Irish Heritage Cookbook', also from Chronicle Books. The middle ground, being the `Julia Child' for Irish cooking is Darina Allen, along with husband, Tim Allen and mother in law, Myrtle Allen, all of the Cork culinary powerhouse, Ballymaloe House and Cooking School. The high end of modern Irish cooking is held by Irish-American culinary academician and chef, Noel C. Cullen. The ethnographic corner of Irish / Celtic foodways is filled out by `Celtic Folklore Cooking' by culinary writer and folklorist, JoAnne Asala of Chicago. There are many more Irish cookbooks to cover between now and St. Patrick's Day, but this pretty much covers most major points on the culinary compass for Irish cooking.

`The New Irish Table' and Cullen's `Elegant Irish Cooking' complement one another pretty well, as they both present recipes from modern Irish hospitality centers. The difference is that where Johnson is covering pubs and `bed and breakfast' style eateries, Cullen is covering dishes from Michelin one and two star restaurants in Ireland, as well as many of his own creations as a working chef, before he took up teaching at Boston University.

Between these two featured books, Johnson's Desserts book is a much more valuable addition to your cookbook collection, as it includes a lot of fancy and holiday desserts which I have not seen in any other good book on Irish cooking. The best thing about this book and its companion is that like a lot of Chronicle Books, it seems to be on a fast track to the Bargain Book table, both real and on-line. That means that at half price, this book is a real bargain for the cookbook collector with a genuine interest in dessert baking.

On the surface, this book seems to feature four basically different kinds of baking. The six chapters are:

1. Puddings
2. Tarts
3. Crumbles and Crisps
4. Fools and Flummeries
5. Tea Breads and Cakes
6. Christmas Treats

Anyone familiar with English cooking will recognize in the first chapter a wide range of desserts which the Anglo-Irish all lump together under the name of `pudding'. Actually, most puddings remind me a lot of French Toast, more properly called `pain perdu' by the French. They are all different ways of combining day old bread, custard, dried fruits and the like into a treat for the sweet tooth. Puddings and tarts, together, form a collection of dishes very familiar to those who know English sweets.

Crumbles and Crisps and Fools and Flummeries all seem remarkably like a style of dessert which is very popular in the United States and commonly associated with both the Pennsylvania Dutch and southeastern and south central styles of cooking. In Ireland, as in the United States, they are all primarily ways of combining stewed or jellied fruit with oats, milk and perhaps some custard. The thing that distinguishes `fools' from other similar desserts is the fact that they are made with gooseberries. A gooseberry, according to my `Berry Bible' illustration, looks a lot like a current, and just a bit like a blueberry, and seem to be common in the United States only in the northern west coast.

The breads and cakes chapter visits the most widely familiar realm of Irish baking, the world of soda breads and scones. This realm is covered much better in Tim Allen's `The Ballymaloe Bread Book', but the last chapter in this book makes the whole book worth the budget price of admission.

This last chapter is a bonanza for those looking for something interesting to bake for Christmas, especially if you are fond of confections which include a bit of stout or Irish whiskey in the ingredients. This chapter brings the tired old fruitcake into a whole New World of cakes, puddings, ice creams, breads, mince pies, and cider sauces.

The second book, `The New Irish Table' has but 70 recipes, all of which seem to be high end bar food, especially since about 75% of the pages are dedicated to appetizers and side dishes. The five chapters on recipes are:

Small Bites with 9 recipes for crackers, tartlets, pates, crostini, cheese bites, and chutneys.
Starters with 15 recipes for soups, salads, souffles, charlottes, sauces, and sabayon.
Main Courses with 16 recipes for fish, duck, chicken, lots of pork, lamb, venison, rabbit, and pheasant.
Side Dishes with 13 recipes of old standards such as colcannon, champ, boxty, cabbage, turnips, and leeks.
Sweets with 17 recipes for puddings, custards, brulees, cakes, tarts, cobblers, and crumbles.

All in all, if you already have one or two books on Irish savoury dishes and you get Johnson's dessert book, this volume becomes largely redundant. A lot of the sidebars between the two books are the same and the `Irish Table' simply confirms everything I already know about the heavy Irish use of apples, pears, berries, dairy, beer, whiskey, pork, and lamb.

Since you can get this cheap, I will recommend it as a small, inexpensive addition to your Irish cookbook collection. It may, however, be the first in line for regifting if you already own a few Irish cookbooks.

