Gordon Ramsay Makes It Easy - Gordon Ramsay

Gordon Ramsay's Make it Easy


In the introduction to his book, Gordon Ramsay claims that his book is aimed at those of us who have busy lives and limited time for cooking, yet he somehow warns us that "the quality of ingredients is paramount to the success of a dish and [he] always source[s] food from top quality producers." Of course, I'm using the word "warns" for a reason that you will discover soon, but ...
...second section, "great fast food", Gordon Ramsay tries to change the concept of what fast food may refer to, and this is what the idea of the whole book is supposed to be based on. This section begins with Ramsay's famous "broccoli soup" which you can find easily on youtube. The rest of the recipes in this section are not really difficult, yet the ingredients are not ones which you can find in a supermarket. There are some good ... more

Gordon Ramsay's Make it Easy

In the introduction to his book, Gordon Ramsay claims that his book is aimed at those of us who have busy lives and limited time for cooking, yet he somehow warns us that "the quality of ingredients is paramount to the success of a dish and [he] always source[s] food from top quality producers." Of course, I'm using the word "warns" for a reason that you will discover soon, but let's find out what this book is about.

This 256 page book is divided into nine sections:

1. breakfast and brunch
2. great fast food
3. family and friends
4. dinner for two
5. cooking for a crowd
6. summer barbies
7. just for kids
8. bellinis and blinis
9. posh

Very conveniently, this cooking book begins with the most important meal of the day, no matter how we try to avoid it; i.e. breakfast which can be brunch as well. What surprised me at first is the very first recipe in this book "Country garden breakfast" which is basically cooked vegetables and eggs. This recipe needs a sauté pan, a frying pan, and cooking in the oven in ramekins. And the question is: how is this easy? Now, don't get me wrong; it is a great recipe and I'm sure that it tastes great with all the mushrooms, tomato and olive oil in it, but it takes time and effort. Besides, is frying potatoes in the morning considered easy? I don't think so, yet this might be good for a weekend breakfast, so let's move on.

The second recipe "Salmon kedgeree" is again not easy for me, yet Ramsay does proceed to teach us key recipes like "sublime scrambled eggs" and "English breakfast". There are also some sweet recipes too like "compote of cherries", yet these breakfast recipes are no more than nine, the last of which is "banana and passion fruit smoothie" which must be, truth be told, one of the most amazing smoothie recipes I have ever read with five ingredients only and no artificial additives.

In the second section, "great fast food", Gordon Ramsay tries to change the concept of what fast food may refer to, and this is what the idea of the whole book is supposed to be based on. This section begins with Ramsay's famous "broccoli soup" which you can find easily on youtube. The rest of the recipes in this section are not really difficult, yet the ingredients are not ones which you can find in a supermarket. There are some good recipes for "open omelette" and "macaroni cheese" yet most of the other recipes include seafood... lobster, eel, fresh sardines, and I don't like them.

Some of the recipes that attracted my attention in the third section "family and friends" include "Gordon's fish pie" which unfortunately does not have a picture for the dish, and it also contains "300g ready-made puff pastry". Still, I cannot complain, at least because this part of the book includes such amazing dishes like "chicken casserole" and "saddle of lamb".

The book continues in the same way. It is true that some recipes are really great and easy, yet the rest are not so easy, or even have ingredients that are not easy to find. Sometimes, what annoys me about the pictures in this book is that at times they don't show how the final result looks like. Instead of a picture of the dish, you might find a picture of the process itself or most of the times of Gordon Ramsay as he is shopping for his special ingredients.

** Price and Book Info:
* Price: £12.99 from Amazon
* Publisher: Quadrille Publishing Ltd (2 May 2005)
* Language English
* ISBN-10: 1844001164
* ISBN-13: 978-1844001163
* Product Dimensions: 24.8 x 19.2 x 3.2 cm

What is the verdict? I'm glad I just borrowed this book instead of buying it. I do love cooking but I don't want to waste the time I saved in cooking in searching for the ingredients these recipes need. I, also, don't like seafood dishes, yet the book is filled with them. I cannot tell you whether it is recommended or not, but I think, reading my opinion, you will know what kind of recipes it has.

Summary: Gordon Ramsay's Make it Easy.  

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