Jane Brody's Good Seafood Book : A Guide to Healthy Eating with More Than 200 Low-Fat Recipes [Hardcover]

Jane Brody (Author), Rick Flaste (Contributor)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 17, 1994

Jane Brody, America's authority on great food that is also good food, has written three best-selling books on healthful eating. Now, with the collaboration of Richard Flaste, she has produced another winner in this newest volume, a primer on seafood combined with a collection of delicious recipes.

In the introduction Brody notes that most of us when we were growing up knew fish in one of two incarnations—fish sticks or tuna-on-rye. What we didn't know was that seafood comes in an amazing variety of forms, that it is one of the most important and low-fat sources of dietary protein available, and that it can be cooked easily, even by "fish" novices, in an almost infinite variety of ways that are delicious and go well beyond the frozen fillets of childhood.

Part One is a comprehensive overview of seafood lore that includes chapters on how to select fish; how to clean, fillet, and store it; basic seafood cooking techniques; and full discussions of seafood safety and the overwhelming health benefits of adding fish to your diet. Part Two is a collection of some 250 recipes for hors d'oeuvres and appetizers, soups, salads, and main courses, including special sections on grilling and microwaving. Among the enticing dishes are Shrimp and Onion Pizza, Seafood Tabbouli, Orzo with Clams, Fish Tacos with Cilantro Pesto, and Oven Steamed Sea Bass with Crisp Vegetables.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Her "pectoral fins flapping with excitement," Brody (Jane Brody's Good Food Gourmet), working here with veteran Flaste, sets out to prove that seafood cookery can indeed be simple, and to overcome what she calls American "pescaphobia" in this consumer-conscious overview. Ever health-minded, she comes naturally to low-fat fish cuisine, eschewing deep-frying in her recipes; substituting nonfat or low-fat dairy products, where appropriate; and cutting down on oil as well. This is a more than usually comprehensive, conscientious and trustworthy cookbook, stocked with information not only on ways of cooking and serving fish, but on how to buy it and what equipment to use. It's enlivened, too, by Brody's easy personal touch, never hard-sell or self-conscious. What recipes are the strongest? There's the warm swordfish salad, which makes use of the microwave; the chilled corn and crab chowder; the scallop seviche. Brody, with Flaste, delivers the goods, as always. Illustrations not seen by PW.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Brody, New York Times health columnist and author of Jane Brody's Good Food Gourmet (LJ 9/15/90) and other health-conscious cookbooks, has teamed up with food writer Flaste to add her contribution to the ever-growing category of fish cookbooks. The 250 recipes are diverse and generally quite appealing, although many have long ingredients lists. Overall, this is a more sophisticated collection than some of Brody's earlier books-despite the fact that for some reason she is enamored of surimi (imitation crab made from processed fish), and purists-and other seafood lovers-will shudder at the thought of a bouillabaisse that includes it. Mark Bittman's recent Fish (LJ 6/15/94) offers more and simpler recipes as well as more information on varieties of fish and shellfish, but Brody's makes a good companion and is sure to be popular.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 592 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company; 1St Edition edition (October 17, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393036871
• ISBN-13: 978-0393036879
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 7.2 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #211,822 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #61 in Books > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Cooking by Ingredient > Meat, Poultry & Seafood > Seafood

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not-so-good Seafood Cookbook, October 4, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Jane Brody's Good Seafood Book : A Guide to Healthy Eating with More Than 200 Low-Fat Recipes (Hardcover)

What are we to make of a seafood cookbook written by someone who apparently doesn't care for seafood? Brody admits in her preface that, until she began working on this book, she was "uncomfortable" cooking fish and had a very limited repertoire; one gathers the whole experience of putting this collection together was akin to dental surgery. In her extensive general information section, which precedes the recipes, she devotes pages and pages to touting the health benefits (which she exaggerates) of seafood consumption, and warning us about safe food handling, but never breathes the faintest hint that you might eat seafood because, cooked well, it is unbelievably delicious.

The recipe collection contains some useful ones; those I've tried have been decent, although nothing to knock you out. But there's a lot here that won't do much for your palate. Brody relies heavily on industry group-developed recipes, which are just as uninspired as you might expect. She also seems to assume that her readers don't like fish any more than she does, and many of the concoctions are clearly attempts to disguise fish as something else -- burritos, pizzas (although it's perfectly possible to make a fabulous seafood pizza topping), casseroles, chili.

This is a big collection, and some of the recipes are good -- but it's a joyless book to browse through, not likely to get you fired up to cook and eat. Brody frequently mentions how low-fat a particular dish is, or that it's economical or easy to make; she almost never says that it tastes good. She includes a number of recipes for the noxious pseudo-crab imposter surimi, and never indicates that tilapia, although cheap to buy, is not a very tasty fish. She also devotes a hefty chapter to microwave cookery, the bastion of the convenience-counts-more-than-good-eating crowd.

I eat fish three or four times a week -- not as preventative medicine, but because it's delicious. I've had this book for six months, and it languishes on the shelf while I ransack other books for their relatively meagre store of seafood recipes. If you want to taste the delights of the sea, try Mark Bittman's fish cookbook, or any good ethnic cookbook from a seafaring culture (Italian, Thai, Greek). Recipes produced by people who love food, instead of viewing it as medication, are the only way to discover how good it can be. END

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Seafood Book is Great!, June 12, 2000

By 

S. Stewart "stewsuze" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Jane Brody's Good Seafood Book : A Guide to Healthy Eating with More Than 200 Low-Fat Recipes (Hardcover)

Like Wayne Scott, I don't at all agree with the other reviewer, who found Jane Brody's seafood book mechanical, or uninspired, or in any way disparaging the culinary pleasures of seafood. Brody is not writing for that seafood afficianado. Instead, she's touting the pleasures of seafood to the uninitiated--a role she also held before researching this book. She came to fish for health reasons, as so many of us have. And she gives us every reason to be glad we did! The recipes are delicious, well written, and simple. I'm thoroughly sold on it. And now I'm ready to try her other cookbooks.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Mixed feelings, July 10, 2009

By 

Living it up (Peach State) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Jane Brody's Good Seafood Book : A Guide to Healthy Eating with More Than 200 Low-Fat Recipes (Hardcover)

I have mixed feelings about this cookbook. I've owned it for years. I love seafood and am a fresh and saltwater fisherman who'll eat just about anything that comes out of the water.
That said, there are very few recipes in this book that make me want to try them with my bounty from the lake and sea. I have several good cookbooks from my native Louisiana that I continually go to for great recipes to try.
I can't put my finger on why this cookbook fails to inspire me. It has a great variety of recipes using a wide variety of seafood. It has good information, an easy-to-use layout, nice illustrations, etc. The reason this book is still on my shelf is for the USDA seafood glossary that gives a great overview of the nutritional and species information for a great variety of fish. I keep saying I'm going to cut that section out and get rid of the book, but I can't bear to mutilate any book!