Cookbook: The Irish Pub Cookbook

the appetizer:

The Irish Pub Cookbook by Margaret Johnson features traditional Irish fare like Mussels in Garlic and Guinness, Hargadon's Brown Soda Bread, and Hargadon's Irish Stew.

The Irish Pub Cookbook

by Margaret M. Johnson

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Talk about the luck of the Irish! The traditional pub, one of the most beloved of Irish institutions (there are more than one thousand in Dublin alone), 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.

About the Author

Margaret M. Johnson writes frequently about food and travel in her ancestral home. The author of the New Irish Table; Irish Puddings, Tarts, Crumbles, and Fools; and the Irish Heritage Cookbook, she is an Irish-American who lives in New York.

Leigh Beisch is a San Francisco-based photographer. Her work has appeared in many fashion, lifestyle, and health magazines, as well as in Viva Margarita and Olives, Anchovies, and Capers.