Pacific Northwest Wining and Dining: The People, Places, Food, and Drink of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and British Columbia

To counter the damp and dreary days of winter I surround myself with distractions that promise better days to come. At the top of my pile is Braiden Rex-Johnson's Pacific Northwest Wining and Dining. Just looking at the cover of this love letter to NW cuisine warms me. I imagine myself dining al fresco on the patio of this restaurant or a myriad of others. Then I pour over the interior pages, like a gardener pouring over a seed catalogue in winter. I indulge in the descriptions of familiar restaurants and wineries as well as intriguing new ones. I plan our next excursion into Eastern Washington or the Willamette Valley or the always promising Vancouver area, while noting the recipes from these areas that we want to make today and the wines we will want to serve with them. I smile at the quotes from favorite and unfamiliar chefs and feel as though I now know something of what makes them who they are. And then I remember another friend who I want to share this book with and I'm back online to order it. What a perfectly luscious way to wile away the winter days.

I was given this book as a gift and after sitting down with a cuppa joe and browsing through it, I feel like I've had an eye-opening close encounter with the Northwest--and I live here! With our busy lives, who has time to track down the crème de la crème of cozy inns, tucked away vineyards and to-die-for bistros? Rex-Johnson has done the work for us, with a literary roadmap of the best of the best. She entertains with quick little snippets about the lives of chefs and growers, then helps us bring the experience home with their best recipes. I've just ordered another copy to give a chef-friend, and I'm going to keep one on hand for visitors coming to the area. Whether they like to cook or not, there's gorgeous photography, a travel guide, a bit of history, and inspiration for anyone whose pulse quickens in the face of beauty, bounty and harvest.

Reading Braiden Rex-Johnson's book is like accompanying her on a culinary road trip through the Pacific Northwest - the reader is invited to journey with her as she shares her gastronomic adventures. Spending time with the region's winemakers, restaurateurs, artisan cheesemakers, chefs and grape-growers must have been enormous fun and Rex writes eloquently about them all - sharing cozy details that make us feel like we are all friends sitting down together for a relaxing meal. Each section features a winery, restaurant, cheese shop or farm and the people behind them. Rex-Johnson is as delightful in describing the interesting and quirky qualities of these people as she is in discussing the wines and recipes that accompany each featured venue. The recipes are varied and interesting, from "Dungeness Crab and Pine Nub Lasagne" adapted from Nick's Italian Cafe in McMinnville, Oregon (which Rex-Johnson suggests should be paired with a local Pinot Noir or Pinot Gris) to Blue Cheesecake from Rulo Winery in Walla Walla, Washington (pairs well with Syrah or a white, such as Sauvignon Blac or Viognier). The reader's mouth waters thoughout. This is more than a cookbook, more than a gude to eating and drinking in the Northwest; it is a sensuous buffet of the most delicious food and drink that the Northwest has to offer - along with colorful profiles of the people that have made the region such a delectable destination. I bought this book for several relatives who live in the Northwest - and I also got a copy for myself! Even though I live in Boston, I have visited the area frequently and I look forward to re-experiencing the tastes of the Northwest in my own home.

And author Braiden Rex-Johnson exalts and celebrates this rich and varied, and largely undiscovered, culinary corner of North America in this handsome and informative volume. The author leads us through the garden, kitchen and cellar of both the well-known and little-known people and enterprises that obviously rejoice in concocting revolutionary and evolutionary samples that rely on the region's fertile landscape and waters. The book's chapters are organized by city and sub-region, and centered on selected recipes and wine pairings that showcase the unique geography and cultural roots of the place. Unique and region-specific recipes such as the Nk'Mip Crisp Bread with Snake Bite Dip and Haida Eggs are interspersed with PNW slanted venerables such as Miso-crusted Sablefish and Broccoli and Oregonzola Soup. The dining notes and attendant recipes highlight acclaimed PNW institutions such as Seattle's Canlis and Vancouver Island's Sooke Harbour House, and the smaller and up and coming cafes, bistros, inns and food artisans such as the Abeja Inn and Beecher's Handmade Cheeses. (Got to try that Joel Palmer House in Dayton, OR that specializes in wild mushrooms). Regarding wine, many are familiar with the region's esteemed Columbia Valley Cabs and Syrahs, and the Willamette Valley Pinot Noirs. Ms. Rex-Johnson leads us further to taste the late harvest Rieslings of the Okanagan Valley, a plethora of white wines, the limited production potent red blends from Walla Walla, a "mouth-filling" Viognier, and even brandies and fruit-flavored wines. All the dishes are accompanied by a suggested wine paring. The beautiful photography of Jackie Johnston complements, and gives life to the places, people and food. An appendix lists Pacific Northwest Food and Wine festivals that could be the focal point of your next PNW foray. Forget about that transplanted (and expensive) oyster smothered in the bland beurre blanc you had in Las Vegas. If you live in the PNW, this book will spur you to eat local and seasonal, and celebrate with some unique preparations and proper pairings. If you live afar, Ms. Rex-Johnson will tempt you to get here by any means, and discover and sample the bounty that has become uniquely Pacific Northwest. This would definitely make a handsome and thoughtful gift.

If you live in the Northwest and love food and wine, you will certainly want "Pacific Northwest Wining & Dining" to be part of your cookbook collection. Most of us probably know Braiden Rex-Johnson from the Pike Place Market cookbooks, but with this book she branches out into the wineries of not only Washington, but also Oregon, Idaho and British Columbia. For anyone who has visited these wineries the book will bring back fond memories. For those who haven't, it will probably have you longing for a road trip. The photography is gorgeous and the recipes are simple yet elegant, and clearly written. The "Cook's Hints" accompanying most recipes will be most welcome to less experienced cooks. I love reading cookbooks, so I really appreciated the stories that accompany the recipes. They are brief yet reveal a keen ear for listening to the winemakers and chefs whose recipes are featured, and taken together they provide a kind of snapshot of wine and food in our region. I gave this book as a gift to a friend who lives in Ardsley, New York -- a long way from the Pacific Northwest. She has the Italian holiday tradition of making a seafood dinner for Christmas Eve, and is always looking for new and wonderful dishes to add to the feast. "Pacific Northwest Wining & Dining" abounds in glorious seafood recipes such as Smoked Salmon Tartare, Sea Scallops with Spiced Carrot-Dill Sauce and Miso-Crusted Sablefish with Soba Noodles and Lemongrass Broth. Other standouts range from starters such as Blue Cheesecake and Spicy Salmon Cakes with Ginger Aioli, to main courses like Tagliatelle with Balsamic Cream (!) and Cherry-Marinated Game Hens. And, dessert fiend that I am, I was pleased to find some superb desserts in a wine book, enticingly paired. I am working my way through desserts that include a perfect and elegant Dark Chocolate-Walnut Torte, a Chipotle Chocolate Cake, Citrus Yogurt Cake with Baked D'Anjou Pears and Meyer Lemon Marmalade (fabulous!), and Tarte Tatin with Cider Cream. If you have family and friends whom you have been trying to entice to come visit you, send them this book! (The list of Northwest Wine and Food Festivals at the back of the book will also help lure them.) And in the meantime, "Pacific Northwest Wining & Dining" arrives just in time for dreaming up holiday meals. What better way to celebrate the holidays with friends and family?