Home, Sweet Home
No, I am not Irish, but sometimes I wish I was, and this is one of those times. Margaret M. Johnson captures the charm andessence of the style and simple beauty of the Irish countryside and traditional Irish desserts without making themsentimental, or, heaven forbid, contemporary and up-town. These are comfort-food recipes that make me want to sit at a simple wooden kitchen table covered with a cheery tablecloth and a well-laundered napkin and be served a plate full of something gooey and rich and warm from the oven by my 'Irish' mother. I plan to make most everything in this book, but I started with the Simnel Cake because I liked Margaret's head-note about it, and, as she states, it is lovely to seve at tea ( and is a keeper ! ) and the Jameson Chocolate-Walnut Caramel Tart because,well, it sounded so.....good ( which it was. ) ... Read more

Product Description
Beautiful book with photographs of all recipes. ... Read more

Product Description
A carefully selected range of more than 90 delicious step-by-step recipes captures the essence of Irish cooking. There are sections on soups and appetizers, main courses, salad and vegetable dishes, desserts, cakes, bakes, preserves and drinks: each of th ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

favorite Irish recipes
I bemoan the misplacement of my copy of this, which I've had since the 80's.It is hands down the best book of authentic Irish recipes I've ever laid hands on, and you'd do well to get your own while you can before next St. Paddy's.

Corned beef and cabbage, while delicious, is an American dish.Here you will find the true food of the Isle, and the right way to make colcannon!

-"An egg without salt is like a kiss from a beardless man"-
With St. Patrick's Day fast approaching, I thought it might be fun to read some books about Ireland.This was a great choice!

Malachi McCormick the author of IRISH COUNTRY COOKING has great wit and his comments and insight are a joy to read. Along with 100 of his favorite Irish recipes, he gives a little information about the history of Ireland and adds some lovely memories of his boyhood spent in County Cork.

The author begins his introduction with "There is an old Irish proverb: "Follow steadfastly the ways of your ancestors," which, in matters of diet at least, happens to be excellent advice. And the "foodways" of the ancestors of some forty million Irish-Americans are exactly what is collected here: the traditional recipes of Ireland."

Many of the recipes are showcased by Irish proverbs which are great to learn and perhaps quote later.Even if you don't make the recipes they are all very interesting to read. I did make and enjoy the Pea and Hambone Soup, the Buttermilk Scones, Fish Soup and the Corned Beef and Cabbage.I also intend to try the recipes for the Irish Soda Bread, Pratie Oaten, and Colcannon.Very enjoyable book! ... Read more

Product Description
At McGuire's Irish Pub the mood is nothing if not fun. McGuire's boasts itsown award-winning wine cellar and microbrewery in addition to its many specialtydrinks A replica of a grand, turn-of-the-century saloon, McGuire's boasts morethan 150,000 dollar bills, all donated by patrons, that cover its walls andceilings. Giant moose heads adorn several walls, and visitors are encouraged toAmazon.com Review
McGuire's Irish Pub is a friendly place, where the patronsindulge in fun and games--like kissing a moosehead when they miss anote in a sing-along! The place overflows with Irish hospitality andcharm, just like any Irish pub--although it happens to be a20,000-square-foot restaurant in Florida. Does such a place make realIrish food, and can it be recreated at home?Based on recipes forSoda Bread and smoky-tasting, bacon-studded Potato Soup, it is indeedpossible. McGuire's also offers standard, non-Irish pub grub, like aSmoked Chicken Salad and Basil Shrimp on Fresh Noodles. There are alsowilder fancies, including Chicken Timbales with Orange Tarragon Cream,which only ambitious home chefs are likely to tackle. McGuire's reallyexcels at recipes that give a creative twist to traditional Irishfare. Witness the Bean Soup--thick with three kinds of meltedcheese--and a dense black bean chili made with stout. (Alcohol appearsoften in this book's recipes, but what teetotaler hangs out at anIrish pub?)

Written partly as a serious cookbook and partly as asouvenir for its patrons, McGuire's Irish Pub Cookbook is abright and cheery book, packed with photos and illustrations to helpbring the taste of Ireland into your very own kitchen. --DanaJacobi ... Read more

Customer Reviews (11)

Many years eating at McGuires
I'm extremely frustrated my dishes turn out good, but theirs turn out GREAT! Atmosphere and real Irish cooks must be the difference.

You can't go wrong with this book. I've cooked everything in it so far, and while absolutely nothing came out bad, I still don't have the Irish touch to compete with the real thing!

Well written, even an average cook will do well with this book. WELL worth the money as it sells for $26 in the gift shop! =)

Irish Pub Cookbook
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.

Interesting read
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.

Excellent Irish Content in Irish-American Pub Recipes.
`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.

McGuire's Serves Up a Good One
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. ... Read more