The Great American Seafood Cookbook

Susan Loomis is one of those rare cooks who likes the people she meets and the research she does as much as the food she makes, making her a delight to read from and cook from. -BARBARA KAFKA

An enthusiastic cook teaches the art and science of seafood cookery. All the necessary preparatory steps are here-from how to choose the best at market to how to scale and clean, steak or fillet, shuck or shell. Advice on storage and home-freezing tells how to keep fish and shellfish sparkling fresh.

Detailed, easy-to-use techniques take the intimidation out of seafood cooking and prevent once and for all its two common problems: undercooking and overcooking.

Learn how to broil and grill superbly; saute and fry to greaseless perfection; poach, steam, braise, and bake with flair. Put a soul-satisfying chowder on top of the stove or bring a delicious and healthful seafood salad to a picnic.

And if nothing but Tuna with 40 Cloves of Garlic will do-and the fishmonger just sold his last tuna steak-an encyclopedic lexicon offers just the right substitute.

Selected Recipes From THE GREAT AMERICAN SEAFOOD COOKBOOK

Mussels in Balsamic Vinaigrette

Purslane and Smoked Trout Salad

Monkfish and Corn Chowder

Curried Scallops

Alvin Folse's Crawfish Boil

Alaska Spot Prawns with Lime Juice and Ginger

Rosemary Grilled Swordfish Kebobs

Salmon Piroghi from Alaska

Grilled Aweo-Weo with Garlic

Sotterly Oyster Pie

Orange Cake with Marmalade Fool

"A delicious book for true ichthyophiles; Susan Loomis has caught the essence of seafood cookery." -A.J. McClane, The Encyclopedia of Fish

For health, for variety, for flavor, seafood is the choice for an ever-increasing number of Americans. And this book is the seafood-lover's bible, featuring over 250 innovative and exciting recipes from homey fried clams to Aromatic Portuguese Hake to Salmon with Roasted Tomatoes and Garlic Cream; instructions on checking for freshness; clearly illustrated directions for fundamentals such as cleaning, skinning, and filleting fish; and step-by-step explanations of basic cooking methods that any beginner can follow.

While writing the book, the author spent a lot of time with the people who make their livings from American waters, and her book is filled with their voices. With information, recipes, and thoughtful digressions about fish and the people who harvest them, plus a lexicon describing hundreds of species of edible sea creatures, The Great American Seafood Cookbook is a must for every seafood lover. Selection of the Better Homes & Gardens Family Book Service and Quality Paperback Book Club, and main selection of the Book-of-the-Month Homestyle Club. 130,000 copies in print.

Susan Herrmann Loomis is a European-based food writer whose work appears regularly in The New York Times; she also writes a weekly column for Conde Nast's epicurious.com. Her other books include Italian Farmhouse Cookbook, French Farmhouse Cookbook, Farmhouse Cookbook, and Clam Bakes & Fish Fries.

Introduction

From Sea to Shining Sea

Part One

BEFORE YOU BEGIN

Chapter 1

QUALITY SEAFOOD & HOW TO CHOOSE IT

Portion Sizes

Tasty Neighbors

Seafood Contaminants

Categorizing Crabmeat

Canned Fish Tip

What About Prawns?

Edible Flowers

Aquafarming

Freezing Tips

What About Lingering Odors?

Chapter 2

PREPARING SEAFOOD

Seafood: The Inside Story

Code Words for Fish

Oyster Tips

Raw Fish

I Say Crayfish, You Say Crawfish

Some Basic Seafood Cooking Rules

A Bone in Your Throat

Fish School

Part Two

THE RECIPES AND LEXICON

Chapter 3

STARTERS, SALADS, PICKLES & THINGS

The Fulton Fish Market

Shrimp Boats

Pink and Spiny Scallops

Chapter 4

CHOWDERS, SOUPS & STEWS

Seafood Auctions

Wisconsin Fish Boil

Chapter 5

THE SHELLFISH GANG

Abandoned Farm Mussels

A Little Story About Lobster

What Is Surimi, Anyway

A Louisiana Crawfish Boil

Chapter 6

SEAFOOD ON THE GRILL

Traditional Northwest Salmon

Barbecuing Tips

Chicago Wholesale Fish Markets

Sapelo Island Mullet

Chapter 7

IN THE OVEN

Wild Louisiana Catfish

Fishing for Mullet

Chapter 8

ON THE STOVE OR THEREABOUTS

Fishing in Alaska

Fishing in Chicago

The Story of the Too-Fresh Fish

Chapter 9

ACCOMPANIMENTS

Northwest Crayfish

LEXICON

Farmed Atlantic Salmon

Hawaiian Deep Sea Fish

Common Hawaiian Fish

What's in a Name?

Oysters with No Sex Appeal

Other New Zealand Fish to Look for

Name That Shrimp

Trash Fish

Helpful Bivalves

Northwest Oysters

When Is a Sardine Not a Sardine? When it's a Herring

Fishing for Herring Roe

Eggs on Eggs?

Oyster Primer

Wild Shrimp

Sardine Saying

From Sturgeon Roe to Caviar

Tuna on Terminal Island

INDEX

A Long Island Bonnacker