Weird cookbooks

Originally published in the Ketchikan Daily News, February 2012; written by Lisa Pearson.

Of all the hundreds of cookbooks we have at the Ketchikan Public Library, my favorite would have to be “The Dogfish Cookbook” by Russ Mohney. It’s not that I’ve ever cooked dogfish; I dissected too many formaldehyde-laden specimens in college to ever eat a piece willingly. But I think that an entire collection of recipes devoted to making something so unappetizing palatable represents the best aspect of cooking: alchemy. A truly good cook feels that they can take any ingredient and make something delicious. A truly good cook is an optimist, and we have plenty of cookbooks for the Optimistic Chef.

“Lobscouse & Spotted Dog” by Anne C. Grossman and Linda G. Thomas is a cook’s companion to the popular Patrick O’Brian nautical adventure series (such as “Master and Commander”). The British Navy never comes across as a source of culinary wisdom in any of O’Brian’s books, but when you actually look at the ingredients that early 19th-century galley cooks had to work with, you have to be impressed at what they put together. Suet, weevil-infested flour, sugar and 12 oz. of jam are pounded and boiled into a concoction called ‘Jam Roly-poly’ which serves 12-16 hungry sailors. ‘Soused Hog’s-face’ is basically a boiled, pickled pig’s head, but it’s a particular favorite of Jack Aubrey. The recipes for the on-shore meals are much more appetizing and would be a fun experiment for fans of Regency period literature.

With “Pressure Perfect”, author Lorna Sass takes perfectly reasonable ingredients and hastens them into a meal using a pressure cooker. Almost every home in town has one of these ugly metal appliances, because it’s darn hard to can fish without one. But using it to cook a meatloaf with mashed potatoes in 10 minutes? Osso bucco with white beans in 28 minutes? How about lemon cheesecake in 15 minutes? Sass gives cooks all the tips and tricks they need to coax a delicious meal out of something that usually spends most of the year gathering dust in the pantry. Apparently, this is not your Gramma’s pressure-cooker.

If you’re looking for another cooking challenge, you can always try trail cooking. How do you balance the need to travel light with a desire to eat well? “Simple Foods for the Pack” by Claudia Axcell, Vikki Kath and Diana Cooke will help gourmand hikers move past protein bars and gorp. Dried berries, powdered dairy, protein-packed grains and concentrated herb pastes can help jazz up the flavor of a camp meal, as well as provide the nutrients necessary for an active day of hiking. With a little prep work and planning at home, you can make dishes like Thai Crab Cakes, Apple Crisp, Potato Cakes or Lentil Tomato Soup when you’re at your campsite. After all, you’re supposed to be enjoying yourself when you’re out on the trail.

Author Erin Chase makes two appealing promises: that you can cook a meal your whole family will eat, and that you can do it for less than five bucks. “The $5 Dinner Mom Cookbook” relies heavily on meal planning, coupon cutting and bulk purchasing of sale items – especially meat – to keep costs low. A lot of the recipes are pretty standard Betty Crocker fare, although Chase seems to have an odd idea of what my kids will eat (Lemon Dill Catfish? Not a chance). She apparently lives in the state of Low Store Prices (When was the last time you paid .99¢ a pound for chicken breast? ). But hey, she’s not being unrealistic; she’s being optimistic, and I love that in a cook!

“Substituting Ingredients” by Becky Sue Epstein and Hilary Dole Klein is a very clever reference tool that is particularly well suited to Alaskan kitchens. For all those times that you have a recipe you are dying to try, but there is one ingredient you can’t get because the barge hasn’t come in (or you can’t get into town), this is the book to use. If you don’t have brown sugar, use white sugar with a little molasses. Substitute turmeric and red pepper for paprika. Make your own five spice powder or Harissa sauce. If you don’t have cactus, use okra. Epstein and Klein even have tips on how to fix a dish when you’ve added too much salt, garlic, fat or spice. Just because you’re an optimist doesn’t mean you like to eat mistakes. And don’t worry, there is no substitute for dogfish.