Cocktails by Flavor or Fish

Cocktails by Flavor: Over 340 Recipes to Tempt the Taste Buds

Author: Salvatore Calabres

Cocktails are all about flavor—and this is all about cocktails organized by flavor. It’s a simple idea that will quench the thirst for a useful recipe guide that makes it simple to find that watermelon martini you’re in the mood for today…or the cloudberry cooler you’ll want next week. Of course, since these luscious concoctions come from Salvatore Calabrese—one of the world’s most honored (and bestselling) mixicologists—it’s a given that they’re both reliable and irresistible. Among the tasty categories here are fruits (from apple and kiwi to pomegranate and strawberry); vegetables, including carrot and celery; herbs (rosemary, mint); and sweeteners such as honey and liqueurs. All the groups feature classics, as well as contemporary and even brand-new drinks. Calabrese also includes enlightening background essays on the flavors and their uses. Lavish illustrations, cocktail glass iconography, and the tastiest libations ever—all in a handy concealed spiral-bound format that stays open while you’re mixing—make this a must-have for every home bar.

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Fish: The Complete Guide to Buying and Cooking

Author: Mark Bittman

Fish: The Complete Guide to Buying and Cooking is a book that simplifies, once and for all, the process of preparing fish. Organized in an easy-reference, A-Z format, Fish gives you the culinary lowdown on seventy kinds of fish and shellfish commonly found in American supermarkets and fish stores. Each entry describes how the fish is sold (fillets, steaks, whole, salted), other names it goes by, how the fish should look, and buying tips. Fish begins with general guidelines on how to store, prepare, and cook fish, whether sautéing, frying, grilling, or smoking, and you will find easy-to-follow illustrations of such important basics as how to gut and fillet a fish. Fish also includes up-to-the-minute information on the health benefits of fish in our diet. In addition, there are more than five hundred recipes and variations, all of which use low-fat, high-flavor ingredients to accent the intrinsic natures of the individual fish rather than mask them. And the vast majority of the recipes are ready in less than thirty minutes.

Publishers Weekly

Bittman organizes this more than ample book into short sections devoted to individual fish: technical information on how to handle a lobster, for instance, is combined with consumer buying tips, then followed by nine recipes. Usefully, the author, executive editor of Cook's Illustrated , holds his commentary down to a sober minimum--he doesn't often opt for chat or reader entertainment. Instead, unveiling the basics about 70 fish, he provides tried-and-true fare for the table--Dungeness crab salad, marinated grilled salmon--interspersed with more unusual offerings: raw sea bass salad; curried mussels; salmon scallops with garlic confit. Anyone with decent access to a fish market will appreciate (and come to rely on) this substantial overview. Photos not seen by PW . BOMC HomeStyle Book Club alternate; Food and Wine Books selection; first serial to Self magazine. (July)

Library Journal

Here is yet another fish cookbook, but this is a particularly good one. Bittman, executive editor of Cook's Illustrated, has written a very user-friendly guide to what is still an unknown area for many home cooks. He provides more how-to illustrations than most books, along with informative but approachable descriptions on buying and preparing fish. He includes more than 70 types of fish and shellfish, organized alphabetically (no confusing subcategories here for the uninitiated); each section starts with the relevant particulars (common names, common forms, buying tips, etc.), followed by a more detailed description, ranging from several paragraphs to several pages in length. The recipes-more than 500-are simple, varied, and unintimidating. Highly recommended. [BOMC HomeStyle alternate selection; Food & Wine Books selection.]

Table of Contents:

Acknowledgments.

Preface.

Introduction.

Buying Fish.

Is Fish Good for You?

Preparing and Cooking Fish.

Basics and Staples.

Index.