The Pat Conroy Cookbook by Pat Conroy, Suzanne Williamson Pollak (2004, Hardcover)

"This book is the story of my life as it relates to the subject of food. It is my autobiography in food and meals and restaurants and countries far and near. Let me take you to a restaurant on the left bank of Paris that I found when writing The Lords of Discipline. There are meals I ate in Rome while writing The Prince of Tides that ache in my memory when I resurrect them. There is a shrimp dish I ate in an elegant English restaurant, which passed out Cuban cigars to all the gentlemen in the room after dinner, that I can taste on my palate as I write this. There is barbecue and its variations in the South, and the subject is a holy one to me. I write of truffles in the Dordogne Valley in France, cilantro in Bangkok, catfish in Alabama, scuppernong in South Carolina, Chinese food from my years in San Francisco, and white asparagus from the first meal my agent took me to in New York City. Let me tell you about the fabulous things I have eaten in my life, the story of the food I have encountered along the way.”



Pat Conroy is well known to his readers as a lover of good food, but what may surprise them is that he has had a passion for cooking for more than thirty years. It all started with a chance purchase of The Escoffier Cookbook, an unlikely and daunting introduction for the beginner. But Conroy was more than up to the task. He set out with unwavering determination to master the basics of not only French but all good cooking—stocks and dough—and, with his kitchen redolent of veal demi-glace and pâte brisée, he went on to become an accomplished cook. He mastered the dishes of his beloved South and re-created the dishes he had savored in places as far away from home as Paris, Rome, and Bangkok. From Breakfast Shrimp and Grits to Fried Baby Artichokes with Beef Marrow, from Pappardelle with Prosciutto and Chestnuts to Fava Beans with Pecorino to Mocha Macaroons, Conroy takes the reader with him on a mouthwatering tour of some of the world's great cuisines. Along for the ride is his culinary accomplice and teacher, Suzanne Williamson.

There are 100 delicious recipes in THE PAT CONROY COOKBOOK, and because it is a memoir as well as a cookbook, there are just as many stories. Stories about people, places, great meals, and a life lived large, by one of the most beloved literary figures of our time.

So begin your meal with Soupe de Poisson with Garlic Toasts and Rouille, move on to Saltimbocca with a side of Collard Greens, and finish up with Peppered Peaches—all with the incomparable Pat Conroy at your side.