cover image The Fiddlehead Cookbook: Recipes from Alaska's Most Celebrated Restaurant and Bakery

The Fiddlehead Cookbook: Recipes from Alaska's Most Celebrated Restaurant and Bakery

Susan Brook. St. Martin's Press, $22.95 (246pp) ISBN 978-0-312-06277-4

At first glance, Fiddlehead smacks of political correctness: readers are informed by its founders that the Fiddlehead restaurant, located in Juneau, Alaska, uses only organic ingredients and purchases products from socially responsible companies. But, setting propriety aside, we find food for vegetarians and carnivores. And those in the Lower 48 who think Alaskans dine on whale blubber and raw fish are in for a pleasant surprise. The Fiddlehead cooks don't confine themselves to things Alaskan; standards--shrimp scampi, eggplant parmesan--put in an appearance. The regional recipes, however, are the most intriguing. Yes, fiddlehead ferns are edible, and fiddlehead pesto sounds delicious. So does Alaskan salmon, variously prepared. Snippets of information concern everything from nagoon berries to beach asparagus. Advice and alternatives abound; directions are almost too explicit. (Even the inexperienced will know that zest is the shiny part of the peel.) A mail-order list is provided, along with a selection of the authors' favorite cookbooks. All in all, a diverting, if occasionally overwhelming, addition. (Nov.)