Cooks' Books by Lisa Messinger

"Fish Without a Doubt: 250 Simple Seafood Recipes" by Rick Moonen and Roy Finamore (Houghton Mifflin, $35)

Have you ever seen a horror film about a trout amandine or shrimp scampi?

According to statistics, it's as if most of us have been scared in the dark by such creatures. Just as fear of public speaking is often cited as the top anxiety of a majority of people in everyday life, cooking fish or seafood is similarly ranked among fears in the kitchen.

The process seems to have sprouted many myths surrounding it, far removed from the actual simplicity of grilling a salmon steak or frying a scallop. Perhaps it's trepidation about skinning or filleting a fish (not even necessary, thanks to today's supermarkets and fish markets), removing veins from a shrimp, knowing how to select the freshest catches, or simply having a versatile variety of simple recipes easily available.

That's why books like "Fish Without a Doubt: 250 Simple Seafood Recipes" by Rick Moonen and Roy Finamore are such a catch. Moonen, a celebrated chef who has owned seafood restaurants in Las Vegas and New York City, and Finamore, an award-winning cookbook author also known for editing authors like Martha Stewart and Ina Garten to be easily accessible for home cooks, have stripped away all the mysteries of striped trout and opened up a rainbow trout of possibilities.

Much of our apprehension, say the authors, may have started in our childhood kitchens. Seafood just wasn't eaten as much then; we weren't exposed to preparing it as we might have been with fried chicken, meatloaf, steak or roast turkey. These foods, they remind us, would seem just as daunting to prepare if they weren't already cozily installed in our comfort zones.

Today, however, thanks to inventive restaurant chefs and our desires to eat healthy, seafood is a delicious fact of life. The authors delightfully fill the gaps that mom and dad may have left in your culinary education.

First, they'll take you along to shop for seafood and clue you into the best methods of storage. Then, they'll sit you at their knees as they show how to prepare it for cooking and serving. Next, it's quick explanations of cooking methods, such as poaching, steaming, boiling, grilling (stovetop and outdoors), smoking, baking, roasting, searing, sauteing and frying.

Then, goodies are divided into recipe categories: appetizers, chowders, soups, stews, salads, ceviches, gravlax, fish cakes, burgers, pasta, rice, salsas, relishes, sauces, vinaigrettes and spice mixes. There's also a chapter filled with delicious, especially compatible sides, like slaws, potato salads and cucumber salads.

To really ease into everything, perhaps you would first make a familiar accompaniment — an easy Louis dressing to serve in a salad with crab or shrimp that needs no preparation, or dishes that require no cooking, like ceviches, which are akin to citrus cocktails where the fish is "cooked" in the juice.

It is fun to pick out all the favorites you've enjoyed in restaurants and see how easy they are to prepare at home: tuna steaks, lobster or shrimp boils and clam chowder.

Success with those dishes will undoubtedly lead to wider experimentation, such as preparing tea-steamed sea bass, fennel-crusted tuna or mussels with black bean sauce.

If you are afraid of your home smelling "fishy," the authors query why cooks never "say they're afraid of cooking steak because they don't want their kitchen to smell 'beefy'?" And besides, "Fish shouldn't smell 'fishy.' If it does, it's not as fresh as it should be."

Start with this easy classic, which should simply leave behind the lovely fragrance of almonds:

TROUT AMANDINE

2 white trout fillets, skin on (see Note)

Coarse salt, to taste

Freshly ground white pepper, to taste

All-purpose flour, as needed

Vegetable oil, as needed

7 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/2 cup sliced almonds

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Juice of 1/2 lemon

Yields 2 servings.

Season trout on both sides with salt and pepper. Dust skin side lightly with flour, pat off any excess.

Heat large skillet or saute pan over medium-high heat. When pan is hot, carefully pour in some vegetable oil. Carefully add trout, floured side down; press down on fish with a spatula to set the skin. Add 1 tablespoon butter. Saute until skin is crispy and browned, about 2 minutes. Carefully turn over; saute for 30 seconds. Transfer to two dinner plates.

Melt remaining 6 tablespoons butter in the skillet. Add almonds; saute, stirring, until lightly browned. Add parsley. Turn off heat; squeeze in lemon juice. Spoon sauce over fish; serve immediately.

Note: Any trout can be substituted, as well as sole or tilefish.

LOUIS DRESSING FOR SEAFOOD SALADS

1 cup mayonnaise

2 tablespoons chili sauce

2 tablespoons heavy cream

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

4 dashes Tabasco sauce

3 dashes Worcestershire sauce

2 tablespoons minced cornichons or dill pickle

Yields 4 servings.

Combine mayonnaise, chili sauce, heavy cream and lemon juice in a bowl. Add Tabasco and Worcestershire sauces; whisk until smooth. Stir in pickle.

Refrigerate dressing for at least an hour before serving.

Lisa Messinger is a first-place winner in food writing from the Association of Food Journalists and the author of seven food books, including "Mrs. Cubbison's Best Stuffing Cookbook" and "The Sourdough Bread Bowl Cookbook." She also writes the Creators News Service "After Work Gourmet" column. To find out more about Lisa Messinger and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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