I honestly don’t set out to pan books, and since I myself select all of the books that I review, it’s not too often that I give an out and out negative review. But this cookbook roundup is mostly all duds. Lately I’d been having a hankering for “barbecued” shrimp and one of Ron’s old cookbooks (The Legends Of Louisiana Cookbook–out of print and largely unavailable; no great loss) has been sitting on the couch for several weeks, the book open to the barbecued shrimp recipe. Until finally Ron picked up four pounds of frozen shrimp and a few other ingredients and Sunday night after work we enjoyed the garlicky, buttery, shrimp-y goodness. (And deeply regretted forgetting to buy French bread when we were at the store, all the better to soak up that wonderful sauce.) So I was in a seafood bliss kind of zone when I set out to read Fish Without A Doubt, a new 2008 large hardcover cookbook by Rick Moonen and Roy Finamore.
Back in June I reviewed Fish Forever by Paul Johnson. While the current volume is equivalent in scope to Johnson’s book, it is considerably less well organized. And while there is some mention of sustainable fishery issues, and most recipes provide a list of substitute seafoods that will work equally well, there is honestly very minimal attention given to the probems of over-fishing and sustainability, which in my considered opinion make it considerably less useful as a kitchen resource. While the recipes and instructions are competent and reasonably well written, this volume is clearly an Also Ran in the fishbook contest. Buy now $25
I was honestly quite intrigued by the title promise of Dinner At Your Door. Subtitled tips and recipes for starting a neighborhood cooking co-op, this slim twenty dollar trade paperback relates the three co-authors history of creating and maintaing co-ops in which three, four or five families each agree to be responsible for feeding each other one night per week. The authors state that this can be very freeing in terms of giving each cook more time every night except one and that with only having to shop for one meal out of 3, 4 or 5, the same food budget will allow you to buy splurge level ingredients. And the 100 or so pages of included recipes are intended to introduce you to cooking in group sized quantities. While I found the idea quite intriguing, I was not especially impressed with the organizational suggestions, nor with the recipes. Not Recommended. Buy Now $13.50
