Cooking with Beer: Favourites of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Janet Collins is a freelance writer in Sechelt, British Columbia.

Screech may be the beverage most synonymous with Newfoundland, but the suds produced by the Quidi Vidi Brewery have given those with a thirst for hop-based drink something to savour as well. Renowned Newfoundland chef Gerry Crewe used Quidi Vidi’s finest brews as inspiration for the recipes in this cookbook, many of which are based on fare that is popular on “The Rock.”

The book includes everything from beer-based cocktails to salads seasoned with beer dressings as well as soups, mains, and even desserts all made with some amount of the golden nectar. No highbrow hash this, but good, honest grub. Needless to say, fish recipes get ample space, but so do regional favourites such as seal flipper pastries and moose and brewis.

Crewe adds cooking hints and trivia to many of the recipes. Some also include explanations of less-common culinary terms (e.g., concasse as used to describe how the tomatoes should be prepared for Eric’s Chasseur), which make the meager glossary at the back of the book seem like an afterthought or simple page-filler.

Crewe’s experience as a chef instructor is apparent in the number of safety tips found throughout the book as well as the inclusion of charts of recommended safe cooking temperatures, and lists of safety and sanitation rules.

Instructions regarding the best way to clean a squid will certainly help those less familiar with handling that fresh seafood, but cooks living off-island could benefit from clearer tips for handling other exotic ingredients. (Perhaps better phrasing would have solved the issue. The same could be said of the disconnect between the “chef’s hint” for removing fat from a seal flipper and the rest of the instructions for that flipper pastry recipe. This should be more than a mere “hint.” Trust this reviewer when she says you really do want to remove as much fat as possible because flippers are very, very greasy. Too much fat covers the delicious flavour of the meat.)

The book is sure to be enjoyed by beer-loving cooks across the country.