July 22, 2015

Chowderland by Brooke Dojny

Chowderland: Hearty Soups & Stews with Sides & Salads to Match
My rating: 4 of 5 spoons
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I dearly love a good bowl of chowder, so I was thrilled to get a copy of this book to review. There is a nice variety of chowders included and I enjoyed the book immensely. I have made the Broccoli and Cheddar Chowder and Classic Down East Haddock Chowder so far. The Broccoli and Cheddar Chowder only called for 1/2 t salt (plus more if needed). I know it says "more if needed", but that's way too little salt to even start with for a pot of chowder containing 1 1/4 lbs of potatoes plus the broccoli, cream, etc. I had to add salt 3 times to get it seasoned enough. I also added more cheese as you could barely taste the cheese the first time around even though I was using a good, sharp cheddar. The Down East Haddock Chowder was very enjoyable, and I'm looking forward to trying more of the chowders.

I was very surprised to find no recipes for making your own stock. In the beginning of the book she says "If possible, I call for a cooking method that incorporates broth-making as part of a chowder or seafood recipe", but most of the time she just calls for bottled clam juice and/or seafood broth. I would have loved to have had some good recipes for fish, shrimp, and or seafood broth made from scratch. I think it would have really added to the book.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and will be cooking from it again. I have several recipes marked already such as Clam Fritters, Bittersweet Chocolate Pecan Tart along with more chowders.

I received a copy of this book from Storey Publishing for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.