The Williams-Sonoma Collection: Fish [Hardcover]

Shirley King (Author), Chuck Williams (Editor)

Book Description

Series: Williams Sonoma Collection | Publication Date: May 21, 2002

From delicate fillets of sole sauced with butter and lemon to flavorful salmon paired with apple and fennel, the variety of fish dishes is nearly endless. And even with so many different ways to prepare it -- sautéed on the stove top, braised in the oven, or grilled over an open fire -- the fresh, clean taste and delicate texture of fish always shine through. Quick and easy to cook, fish is an excellent choice for any occasion.

Williams-Sonoma Collection Fish offers more than 40 recipes, including classic fare as well as exciting new ideas. Inside, you'll find simple dishes for quick suppers, intriguing recipes for serving guests, and hearty main courses for satisfying meals. There's even a chapter devoted entirely to other seafood besides fish, including scallops, shrimp, and lobster, rounding out the delicious array of choices.

Full-color photographs of each recipe make it easy to decide which to prepare, and each dish is accompanied by a photographic side note that highlights a key ingredient or cooking technique, making Fish much more than just a simple collection of recipes. An informative basics section and extensive glossary fill in everything you need to know to add delicious fish to your cooking repertoire.

Lean, healthful, and quick to cook, fish plays an important role in the modern kitchen. Whether you are in the mood for salmon on the grill, traditional trout amandine, or a rustic bouillabaisse, there is always a distinctive and delicious way to prepare any type of fish.

Williams-Sonoma Collection Fish offers more than 40 easy-to-follow recipes, including both familiar classics and tempting new ideas. In these pages, you'll find appealing fish dishes for any occasion -- from a casual weeknight supper to a more formal affair. This beautifully photographed, full-color recipe collection will quickly become an essential addition to your kitchen bookshelf.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Chuck Williams One of the most appealing ways to eat healthfully is to eat fish. Turn to any recipe in this cookbook, and enjoy.

About the Author

Shirley King has spent more than 30 years in the food business as a chef, teacher, restaurant consultant, and writer, and is regarded as one of the foremost authorities on fish cookery in the United States. She is author of Fish: The Basics and Saucing the Fish, among other titles, and was a contributor to the new Joy of Cooking. Ms. King lives in New York City.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 120 pages
• Publisher: Free Press (May 21, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743226402
• ISBN-13: 978-0743226400
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 8.7 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #147,645 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #41 in Books > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Cooking by Ingredient > Meat, Poultry & Seafood > Seafood

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

56 of 56 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent basic fish cookbook, December 7, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: The Williams-Sonoma Collection: Fish (Hardcover)

I took the Williams-Sonoma "Fish" cookbook out from my local library and was fairly impressed with it. I have a number of seafood cookbooks in my personal collection, but there are several things I really like about this book. First off, though the book is not large, it covers all the essential seafood recipes, such as gravlax, bouillabaisse, chowder, paella, crabcakes, boiled lobster, fish and chips, sole in lemon-butter sauce, etc. Rest assured, the book contains at least one good recipe for every major type of fish or shellfish, so it is a good basic reference to have. Every recipe features a photo of the completed dish on the opposite page, often featuring a very nice presentation. Most importantly, and something that is lacking in far too many cookbooks: the recipes are laid out on the page in a very clear and organized fashion. A list of the ingredients is on the left, the recipe instructions are in the middle, and a small photo with notes is on the right. There are also helpful hints and serving tips at the bottom of the page. This makes it very easy to size up the recipes and take them on. Also included at the back of the book are tips on selecting and cleaning fish, advice on different cooking methods, and a glossary covering attributes of different fish species. Whether you're a beginner cook or an experienced amateur such as myself, this book will improve your knowledge and technique of fish cookery.

46 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Eating more healthfully with fish?, April 29, 2005

By 

Mary Whipple (New England) - See all my reviews
(COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Williams-Sonoma Collection: Fish (Hardcover)

For those looking to eat more fish and less meat for health reasons, such as the need to reduce saturated fats in the diet, this cookbook offers some wonderful recipes prepared in a variety of ways--using the grill, broiler, oven, soup pot, and frying pan. The recipes use a wide variety of fish and shellfish, including suggested alternatives for some of the more esoteric choices (monkfish, pompano, skate) not always available away from the coast. Recipes range from "simple suppers" to fancier, special occasion preparations, and each recipe is accompanied by an attractive full-page photo of a beautiful presentation.

Cooks looking for a complex blend of flavors to set off the fish (especially in sauces) will find that many of these recipes depend instead on only one or two ingredients for their primary flavors--a red snapper recipe is flavored with rosemary and pernod, cod flavored with vegetables and basil, and skate with brown butter and lemon juice. Those who enjoy fruit with their fish may enjoy the halibut with oranges and molasses, salmon with fennel and apple salsa, and salmon with a sauce of mango juice.

Many of the recipes show elaborate presentations--oven-poached whole salmon covered with 1/16" slices of English cucumbers, and orange roughy with 1/8" zucchini slices, easy to do if you have a food processor but a bit fussy to assemble. The halibut fillet en papillote can be prepared ahead, so the "fuss" is done before the guests arrive. Those who plan to cook fish on the grill will need to plan for split-second timing of the grilling and the presentation, and to be sure to have the correct implements for turning the fish to avoid shredding it on the hot grill, a reason many people avoid grilling fish for guests.

Those on low fat diets need to be aware that several of these recipes call for high-fat cooking and sauces--fillets of sole meuniere calls for 6 T. of butter, trout amandine for 4 T. of butter and 4 T. olive oil, the skate with brown butter sauce for 8 T. butter, the striped bass in green curry for 14 oz. of coconut milk (very high in saturated fat), and the New England fish chowder for 1 c. half-and-half and 1 ˝ c. of whole milk. Still the selection of forty-two recipes, both fish and shellfish, offers many new ideas for the cook who needs inspiration, and some recipes can be adapted to lower fat cooking.

Note: Williams Sonoma has an earlier Fish cookbook by Joyce Esersky Goldstein, available Used. The recipes in the Goldstein edition are heartier in flavor and less fussy in preparation and presentation. Mary Whipple

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Lacking in Fresh Water Fish, December 23, 2009

By 

Natalie (Phoenix, AZ) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Williams-Sonoma Collection: Fish (Hardcover)

I have quite a few of these Williams-Sonoma cookbooks in my collection, which are all wonderful and I constantly use them. This Fish book was purchased without looking through it. Although it has many great recipes, illustrations, and all those classic sea fish dishes I love like Bouillabaisse, I found it lacking in the fresh water fish dishes such as salmon, trout, and wall eye. There are some in there, but not as much variety. If you don't live near the ocean I'm not sure how handy this book will be as sea food becomes costly the further away you live from salt waters. I plan on getting creative and changing out the fish illustrated for fresh water, which should help get more use out of this book.