The Seafood Cookbook: Choosing, Preparing and Savoring the Bounty of the Sea

Janet Arnett is the former campus manager of adult education at Ontario’s Georgian College. She is the author of Antiques and Collectibles: Starting Small, The Grange at Knock, and 673 Ways to Save Money.

Serious seafood cooks will appreciate this comprehensive volume. It
includes two recipes for each of 105 species of fish, shellfish,
crustaceans, and invertebrates (squid, sea urchin, etc.), recipes for
nine types of seaweed, illustrated directions for preparing fish
(filleting, skinning, cutting steaks, opening shellfish, etc.), an
illustrated guide to utensils, a section on making stocks and sauces,
information on selecting and storing fish, advice on selecting wines to
accompany seafood meals, a terminology list, and indexes by fish and by
recipe. As if that weren’t enough, for each of the 105 fish species
there’s a full-color photo of the fish, scientific name, other names
frequently used, characteristics, habitat, when and where found,
texture, cooking methods, value, comments, and cost rating ($ to $$$$$).


Each recipe includes ingredients listed in metric and imperial
measures, clear directions, prep and cooking time, number of servings,
cost rating, and at least one color photo of the prepared dish.

Grappé takes a no-compromise approach to producing haute cuisine
entrées. He doesn’t shy away from elaborate methods—definitely a
stretch for amateur cooks—or exotic ingredients. The dishes are from
fantasy land: Sand Pickerel Stuffed with Milkweed and Braised in
Cloudberry Juice; American Smelt Stuffed with Sea Urchin Mousse;
Yellowtail Flounder Gorijonnettes with Irish Moss Sauce; Burbot Fillets
with Chanterelles and Wild Watercress. Not exactly everyday fare, but
undoubtedly ideal when only the impressive will do.

The Seafood Cookbook is lavish in every way: scope, color, detail,
concept. A visual and verbal feast, it is destined to be a jewel in
cookbook collections.