cover image Portland Cooks: Recipes from the City’s Best Restaurants and Bars

Portland Cooks: Recipes from the City’s Best Restaurants and Bars

Danielle Centoni. Figure 1 (PGW, U.S. dist.; Raincoast, Canadian dist.), $32.95 (256p) ISBN 978-1-927958-93-3

Food writer Centoni’s first solo cookbook (she coauthored Sugar Cube) is an impressive introduction to the people, restaurants, and dishes that helped put Portland, Ore., on the culinary map. Olympia Provisions, for example, began as a charcuterie with a tiny restaurant attached but has grown to include two renowned restaurants. Its recipe for pan-roasted halibut with a shrimp, clam, and spicy Andouille sausage stew illustrates the symbiosis. Tim Healea, owner of the sleekly modern Little T Baker, experiments with wheat varieties, other grains, and milling techniques for breads such as a kamut and flint corn bread studded with raisins and rosemary. Bonnie Morales’s Russian restaurant, Kachka, has Old World décor but a “cheeky” menu that instructs patrons on how to eat like a Russian: “Step 1. Cover every square inch of your table with zakuski (snacks). Step 2. Fill everyone’s glass with the beverage of their choice (like vodka or maybe vodka).” The recipes reflect the broad scope of Portland’s foodscape, including a Thai-inspired watermelon and snakehead fish salad from Langbaan and Nordic aebleskiver with lemon curd from Broder. Aside from the occasional obscure ingredient, the recipes are mostly easily executed. This book tempts home cooks with its glorious photos and exciting recipes, and also entices them to experience the diversity, spirit, and tastiness of Portland’s eateries. (Aug.)