Fish Without a Doubt: The Cook's Essential Companion

I’d been eyeing off this cookbook for over a year and finally pulled the trigger. So, so glad I did and a bit mad at myself for not buying it sooner. I have a few other good seafood cookbooks and we cook seafood once or twice a week but nothing compares to the joy of these recipes. The recipes are not simple but if you enjoy cooking and want to produce a variety of dishes that are perfectly balanced with complex out of this world flavors like the sort of dish you’d get at a top notch seafood restaurant, then this book is for you. A big thank you to chef Rick Moonen for sharing his secrets with us.

This hefty book has all you need to know to cook fish and shellfish. The recipes are clear and descriptive. I like that the authors help you "see" with their words, as in this advice from Oyster Stew: "Cook just until the edges of the oysters curl; they'll look like ruffled petticoats."As a relatively inexperienced fish cook, I appreciated the section up front called Preparing Fish and Shellfish for Cooking and Serving. It's a step-by-step guide, fully illustrated with black and white photos, showing how to clean and filet a round fish, shell and devein shrimp, prep scallops, clean squid, shuck clams and oysters and prepare lobster.The cookbook missed the fifth star because of the lack of nutritional information for each recipe, and for too few photos. The 41 color images included are luscious.Under the dust jacket is a cover that has the same art except for the reviews on the back cover.Some other good new cookbooks:  Hungry Girl , Deceptively Delicious  and  The Most Decadent Diet Ever! .Here's the chapter list:INTRODUCTION1. Fish and Health2. Sustainable SeafoodTHE BASICS3. Is It Cooked?4. The Fish Cook's Kitchen5. Preparing Fish and Shellfish for Cooking and Serving6. Shopping for Fish7. Storing Fish and Shellfish8. Notes on the Fish in This BookLET'S COOK9. Poaching10. Steaming and Boiling11. Broiling12. Grilling -- Stovetop and Outdoor -- and Smoking13. Baking and Roasting14. Searing and Sautéing15. Frying16. Shellfish Appetizers and First Courses17. Chowders, Soups and Stews18. Salads, Ceviches and Gravlax19. Fish Cakes and Burgers20. Pasta and Rice21. Salsas and Relishes22. Sauces, Vinaigrettes and Spice Mixes23. Essential Sides

There are many reasons to purchase Top Chef Master Contestant Rick Moonen's book, "Fish Without a Doubt," but it's all worth the cost. Anyway, Rick Moonen is a world known seafood chef with his restaurant base at the Mandalay Bay Casino and Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada.Rick shares his recipes and helpful hints about cooking, serving, and even cutting fish for his readers. There are pages in this cookbook that show detailed cutting styles of certain fish. He also gives helpful hints about purchasing at your seafood market or the seafood department at your local supermarket.Anyway, Rick shares hundreds of recipes for his readers. I wished that he had placed a photograph for each recipe but the book is still a first rate, expert and well-designed book for those afraid of cooking and serving fish or those chefs who want to do something different with their catch of the day. Each page has a recipe with suggestions for substitutions as well.In the beginning of the book, Rick explains about the process of buying, preparing, and cooking fish with gradual information in case. Practice makes perfect in cooking fish. Don't be surprised if you make mistakes along the way. If you wanted the ideal seafood cookbook, this is it and his name is Rick Moonen.

Cooking fish has always been a bit intimidating to me. However, I felt it was time to branch out from the boring fish "recipes" I have cooked in the past (bread and fry, snore). So far, I have tried several of the recipes, and they have turned out very well! My two favorites so far are the Almond Crusted Barramundi (I used swordfish) and the Sauteed Salmon with Moroccan Spices. The flavors have been excellent, but these are not easy-peasy, super quick recipes... a lot of the recipes seem to require making spice rubs, from-scratch dressings, and so on. I enjoy this kind of cooking, but don't always have the time to create a spice rub prior to starting the actual recipe. If you have the time, though, you'll end up with a meal that is out of this world! I am definitely going to use the Moroccan Spice tomato sauce for other dishes in the future... it was amazing. I am going to keep creating special meals from this cook book for years to come.

This book was described to me as being for people who are very uncertain of cooking fish at home, so I wasn't sure how useful it would be for a family that already cooks fish relatively frequently. The answer: it's a great cookbook regardless of your comfort level with fish because of the varied recipes and how tasty the results are. The sauces, marinades, and spice combinations are different than I've seen elsewhere and the results have made us go back for more. Our favorite so far is a bizarre-sounding ceviche with Asian ingredients like fish sauce and hoisin sauce. My husband, who loves Mexican-style ceviche, said, "We're making that?" and afterwards said, "We're making that again!" One feature we like is how the recipes call for a particular fish but have a section labeled "Accept Substitutes" that suggests other fish or shellfish that will work equally well. That gives us latitude when shopping. As another reviewer mentioned, some of the best recipes are for things that go *with* the fish. We loved a tomatillo salsa that we made along with some grilled shrimp and squid.

It's a book.

First a disclaimer: I am a vegetarian and have never tasted the recipes from this book.I bought this book to learn to cook fish for my significant other. The recipes are simple and there is an extensive guide at the beginning of the book detailing how to pick/buy fish, cleaning fish etc.This book is great for someone who has no experience cooking fish (or meal) like me, but would also be a good resource for a more experienced cook. There are a huge number of recipes here, with something to flatter nearly every fish I can think of (though I am no expert). Most recipes offer suggestions for fish substitutions which is very useful if you buy the fish before settling on a recipe. My significant other has enjoyed every attempt from this book.Consistent results - I would buy again!

Very useful book