The Ultimate Shrimp Book: More than 650 Recipes for Everyone's Favorite Seafood Prepared in Every Way Imaginable (Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

In the year 2000, Americans ate an astonishing 963 million pounds of shrimp. Bruce Weinstein's relatively slim Ultimate Shrimp Book presents 650 recipes for the titular seafood, from Shrimp à la King to XO Shrimp. Weinstein's approach is to offer "master recipes," such as those just given, followed by up to 10 "quick-take" variations for each. For example, the recipe for Shrimp Cakes is trailed by Florida-Style Shrimp Cakes, which adds lemon juice and zest; Herbed Shrimp Cakes, with parsley, thyme, and tarragon; and Louisiana-Style Shrimp Cakes, with Tabasco plus red or green pepper, and so on. Though many of the uncomplicated formulas are alluring, a number, particularly those featuring shrimp and cheese mixtures (such as a creamy dish with parmesan, blue cheese, fontina, and Asiago), have questionable appeal. However, readers will still find many worthwhile dishes to try, from old favorites, like Shrimp Rémoulade and Beer Batter Shrimp, to "newer" recipes, such as Shrimp Bengalese Stew and Szechwan Cold Garlic Shrimp. Crowd-pleasers like Shrimp Etouffée and Shrimp Paella are also covered, as are tasty shrimp snacks like Popcorn Shrimp, Shrimp Pizza, and Shrimp Tacos. With useful shrimp buying and preparation information and good notes on ingredients and equipment, the book is a handy guide to a much-loved American food. --Arthur Boehm

From Publishers Weekly

Having tackled candy, ice cream and party drinks in his three previous "Ultimate" collections, Weinstein now turns his attention to what he recognizes as the "world's most popular fresh seafood." This is a Swiss Army Knife of a book, packing at least a half-dozen cuisines and more than 650 recipes into about 250 pages. To come up with so many variations upon a single crustacean, Weinstein is not above taking some everyday foods and simply adding a handful of shrimp. Thus, there are Shrimp Pizza, Shrimp Tacos and Shrimp Bruschetta. Also, buyer beware: only about one in five recipes is a unique entry. The others are simply alterations. Take for instance the listing for Vatapa, a Brazilian stew featuring a great concoction of flavors including peanuts, coconut milk, jalape¤os and beer. As with all the main entries, a very short introduction gives the reader serving suggestions and a dash of the dish's origin. Ingredients and instructions are then presented in concise, easy-to-follow fashion. Then, five revisions of the dish are listed (other entr‚es have anywhere from three to 10), none taking more than a few brief sentences to lay out. The Double Shrimp Vatapa recipe, for instance, merely states, "Add 2 tablespoons dried shrimp with the raw shrimp." The dishes are presented in alphabetical order, so the Etouffee finds itself between the Enchiladas and the Fajitas while various stews pop up from beginning to end. Still, those who are in a hurry to find Shrimp Curry will appreciate this utilitarian approach, and those who are not will marvel at the variety that can be found within a mere eight-page spread: Lo Mein, Maki, Mole and Mousse.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow Cookbooks; 1 edition (March 19, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060934166
• ISBN-13: 978-0060934163
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #277,221 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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• This item is part of The Ultimate Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars an ultimate book in every way, June 7, 2003

By A Customer

i have made recipes from this book and unlike some of the other reviewers who haven't, i can tell you that they are spectacular. they are written in a very straightforward way and that's a good thing. they are easy to follow. and while some of the variations that follow recipes are simple, i wouldn't have thought of them myself. turning the delicious shrimp puffs into chinese shrimp puffs requires the addition of ginger, cilantro, and chili oil, while omitting the thyme and tabasco. basil and fish sauce are added to create thai shrimp puffs. yummy. and as for information, well the introduction in this book tells me more about shrimp than i ever knew. did you know that fresh shrimp are almost always frozen? and there are detailed instructions on how to peel and devein a shrimp (of different sizes) right there on page 5. i've enjoyed cooking from this book and it's one of those i keep right in my kitchen and turn to time and time again.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Massive Collection of Shrimp Recipes, May 15, 2002

By	rodboomboom (Dearborn, Michigan United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

Imagine someone who collected shrimp recipes of every nature: BBQ, boiled, steamed, in dumplings, stews, phylo wrapped, et al, and then published them in a cookbook. Further, this person with most every recipe gives options, 4 or 5 or more for each recipe.

Here is that very collection, nicely done again by Weinstein, who has did others on ice cream, candy, drinks.

Interesting options here include Shrimp ... Tamale Pie, Sweet and Sour, Stroganoff, Phyllo Pillows, Paella.

Also useful is the section on buying, preparing and storing, along with a whole section on equipment and ingredients, and sources. If you're one who has to have color photos, forget this book,none of them.

For all us shrimp consumers, this will be a great boost to shrimp consumption!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a jumbo shrimp book, August 17, 2002

By A Customer

This is a wonderful book, full of traditional and innovative recipes. I love the shrimp-y takes on classics like Diane, A la King, Fra Diavolo, and Lasagna. My family also liked the international focus--African, Chinese, Mexican, Italian, Japanese. We've even learned to make our own sushi rolls! We had a blast this summer with this book. There's nothing fancy--just solid recipes with lots of ideas for varying them endlessly. In the end, this is a book I'll come back to again and again. True, it's not a coffee table cookbook--but then, I'm not a coffee table cook.