Saturday, August 23, 2014

Book Review: My Irish Table

My Irish Table seems like it is part cookbook and part the life story of Cathal Armstrong, who grew up in Ireland but now owns renowned restaurants in the Washington DC area. If you're at all interested in Irish food and culture, this cookbook is definitely worth checking out. The photography is amazing! And the book is filled with a good mixture of recipes both from his childhood in Ireland and more modern, complex dishes. There is an entire chapter devoted to his mother, and a chapter devoted to recipes from his restaurant.

I have tried several recipes from the book, some of which have turned out very well (like the scones!) However, I would say that this might not be the best cookbook for the casual home chef - there are definitely doable recipes, but some of them make very large batches (like 11 cups of flour for a bread recipe) or call for very specific ingredients that I wouldn't be likely to have around. The recipes are very detailed, which is helpful but also means they're fairly complicated. I do appreciate that he gives notes on which recipes to serve together, and he includes many tips and anecdotes with the recipes.

There are many recipes I would like to try, and of the ones I have already tried there are a couple I would definitely make again. However, there are even more that I can't see myself ever attempting. Overall I would recommend this book, but perhaps more for its anecdotal nature than just because of the recipes.

Click here for more information about this book.


Disclaimer: I received this book for free from the publisher via Blogging for Books.

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