Dishes from six new cookbooks with Northwest roots: (clockwise from top left) "Adventures in Chicken," "Bitterman's Craft Salt Cooking," "Scandinavian Gatherings; From Afternoon Fika to Midsummer Feast," "Taste & Technique," "CinCin: Wood-Fired Cucina" and "Art of the Pie."
Photos by Eva Kosman (chicken), Clare Barboza (cocktail), Charity Burggraaf (meat pie), Chris Court (mushrooms), Kevin Clark Studios (garlic) and Andrew Scrivani (cranberry pie)
Locavore alert! Just in time for the most celebratory season of food, family and friends, we have recipes, serving suggestions and local wisdom from a cornucopia of cookbooks published recently in the Pacific Northwest. Our region is distinctive and bounteous in what we grow, raise and catch. Chefs and cooks well-versed in our traditions forge new, personal culinary paths and inspire us to experiment in our home kitchens.
Chicken, Pistachio and Caramelized Fennel Salad
Eva Kosmas Flores
"Adventures in Chicken” by Eva Kosmas Flores (Portland) | Chicken, Pistachio and Caramelized Fennel Salad
From a Portlander's new cookbook: Toss pistachios with caramelized fennel, tangy goat cheese and crispy-juicy roasted chicken for a scrumptious salad.
Bake this brightly flavored, nuts-optional seasonal Cranberry Pie until the crust is just golden or you see steady bubbling coming out of the vents. From "Art of the Pie" by Kate McDermott.
Andrew Scrivani
"Art of the Pie" by Kate McDermott (Port Angeles, Washington) | Cranberry Pie
The approachable new "Art of the Pie" cookbook's Olympic Peninsula author knows how to slice it for fall-winter holidays: In the Pacific Northwest, pie-baking is all about the cranberries.
Salty Dalmatian made with B&W Ice Cubes from "Bitterman's Craft Salt Cooking" by Mark Bitterman
Clare Barboza
"Bitterman's Craft Salt Cooking" by Mark Bitterman (Portland) | Salty Dalmation with B&W Ice Cubes
Serve your guests Salty Dalmatians concocted with secret ingredients, from Portlander Mark Bitterman's new craft-salt cookbook.
Whole Roasted Garlic (also used in the Baba Ganoush recipe) from "CinCin: Wood-Fired Cucina" by Andrew Richardson (Vancouver, B.C.)
Photo by Kevin Clark Studios
"CinCin: Wood-Fired Cucina" by Andrew Richardson (Vancouver, B.C.) | Whole Roasted Garlic and Baba Ganoush
Vancouver, B.C., restaurant chef Andrew Richardson's new cookbook offers fired-up Northwest flavors in these two simple recipes for versatile Whole Roasted Garlic and creamy Baba Ganoush.
This savory handpie from Melissa Bahen's "Scandinavian Gatherings" is good hot out of the oven but maybe even better after it's cooled a bit.
Charity Burggraaf
"Scandinavian Gatherings; From Afternoon Fika to Midsummer Feast” by Melissa Bahen (Eugene) | Swedish Meat Pie
Chow down plump Swedish Meat Pies, a treat any time of the year, from Melissa Bahen's all-things-Scandinavian cookbook.
Pan-Seared Wild Mushrooms with Parsley and Parmesan from "Taste & Technique" by Naomi Pomeroy of Beast restaurant in Portland
Chris Court
"Taste & Technique" by Naomi Pomeroy (Portland) | Pan-Seared Wild Mushrooms with Parsley and Parmesan
Award-winning Portland chef Naomi Pomeroy shares hard-earned know-how in her new cookbook, "Taste & Technique." Try her Pan-Seared Wild Mushrooms with Parsley and Parmesan as a hearty side.
Not every regionally significant book concerning food and drink published this year is a cookbook. Here are three that view what’s on our plates and in our glasses through different lenses:
- "My Beer Year: Adventures with Hop Farmers, Craft Brewers, Chefs, Beer Sommeliers, and Fanatical Drinkers as a Beer Master in Training" by Lucy Burningham (Roost Books)
- "Hoptopia: A World of Agriculture and Beer in Oregon's Willamette Valley" by Peter A. Kopp (University of California Press)
- "The Fish Market: Inside the Big Money Battle for the Ocean and Your Dinner Plate" by Lee van der Voo (St. Martin's Press)