I love this book. It’s big, colorful and a great coffee table accessory.  An extensive cookbook saturated with love for the Keys, this book also shows an eye for informative, low-key illustration using historical photos in ingredients sections like “The Dooryard Garden,” which notes that home gardens were, for much of Keys history, the main source of fresh produce because of local soil conditions and infrastructural isolation from the mainland.

Faithful to Key West perspective on food, the drink section comes first. First in that section is Calomondin Brandy (Vodka with Calomondin oranges).  If you feel weary to lookup what the heck a Calomondin is, fear not. Each recipe has a sidebar section explaining ingredients, history, or offering charming trivia relevant to the dish.  A common them in these informative snippets are the challenges Keys residents traditionally faced in obtaining ingredients plentiful on the mainland and ethnic origins of dishes and ingredients imported from nearby islands or faraway realms.

This book, in short, will make you an expert in “Conchfusion” cuisine, without ever visiting.

The Florida Keys Cookbook:
Recipes and Foodways of Paradise, Author: Victoria Shearer