Gordon Ramsay Makes It Easy by Gordon Ramsay, Helen Tillott, Mark Sargeant (2005, Package)

Hello, World… Is there anybody left that hasn’t heard about Gordon Ramsay? Well, I hadn’t, until about a year ago… those wild and crazy TV cooking show antics got my attentions during the commercials. I tuned in and became a fan. What is this seemingly egomaniac top chef and restaurateur all about?

The food on the shows looked pretty tame and simple. I meant, boring. There had to be a lot more to his cooking than Beef Wellington and corgets (squash) to earn those Michelin stars. I got the first cookbook of his that I could find here on eBay. It is very good, and even comes with a DVD.

There are quite a few recipes similar to the ones he teaches his contestants in his hit show, Hell’s Kitchen. I wanted to try a simple one at first. The Portobello Mushrooms made with cheese sounded quick and clever. Here it is:

Grilled Portobello Mushrooms

Serves four

4 large Portobello mushrooms
1 T. olive oil
½ c. marscarpone cheese
3 oz. (75g.) Stilton or other bleu cheese, crumbled
Pepper
Handful of basil leaves, chopped

Wipe the mushrooms with a damp paper towel or use a soft brush to remove any dirt or grit. Don’t wash them. Cut off the stalks.

Brush a large sheet of foil with oilve oil and place the mushroom, gill side up, in the middle.

Mix the marscarpone with the bleu cheese and season with plenty of pepper. Fill the mushroom caps with this mixture and sprinkle with chopped basil.

Keeping the stuffed mushrooms flat, and bring up two opposite sides of the foil and fold the edges together, then seal the ends of the package. Place on the edge of the barbecue to cook for 10 to 15 minutes (or, as I do, you could in the oven at 350 degrees F)

Serve as an appetizer with sourdough bread, or as an accompianiment to barbecued meats.

We use the recipe often on holidays, and they disappear so fast, the kids call them ghost mushrooms…. “Who ate the rest of the mushrooms?” A ghost must have eaten them….”

All in all, a good book, and my only complaint is that the book doesn’t lay flat, for ease of use… I hate to bend open a book spine, as that reduces the integrity of the pages. Gorgeous photographs of all recipes encourage you to try your hand at Gordon’s eats.

Great recipes, easy to understand the directions for his "fancy" dishes, including pictures.
I bought it because I watch his shows on TV, and wanted some of his "easy" recipes.

All the Gordon Ramsay books with Mark Sargent are excellent and this is no exception! Good glossary of a well stocked pantry. Another book of healthy, good meals!

Some terms used are hard to understand for average cooks. I think he uses terms from other countries? There is alot recipes that involve seafood, which....i do not eat. The other recipes though, look quite appealing and I am excited to try more of the recipes!

I got this book since my son has taken a liking to cooking after viewing the TV shows. So far, the recipes he has tried have been wonderful with beautiful presentation. My 16 year old who has disastrously mixed canned tuna with alfredo sauce now is making food that is truly restaurant quality. The eggs in the morning are wonderful and the broccoli soup is deceptively easy but really quite good. Jr hasn't had a failure yet in the month since he has been using this book. I personally haven't even gotten to do more than glance at the book but the results speak for themselves.

Now, if only the authors would have stressed the great importance in washing the dishes...

My husband and I enjoy cooking new foods. After a recent vacation to Ireland we wanted to try recipes from the U.K. We enjoy watching Gordon Ramsey on television and his food seems authentic and simple to prepare. We have tried several recipes from the cookbook and have thoroughly enjoyed each one. The cooking tips are useful as well. The DVD included with the cookbook is an added bonus. Watching Gordon prepare a few of the recipes really gives you confidence to try them. He makes cooking easy, even for a novice. The only thing that would make this cookbook/DVD better is if the DVD had shown Gordon preparing every recipe in the book. I learn so much more by watching someone else cook it first. We are very pleased with this addition to our cookbook collection.

Don't copy, learn from the principles. Learn from the best. There's no such thing as a golden cookbook since the true quality of a meal is due to the cook's creativity on the spot. Unless we're talking about addictive home meal then that's a different story-don't really need a cookbook for that when individual preference is in question.

I watch all of Ramsey's shows. He's so easy to follow. He cooks the way I do but is a bit more boisterous about his opinions There has only been two ingredients that I couldn't get ahold of -one my family said I could live without- Conger Eel and the other I was not familiar with-samphire but I do know it's a plant of sorts not indiginous to my area

I researched Gordan Ramsey after watching him on TV.I purched the book for a Christmas present for my wife who also likes to watch his shows.