This twenty-fifth anniversary edition of John Shields’s classic cookbook includes additional recipes and a new chapter on Chesapeake libations. Twenty-five years ago, Chesapeake Bay Cooking with John Shields introduced the world to the regional cuisine of the Mid-Atlantic. Nominated for a James Beard Award, the book was praised for its inspiring heritage recipes and its then-revolutionary emphasis on cooking with local and seasonal ingredients. Part history lesson, part travelogue, the book captured the unique character of the Chesapeake region and its people. In this anniversary edition, John Shields combines popular classic dishes with a host of unpublished recipes from his personal archives. Readers will learn how to prepare over 200 recipes from the Mid-Atlantic region, including panfried rockfish, roast mallard, beaten biscuits, oyster fritters, and Lady Baltimore cake. Best of all, they’ll learn everything they need to know about crabs—the undisputed star of Chesapeake cuisine—featured here in mouthwatering recipes for seven different kinds of crab cakes. Extensively updated, this edition includes a new chapter on Chesapeake libations, which features Shields’s closely held recipe for his notorious Dirty Gertie, an authentic Chesapeake-style Bloody Mary.

This guide to the Chesapeake Bay crab culture includes dozens of recipes, a history of Bay crabs, and illustrated instructions on buying and cleaning the popular crustacean. As the main ingredient in chowders, pastas, and appetizers, the taste of blue crab is part of life in the Chesapeake Bay area, a region steeped in crab culture. Home to the oldest commercial fishing industries in the country, it provides approximately one-third of the crabs consumed in the United States. Not only does this compilation of crab heritage contain tips on how to steam a crab without losing the claws, it is also a useful tool to take to the docks or market. A handy glossary helps readers tell the difference between a Jimmy and a Sally, not to mention a jumbo and a swamp dog. After listings of themed festivals and museum profiles early in the book, hearty recipes fill the pages with Crab Spring Rolls, Roasted Corn and Crab Chowder, Deviled Crab-Filled Crepes, and many more culinary delights.

Shields has rediscovered the pleasures of a great regional cuisine with this rich celebration of the bounty of the Bay. Contains over 200 recipes, from Maryland crab soup and sweet corn pudding to Lady Baltimore cake and shoofly pie. 25 photographs and illustrations.

Fresh and simple recipes that celebrate the bounty of the Chesapeake Bay region—and protect its environment—from a renowned Maryland chef. Captain John Smith, upon entering the Chesapeake, wrote in his diaries that the fish were so plentiful “we attempted to catch them with a frying pan.” That method sums up classic Chesapeake cooking?fresh and simple. In The New Chesapeake Kitchen, celebrated chef John Shields takes the best of what grows, swims, or grazes in the Bay’s watershed and prepares it simply, letting the pure flavors shine through. Honoring the farmers, watermen, butchers, cheese makers, and foragers who make the food movement around the Chesapeake Bay watershed possible, along with the environmental and food organizations working to restore the Bay, the land, and food security, Shields promotes a healthy locavore diet and a holistic view of community foodways. This scrumptious book, with beautiful full-color images by former Baltimore Sun Magazine photographer David W. Harp, urges readers to choose local, seasonal ingredients. Presenting what he dubs “Bay- and body-friendly food,” Shields advocates for a plant-forward and sustainable diet. He presents creative and healthy choices, including one-pot recipes like Fishing Creek Seafood Chili, Old Line Veggie Creole Oyster Stew, and Spring Pea Soup with Tarragon-Truffle Oil. Also included are directions for canning, preserving, and fermenting. Shields offers many vegan- and vegetarian-friendly options, as well as innovative takes on Chesapeake classics. You’ll find dozens of delicious dishes, from Aunt Bessie’s Crab Pudding and Hutzler’s Cheese Bread to “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Crab” Cakes, Blue Cat Seafood Hash, and an array of savory soups, braised meats, luscious desserts, and green breakfast smoothies?even recipes for a locavore cocktail party!