By Cliff Bellamy

cbellamy@heraldsun.com; 419-6744

Squirrel Stew, Southern Grilled Catfish, and a Four-course Vegetarian Delight are a smattering of the recipes you will find in chef Sylvester Murray's cookbook, "Down Home, Coastal, Exotic and Traditional Cooking" (Infinity Publishing Company, $29.95, 677 pages).

Chef Murray, more commonly known as "Chef Sly," has been the chef at the Duke University Marine Lab for more than 30 years. He began collecting and refining recipes 30 years ago, Murray said in a phone interview from his home in Newport, N.C., in coastal Carteret County, where he grew up. His book draws on his experiences cooking for students, researchers and teachers of varying nationalities, traditions and backgrounds. "Being in an environment like that, you had to learn to adjust your menus," Murray said.

Murray said the book is really two cookbooks -- one with more traditional recipes for meat, seafood, pasta salads and other fare, and one that he titles "The Best of Gourmet Vegetarian Cuisine."

About vegetarianism, he writes: "I have always believed that good food is important, and that it should be the essential objective of any cookbook, whether it is traditional or vegetarian cookery." Cooking for vegetarians is "just another fact of food and if you work hard at it you can make it very good," he said.

For each chapter, Murray offers advice on picking the best meat, seafood or produce, and there are cooking charts and seasoning guides. The appendix includes chapters on metric measurements, commonly asked questions, and advice on dairy products.

Food preferences have changed over the years. Some customers want food that is healthy but tastes good, Murray said. "You have a lot of people who still like those beans cooked down in fatback," Murray said, adding that you will find both approaches in this cookbook.