Outstanding Food, Great Cookbook!
Rating:
5 / 5
I have owned my copy of Seattle Kitchen for over a year now, as do two of the other families on our block. We regularly get together for dinner parties and inevitably, one of Tom Douglas' dishes shows up on the menu. Although many if not most of the recipes are time-consuming (much chopping, sauteeing, carmelizing, etc. is involved) they are all worth it in the end as long as you are a patient person who enjoys cooking. This is not a good beginner's cookbook! The sweet butternut soup with thyme creme fraiche is beyond compare and I make it all fall and winter long. The lobster and shrimp potstickers with sake sauce take a long time to make but are simply divine (I have learned to make huge batches and freeze them for later when I need an appetizer.) Pair them with the sweet-and-sour red cabbage for an impressive presentation. I just made Etta's cornbread pudding last night for the first time after visiting Seattle and eating it at the restaurant a few weeks ago, and I have to say mine was just as good if not better since it was fresh out of the oven. It was inhaled at the dinner party and it prompted me to get online now to order Tom's other cookbook. I find that sometimes the ingredients are difficult to hunt down here in Montana, but I usually find most of what I need, or at least an acceptable substitute. I just wish there were more photographs of the beautiful food. I look forward to trying many more of Tom's recipes.
Get the Book
Rating:
4 / 5
It has taken me awhile to write a review for this book due to the fact that I have been testing as many recipes as possible and while in Seattle compared the restaurant version with the home version. The verdict is: Get the book.The recipes are very easily done in a standard home kitchen and they are the recipes of the restaurants in question. If there is a flavor difference it is easily explained by the author such as, the restaurant version of the salmon rub uses smoked paprike (very hard to get) while the home uses the sweet variety. The book reflects a deep love of Seattle and is informative in a chatty way. I think though, for the Asian food information sections you may want a little more depth with Bruce Cost's book on Asian ingredients. For the experienced cook this is a great book to have on the shelf showing a fusion of traditional and international influences in the menu. For those looking for soemthing in between a beginner's and a hardcore pro level this book is excellent. People at my various parties and catering gigs have loved the food prepared from this book and it has achieved the status of favorite on the shelf. It is approachable in tone, style and technique. It is also helpful that he provides a supplier section for those hard to get items like kazu. The fish section maybe a no go for some people due to freshness issues but the section on grilling/barbecuing is nice and the dry brine method for roast chicken was very reliable. All the side dishes were easily done as well with a standard grocery store available. Recommended highly and I look forward to his next work.
Best Cookbook ever
Rating:
5 / 5
Now I may be biased because I live in Seattle but there is not a recipe in this book which is not simply perfect. I have tried about 10 recipes including the crab cakes, blueberry coffee cake, Short Ribs with Rosemary white beans and the Lobster and Shiitake Potstickers and not had a bad one yet. All the recipies are pretty easy to make, use simple fresh ingredients and usually recommend a wine to pair with it. These are not always the types of recipes that you want to whip up in 10 mins when you get home from work but for a weekend dinner where you have 1/2 hr or more to cook, you will be well rewarded. There is definitely a seafood bias for this which is fine with me. In the middle of the book are about 10 pages of pictures of many of the dishes. I have lots of cookbooks with several good recipes but never one with so many winners and absolutely no losers. I have been to 2 of Tom's restaurants in Seattle but this makes me want to cook at home.
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