|
 TM
Pike Place Market Cookbook: Recipes, Anecdotes and Personalities from
Seattle’s Renowned Public Market
By Braiden Rex-Johnson
Foreword by Tom Douglas
 Pike
Place Market is the most visited landmark in the Pacific Northwest. One cannot
purchase an admission ticket to an attraction such as this.
Rex-Johnson’s book is part cookbook and part intriguing
Seattle travelogue. She puts the reader well into frenzied and colorful
mealtimes at Pike Market. She shares signature dishes, menu rotations and
histories of those sharing the fruits of their wares and labors. The many
goings-on at the Market, she describes as "Part meat, fish, and produce market;
part breathtaking panorama of water, mountains, and sky; part vaudeville show;
part arts and crafts extravaganza; and part slice of nitty-gritty street life.”
 This
96-year-old buzzing marketplace has a colorful history, and was almost torn
down for "urban renewal" in the early 1970s. More recently, the Market Basket
CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) program reinvigorated the market and
helped save its farm-fresh treasure venue.
Each of the nine food sections in the cookbook has a handy
preview. The Entrée page reflects such diversity as Irish Stew, Zaire Chicken
Curry, Korean Beef Bulgogi, Rouladen (Germany), Pancit Bihon and Mechado (the
Philippines), and New Mexico Tamales. These are just some of the merchants she
presents in the book:
-
 Chef
Charles Ramseyer, of Ray’s Boathouse, shares his simple, yet elegant
appetizer, Scallop Terrine, along with chef's tips for perfect preparation.
-
From Sosio’s Produce comes Microwave Mozzarella
Vegetable Pie. This is a simple, health-filled dish of Japanese eggplants,
sweet peppers, onion, blended spices and mozzarella cheese. Microwave this
in 10 short minutes. Even quicker is their Cheesy Tomatoes, baked in the
oven.
-
The simple Pea Pullao from The Souk is a spicy,
vegetable-rice dish. The cookbook cross-references this dish with
Marketspice’s Chicken Masala (page 86) and Café Champagne's Lamb Burgers and
Balsamic Onions, Roasted Peppers and Aioli (page 98).
-
A backgrounder on the Pike Place Market Creamery
features Nancy Nipples, the proprietress and self-described "Head Milk Maid"
of this now-famed institution. Learn about "aracauna" eggs.
-
From Alm Hill Gardens Rex-Johnson features another
fresh pea dish--Raspberry Snap Peas--made with raspberry vinegar and
toasted sesame seeds. The handy Techniques section, page 203, refreshes your
memory on toasting seeds and nuts.
-
At Chicken Valley she finds an unusual Northwest
Chicken Stir-Fry. It contains the usual stir-fry basics plus hazelnuts,
spinach and dried cherries, plumped. Meet the owner and learn of the
restaurant’s background and their take on all feathered-food sources.
Rabbits, too.
-
On the bread scene Nancie Brecher, teacher of cuisine
to thousands of Seattleites, shares her Fresh Dill Beer Bread, an unusual
accompaniment.
-
At Tim’s Fine Berries, they share a recipe which
combines raspberries, brown sugar, raisins, apricots, citrus juice, zest,
onion and toasted almonds for a lip-smacking Red Raspberry Chutney.
-
On the dessert track, find a recipe for Chilled
Strawberry Soup from Northwest food expert Sharon Kramis. Guests enthuse
over this berry, banana and pineapple fruited gazpacho.
-
From the folks at Mech Apiaries comes a Sour Cream
Cranberry Pie, a tart, yet creamy treat.
-
You will feel quite quenched and fascinated by Danny
McCullem of Danny’s Wonder Freeze, after Rex-Johnson introduces you to his
"Real" New York Egg Cream, a gem in the heart of Seattle, a simple drink
with a lot of smethod.
The Pike Place Market Cookbook has excellent Appendixes:
Techniques, Produce Availability Chart, Mail-order Information and a
comprehensive index.
Reviewed by Marty Martindale
COMMENTS@FOODSITEOFTHEDAY.COM
Back to TravelLady Magazine |
|