Caribbean Cooking

DeMers's use of accessible ingredients and familiar techniques makes these recipes a boon for North American cooks. The collection merely hints at the myriad roots of Caribbean cuisine by including brief introductory material and the origins of a few dishes. Rice salad shows Indian influence, red stripe chicken comes from Jamaica and templeque is a Puerto Rican version of Spanish flan. However, most dishes are identified only as ``Caribbean.'' Soups like shrimp and banana broth or yam bisque, and an ample supply of seafood recipes, such as swordfish steaks with tomatillo sauce, snapper wrapped in callaloo, and shrimp with roasted garlic and papaya, provide their own interest regardless of national derivation. Meat-based main dishes include keshi yena (a ball of Edam cheese stuffed with seasoned chicken), roast veal with black sauce, curried goat and turkey and peppers on saffron rice. Green-banana ceviche and Mt. Diablo grilled corn, flavored with peppers and herbs, are among the side dishes. Beverages such as planter's punch and cafe trade wind also lend an exotic flavor. DeMers wrote Complete Guide to Gourmet Coffee. Photos not seen by PW. (Mar.)