Amy Jones, Ensemble Contributor
Here in the Northwest, we’re surrounded by some of the most delicious, abundant, and freshest ingredients ever to grace a table. Here are a few indispensable cookbooks to inspire your next meal, or to gift to someone you hope will make it for you.
The Northwest Essentials Cookbook by Greg Atkinson
The award-winning chef offers 150 recipes using culinary treasures – wild salmon, sweet hazelnuts, crisp apples, berries, mint, spot prawns, and more – that define the region, along with tips on which oysters stand up to cooking, which apples make the best pies, and more ways to use cherries than you ever imagined.
Good Fish: 100 Sustainable Seafood Recipes from the Pacific Coast by Becky Selengut
Our proximity to fresh seafood is one of the most delicious parts of living here. This is the bible of shopping for and cooking crab, wild salmon, clams, mussels, scallops, shrimp, Pacific halibut, black cod, lingcod, Arctic char, rainbow trout, mahimahi, wahoo, albacore tuna, sardines, squid, and caviar.
PNW Veg: 100 Vegetable Recipes Inspired by the Pacific Northwest by Kim O’Donnel
These 100 delicious vegetable-forward weeknight meals, snacks and desserts will tempt omnivores and vegetarians alike with dishes including Sunchoke-Potato Crisp, Sweet Corn and Red Lentil Soup, Barbecue-Braised Collards and Chickpeas, Huckleberry Polenta Cake and Stinging Nettle Pesto Pasta. O’Donnel provides plenty of tasty gluten- and dairy-free options, too.
Seattle Cooks: Signature Recipes from the City's Best Chefs and Bartenders by Julien Perry
Bring your favorite dishes home with 80 signature dishes from 40 top Seattle dining spots including Jerry Traunfeld's famous Herbfarm eggplant fries, RockCreek's octopus salad, Dahlia Lounge’s Dungeness crab cakes, Revel’s kalua pork belly, Tavolàta’s hamachi crudo and E. Smith Mercantile’s smoky martini.
From local authors:
Wine Food: New Adventures in Drinking and Cooking by Dana Frank and Andrea Slonecker
A must-own for wine enthusiasts, this pairing of 75 wine styles (along with where and who to buy from) and 75 recipes that complement them perfectly allows you to learn just by drinking – and eating. You’ll find flavor cheat sheets, tips on tasting like a pro, and the best pairings for everything from pasta and takeout to picnics, brunch, and sweets.
Let's Stay In: More than 120 Recipes to Nourish the People You Love by Ashley Rodriguez
Known for her focus on hospitality and family gatherings, Rodriguez provides memorable, cozy, and often surprising options for every meal of the day: Try Red Lentil and Chickpea Stew with Poached Eggs or Spiced Raisin Scones for breakfast, Zucchini, Gruyere and Basil Quesadillas for lunch, and Steak Tacos with Radish and Pickled Onions or Grilled Leg of Lamb with Green Sauce for a hearty dinner.
Modern French Pastry: Innovative Techniques, Tools and Design by Cheryl Wakerhauser
And for dessert… This isn’t your classic tart tatins and opera cakes, but 41 original recipes from the award-winning chef that combine bold flavors and textures into stunning desserts that give Northwest fruits and cheeses the glory they deserve.
