Anytime someone comes out with a new Alaskan cookbook, it's pretty much a must-have for the library. Anytime someone publishes a seafood cookbook, it's a must-have. Put those two together, and you have library gold.
Wild Alaskan Seafood: celebrated recipes from America's top chefs by James O. Fraioli is a beautiful tribute to the wide variety of seafood that comes from Alaskan waters. 25 top chefs from around the United States were asked to contribute their favorite ways to prepare salmon, halibut, crab, clams, scallops, sole, cod, etc. Because they come from varied backgrounds (such as Italy, France, and Japan) and because they have created acclaimed restaurants in several regions of the country (such as Washington, California, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and D.C), these chefs have been able to present different perspectives on Alaskan seafood.
Whether you like classic European cooking, unique Asian flavors or the exciting fusion cuisine of the West Coast, there are recipes in here that will intrigue you. In addition,
Wild Alaskan Seafood presents recipes for some of the less common ingredients: sea urchin, razor clams, octopus, sablefish and lingcod. (No recipes for dogfish, but we have a whole cookbook for that:
The Dogfish Cookbook, by Russ Mohney)
One caveat: these are award-winning, professionally-trained chefs. Their idea of 'simple recipes' and
our idea of 'simple recipes' might be a bit different. But if you're looking to be inspired and stretch yourself a little this winter as you work your way through a freezer full of oceanic goodies, this is the book for you.
