Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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

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.

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!

This book is an excellent source of information for someone who loves fish and seafood and wants to prepare it someway other than deep fried or bathed in butter. Brody is somewhat of a cultist, but she likes food and she likes fish. Despite another review I read here, I did not find that she was cold and not interested in cooking or even better eating fish. I enjoyed reading the book and I have liked the several I have tried.

Last year I mentioned to my mother that I really wanted to learn to cook better, and shortly thereafter this book arrived in the mail. She had found it in a second hand store and figured it couldn't hurt. That, as it turned out, was putting it lightly!

I -love- this book. Many of the recipes are fast and easy, as well as being flavorful and healthy. There's a great variety of options, from soups to salads, broiled, baked and grilled fish and shellfish. My personal favorites are the Tilapia with Herbs and the steamed mussels.

My roommate last year swore that he couldn't stand fish, so I cooked only for myself when making these recipes. One night I made a double portion of the tilapia, intending to save one to take for lunch the next day. When I took them out of the oven, my roommate sheepishly shuffled over and asked if he could have some. I asked him what happened to the whole not liking fish part, and he said it just looked and smelled so good... He devoured it, and from then on I always made sure to have extra!

I'm not sure why people in other reviews have been so disparaging of this book. I love it, and use it constantly. My only complaint is that there are no pictures, as I like pictures in my cookbooks, but that is relatively minor in the grand scheme of things.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who is looking for good fish recipes!

This is the most marvelous SIMPLE seafood cookbook I ever had. The recipes are easy, interchangeable and delicious. If you do not have the fish that is described and you read on you will find a variety of fish that you can use for most of her recipes. This is my seafood bible!

I don't remember how or when I got this book ... But of the several dozen cookbooks I have I think this is my favorite after the standard joy of cooking.....

A friend at work shared her copy of this cookbook with me and it was so full of information I decided I needed my own copy, rather than just copy a few recipes out of hers. It lists each kind of fish, and gives a whole page of information about it. It also has a section that discusses the different cooking methods for fish in-depth. The recipes are just a bonus, and from what my friend says, they are delicious. I can't wait to start trying them.