The New Legal Sea Foods Cookbook (Hardcover)

by Roger Berkowitz (Author), Jane Doerfer (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Proprietor of the hugely popular family-owned chain that first hooked Bostonians 50 years ago and has now grown to more than two dozen fish restaurants along the East Coast, Berkowitz and co-author Doerfer update the 1988 Legal Sea Foods Cookbook. The first 60 pages are packed with information on selecting and storing seafood, descriptions of various fish and shellfish, as well as basic cooking techniques. The emphasis throughout is on simplicity, which Berkowitz insists is what brings out the best in seafood meals. Indeed, the ease with which most recipes can be made tends to belie just how successful the dishes are. They range from such appetizers as Crab Cakes and Stuffed Grape Leaves (filled with rice, shrimp and feta) to entrees like Bluefish with Almond Tomato Sauce, Swordfish in a Rosemary Lime Sauce and Haddock Escabeche with Carrots, in which the fish is briefly fried. Other sections include Leftovers (Fish Latkes), Salads (Crab Louis), and Pasta and Rice Dishes (Pasta with Pancetta and Shrimp). Vegetables and Side Dishes include the palate-pleasing Chipotle Sweet Potato Mash and Rhode Island Johnny Cakes. Among the 20 Sauces and Coatings is a sure-fire Tartar Sauce, and one of the desserts is the unusual Mango and Strawberry Shortcake. Illustrations are by Edward Koren.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review
?Dreaming about the most joyous days of my life always brings me straight back to Boston. The two things that first come to mind are the wonderful championship days on the basketball court with the Celtics and the time spent enjoying the finest aspects of life at Legal Sea Foods. Now that I no longer live in Boston, I?m glad I can re-create some of my favorite Legal Sea Food dishes with The New Legal Sea Foods Cookbook.?
--Bill Walton, Boston Celtics 1986, Basketball Hall of Fame


?This cookbook, like Legal Sea Foods itself, is reliable, straightforward, and then full of surprises that delight around every turn.?
--Mark Kurlansky, author of Salt and Cod

?Legal Sea Foods has long set the gold standard of restaurant dining with their superbly prepared, top-quality seafood. With the publication of their newly revised cookbook, they bring many of their delicious restaurant classics to the home cook. A must for seafood lovers!?
--Nina Simonds, Asian food authority and author of A Spoonful of Ginger

?Even a fish wouldn?t get caught if he kept his mouth shut! That's an old weatherman?s expression--but I?ll never keep my mouth shut about Legal Sea Foods. Roger and his fish caught my fancy over twenty years ago. The BEST lobster rolls in the world! The cookbook is a great idea and the next best thing to dinner at a Legal Sea Foods restaurant.?
--Willard Scott, Today Show -- Review

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Broadway (May 13, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0767906918
• ISBN-13: 978-0767906913
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #273,957 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A bonanza of information and recipes, September 23, 2003

By	Lynn Harnett (Marathon, FL USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Berkowitz, owner of Legal Sea Foods and Doerfer, who coauthored the 1988 Legal Sea Foods cookbook, offer a volume packed with detailed information on choosing and cooking seafood, including health, safety and technique advice and an alphabetized guide to fish and shellfish. Clearly written recipes offer serving, presentation and variation tips and run the gamut from classics like Clam Chowder and Boiled Lobster and Baked Haddock to Stir-Fried Monkfish with Beans and Lemongrass, and Arctic Char Burritos.

The book is organized traditionally, from appetizers to dessert and includes chapters for leftovers (fish cakes, crepes, latkes and more), soups and sandwiches and sauces and coatings (Tartar, Sesame Seed Avocado, Mango Salsa, Cracker Crumb topping).

