Gulf Coast Fish: A Cookbook
America's Gulf of Mexico coastline provides boatloads of seafood to the nation despite fears of pollution and overfishing. The popularity of Louisiana's Cajun cooking and its famed blackened redfish have only increased demand. New Orleans chef Guste offers a methodical approach to cooking the wealth of fish spilling from the Gulf. He describes each species in detail, categorizing its characteristics and preferred cooking methods. Recipes take advantage of each fish's natural virtues. Nevertheless, fish adapt themselves to many treatments, so Guste cross-references other recipes in the book that also work successfully with the fish in hand. Most recipes follow Creole and Cajun traditions, but a few Mexican treatments appear as well. Regional cookbook collections will profit most from Guste's work, since many of the fish he catalogs don't frequently travel from their Gulf Coast origins.Mark Knoblauch