Conrad Gallagher

Not your everyday (save myself some time) easy dish, feed my family cookbook. Oh No This Is Not!

From the inside flap: "Simple dishes, readily available (where?) ingredients, and a wealth of enticing recipes that involve only one pan; what could be better?"

The book is an odd square size (9x9) with plain paper (not glossy) pages, many of the recipes have attractive color photos (if you like yellow & orange). Titles are a large grey bold font, ingredients are in a small (I need my tri-focal and had to get really close up) bold font, and the instructions are in a difficult to read sans-serif small regular font.

Contents include: sauce pan; deep pan; shallow pan; frying pan; saute pan; casserole dish; roasting pan; chargrill and grill; wok; baking sheet; baking dish; deep-fryer; salads, etc., and index.

Recipes include: asparagus w/ poached eggs; peas & morels ("readily available"?) w/ fried quail eggs; pumpkin risotto w/ trompettes de mort (again, "readily available"?) and pancetta; john dory w/ coconut and curry; cappuccino of navy beans (?) w/ morels and seared scallops; pappardelle w/ rabbit loin(still again, "readily available"?), mustard and parsley; kangaroo medallions ("readily available"? oh yeah) w/ harissa & spicy masala sauce; octopus w/ roasted pepper, olines, & sun dried tomato pesto; and gratin of fig w/ mascarpone.

More basic recipes include: soba noodles w/ soy, cilantro & marinated squid; tomato & goat cheese pizza w/ chorizo & arugula; lemon tart; thai green curry w/ baby eggplants & sticky rice; omelette stuffed w/ ground pork; roasted salmon w/ saffron cream sauce; several different mussel & clam dishes; roast squab w/ green olives, saffron & preserved lemons; roast new potatoes w/ coarse salt & rosemary; and seared scallops w/ guacamole, cilantro & chiles.


Many of the recipes sound wonderful, but too many do not. This book is not for smaller cookbook collections, rather for those who have "elevated" taste & standards, as can be attested to by the following quote from the back flap: "....He was quickly discovered by the Waldorf Astoria where he became the youngest ever sous chef. Alain Ducasse then offered him the 'rare privilege of working at the 'Michelin 3-star Hotel de Paris' (only 3-stars?) where Conrad, revelling in the superb standards, stayed for a year....." Ok, so this explains why the ingredients are "readily available"....

I'm going to pass on this one.… (altro)