Most of the recipes are simple but innovative, like Steeped Shrimp with Fruit, Broiled Tuna with Tomatillos and Peppers, Citrus Soft-Shell Crabs. Some are luxurious - Crabmeat with Morel Mushrooms or Lobster Edgardo (with scallops, wine and cream), while others are more earthy, like Mackerel Stew, Baked Cod Parmesan, Oyster and Mushroom Casserole, and still others are just sublimely uncomplicated, like Summer Flounder in Butter Sauce or Marinated Grilled Shrimp or Seafood Seviche.

Wonderfully complete, this is a book for everyone. It assumes no knowledge, but never talks down to the reader. The design is attractive, with illustrations by Edward Koren, the advice is crisp and invaluable, and the range of dishes is extensive.

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Habeas Fishus, September 6, 2004

By	M. Allen Greenbaum (California) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Along with the Italian Food of the North End, this restaurant offered some of my favorite food on a recent vacation to Boston. Unique recipes, with delicious blends of flavors, fancy yet casual, it is a wonderful place to eat. Their slogan is the reassuring "If it isn't fresh, it isn't legal." While I'm no stranger to well made fresh seafood, the regional touches were wonderfully noticeable and appreciated.

The book beings with a brief history of the restaurant that began in Cambridge in 1968, and Legal's hints on selecting and storing fish, a fairly thorough description of fin fill and shellfish, and a briefer description of preferred basic cooking techniques at "Legal." While these section sometimes reads a bit too much like an advertisement for the restaurant, there is some fascinating "inside" consumer-friendly facts and anecdotes about selecting and preparing fish-it does show the complexities of ope4ratingf a restaurant and has a lot of good information on health-related matters (although mercury in some types of fish is not mentioned.

Recipes are easy to follow and vary in their complexity: I saw one shrimp dish with only 5 ingredients (excluding spices) and, on the facing page, one with twelve. Although there is no information on preparation time, these are often misleading without a staff of five to help you) There is a tremendous variety in the types of fish, and the courses in which they are used. In fact, there are over 200 recipes divided into appetizers, main courses, leftovers, salads, pasta and rice dishes with seafood, soups and sandwiches, vegetables and side dishes, sauces and coatings, and even fish desserts!. There are some wonderful whimsical line drawings by "The New Yorker's" Edward Koren, and a useful index. You can buy heftier and more expert-oriented fish cookbooks, but this is one of the more entertaining, creative, and useful ones. Recommended as a great gift for any afishionado.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not the recipes I'd expected..., June 10, 2007

By	Recovering Academic (USA) - See all my reviews

I lived in the Boston area for over 10 years and went to Legal's many times for quick late-night meals (clam chowder or a fish sandwich to go) as well as for more elaborate meals on special occasions. I really liked the place a lot. So when I found out they had a cookbook, I thought it would be great to replicate some of the dishes that I'd really liked at home, esp. now that I'm living on the West Coast. The names of some of the favorites were there: Crab and Artichoke Hushpuppies, Baked Scrod, etc. But when I looked closely at these recipes once I bought the book, I realized that they are NOT the dishes that they served at the restaurants. The Baked Scrod at Legal's has buttery herb breadcrumbs, yet the cookbook describes it as a dish that's scrod, baked in butter and topped with lemon (and that's it - the recipe is really, really short). The Crab and Artichoke hushpuppies recipe doesn't have artichokes in the ingredients list. I'm not sure why artichokes are listed in their name then? And I remember there being artichokes in the version I've eaten at the restaurants. The key lime pie at the restaurants is somewhat like a light, creamy key lime cheesecake with a graham cracker crust, yet the recipe in the book is the standard more jelly-like key lime pie with a standard floury pie crust. I was really confused about how they could claim in the inner flap that this was "the complete guide to buying, cooking, and enjoying seafood - with more than 200 recipes - from the restaurant that knows it best." I guess they meant that the guide was from the restaurant but not the recipes? Overall, there's lots of advice on how to select and cook seafood and I'm sure it's all very useful to people who want to know more about that, but the book didn't serve the purpose I bought it for - to replicate favorite dishes at home.