The Mystic Cookbook

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY MAY 21, 2018

This expansion of Kerr's 2006 Mystic Seafood goes beyond the sea with recipes for fruit, fowl, vegetables, and sweets, with mixed results. The original recipes are worth a look: Kerr's dutiful collection of classics (oysters Rockefeller, crab cakes, shrimp bisque, and various chowders), alongside must-try recipes for lobster croquettes, grilled halibut with nectarine-poblano salsa, and crab-stuffed flounder roulades, are pitch-perfect. She offers tips on eating a lobster without sacrificing one's dignity, and advises against eating certain shellfish during red tides, which can have deadly consequences for humans who source their own seafood. But Kerr's new material feels out of place and particularly autumnal: roast goose with sherry-orange glaze, venison meatloaf, baked beans, and maple walnut pie are enticing, but lend themselves to a November meal by a fire rather than a feast on the beach at the height of summer. The obvious opportunity of presenting vegetable-based sides that would complement the book's terrific seafood dishes has been missed and the segue from sea to land is abrupt. The result is a great seafood cookbook with a workmanlike addition of meat and fruit-based recipes for fall in New England.