Charlie Trotter's Seafood by Charlie Trotter
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Book Reviews of Charlie Trotter's Seafood
Book Review: Not a cookbook for the home cook
Summary: 3 Stars
I am sure that Charlie Trotter makes delicious food. He probably uses exquisite ingredients, and he definitely plates the food beautifully. It might even be fun to eat at his restaurant (although I think I'd rather eat at Lutece or Le Bec-Fin). But certainly you would never want to cook from this cookbook. The food is ridiculously and unnecessarily complicated. I have nothing against difficult recipes, but Trotter's seem to be complicated only for the sake of being "original." Trotter seems to be the kind ofcook who thinks that (1) the more ingredients, the better; (2) the more exotic or unusual the ingredients, the better; and (3) all those ingredients have to be listed in the title of the dish. Braised Sesame-Crusted Yearling Sweetbreads with 100-Year-Old Balsamic Glazed Shallots, Mango-Fenugreek Mayonnaise, Herbed Polenta, and Reduction of Norwegian Sea Urchin Juices. I'm just making this up, but this "recipe" could very well be in the book.
In the backof the book he has a number of recipes for "basics." This not only includes stock, vinaigrette, etc., but also Pickled Lamb's Tongues. Really. I have no problem with anybody cooking (or even pickling) lamb's tongues, but calling them a "basic" is absurd.
I actually had a Charlie Trotter-style dinner this weekend. Pan-Seared Galette of Calf Forcemeat "En Croute" with a Chiffonade of Cornichons and Spring Greens, a Triple Reduction of Spiced Tomato Concassee, and Oil-Poached Russet Potato Allumettes. It was tasty, but it would have been just as good if I called it a hamburger with French fries.
If you're thinking about buying this book, get Georges Perrier's "The Bec-Fin Recipes" instead. The food is at least as tasty (certainly more classic and harmonious), almost as beautiful, and vastly more feasible to prepare.
Book Review: Use this for ideas ... only!
Summary: 2 Stars
I can say that I am a reasonably competent home chef with an above-average knowledge of technique and most necessary equipment to get the job done. Having said that, I was impressed with the photos of nearly every featured recipe in this book and find the recipes to be admirably aggressive in their taste and texture contrasts. The recipes, however, are nearly all flawed in some significant manner in that following them verbatim will result in poor results. Even when this is not the case, I find these recipes to be "out of whack" from a taste perspective by any gastronome's standards and in need of serious tweaking. If you have good kitchen skills and seek to be inspired by the ideas in this book, then I would suggest it (USED!!) ... otherwise, there are much better cookbooks that will yield far superior results. I purchased the Charlie Trotter's Seafood and Dessert cookbooks and came to the same conclusion.
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