McCLANE'S NORTH AMERICAN FISH COOKERY

The author of The Encyclopedia of Fish Cookery adds very little here to what he, and numerous others, have said on the subject. The 109 recipes are presented as ""regional specialties"" (though the region is seldom specified); many, however, are also all-American favorites--New England Fish Chowder, Crab Imperial, Hangtown Fry. And the more out-of-the-way dishes--Japanese Prickly Shrimp, Pate of Dungenes Crab with Sorrel, Piccata of Mako Shark-tend to call for much saucing, for herbs, spices, cheese, orange juice, cream, wine. Granted, you don't need a cookbook to broil fillets with lemon-butter. And some of the items do promise to be as tempting on the table as they look in the ""full-page, full-color' photos. But the serious cook will want to stick with Alan Davidson's exemplary North Atlantic Seafood (or other books of that caliber), and leave McClane's glossy volume to receptive coffee-tables.