The Florida Keys Cookbook
by Victoria Shearer
Summary
The cooks of the Florida Keys have been transforming local ingredients into memorable meals for generations, and now so can you: fresh from the sea stone crabs, yellowtail snapper, and sweet shrimp; fresh from the dooryard garden key limes, mangoes, avocados, and papayas. Here is a fascinating combination of food history, local lore, and mouthwatering recipes from restaurant chefs and home cooks. With more than 175 recipes, archival photographs, and engaging anecdotes, this cookbook lets you capture a taste of the Keys and celebrate its flavors in your own kitchen.
Excerpt
The Florida Keys began its metamorphosis into a desirable tourist destination in the second half of the twentieth century, when it became popular as a sportfishing destination. Fishing camps, such as writer Zane Grey’s favorite Long Key Fish Camp, offered only basic amenities. Most restaurant food serv3ed to visitors—through very fresh—was often very plain as well. But by the 1980’s, the Florida Keys emerged as a tourist-driven economy. “Strangers” had taken over the food scene, and restaurants opened up and down the Keys, featuring a “new” cuisine touted as Floribbean. Colorful, ethnic, and bursting with new flavors, it swept the nation.
Fresh tropical produce was the key ingredient in Floribbean cuisine. Ingredients and cooking styles unique to Central and South America and the islands of the Caribbean inspired tropical innovations of traditional dishes. For instance, curries became sweetly aromatic, incorporating sugar, allspice, and such local fruits as mangoes and bananas. Recipes reflected the rich cultural blend of people, ingredients, and food traditions of this new wave of settlers.
With the dawn of a new millennium, forces of man and nature once again have combined to change the complexion of the Florida Keys. Technological advances connect the Keys to the rest of the universe like never before. An unprecedented boom in tourism and settlement makes demands on fragile resources, however, threatening the ecological balance of surrounding waters while at the same time stimulating the economy.
A new wave of immigrants from Cuba, South America, the Caribbean and Europe as well as settlement by scores of retiring baby boomers has joined cultures much as did the Conchs and Cubans of yesteryear. The new cuisine that has resulted, unofficially dubbed Conchfusion, takes advantage of the increased availability of unusual ingredients from around the globe, fusing them with the bounty of the sea and the tropical jewels of the dooryard garden.
One constant remains: Just as the riches of the sea first attracted pioneers to the Florida Keys centuries ago, diversity of culture and cuisine continues to lure settlers and visitors to the watery world. But make no mistake. The sea is in charge here and always has been. As much as Human Nature plays with the islands’ future, Mother Nature still holds all the cards.
Try these Florida Keys sensations at home: Crab Claw Bisque, Rosemary Roasted Boniato Fries, Basil-Crusted Yellowtail with Herb-Tomato Sauce, Sauteed Snapper with Champagne-Tarragon Butter Sauce, Wasabi Grilled Grouper, Mama Louise’s Jerked Pork Chops, Bourbon Barbecued Baby Backs, Classic Arros con Pollo, Calamondin Cake, Key Lime Cheesecake, Tres Leches Cake.
Author's Biography
Victoria Shearer is a longtime travel and food journalist and a frequent contributor to national magazines and newspapers. She is also the author of Insiders’ Guide to Florida Keys.