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

Braiden has captured the unique flavors of Oregon, Washington, Idaho and B.C. with her lively commentary of the distinct ingredients you can find there. Her profiles of people and places make me want to visit each and every destination. If I can't get to that farm or winery, at least I can make the meal myself - and pour a glass of Braiden's hand-picked Northwest wine recommendations to accompany it.

The recipes are easy and delicious, inspiring us to use local, seasonal and sustainable ingredients. So far, our family favorites are the Grilled Asparagus Salad with Prosciutto, Parmigiano-Reggiano, and Balsamic Vinaigrette and the Dungeness Crab with Ginger-Cilantro Mayonnaise! Yummy~

This cookbook is absolutely gorgeous. It is a wonderful guide to the Pacific Northwest for both locals and visitors. The recipes are fabulous (try the Chipotle Chocolate Cake) and very easy to do at home, while still elegant. And the wine pairing suggestions are spot on. Outstanding book that would make a great addition to anyone's cookbook collection - and one that you will actually use.

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.

This book offers many exceptional recipes however there are two from Chef Maury Bennett in Idaho that are amazing his passion for local fares radiates through his ideas. I would like to see an entire cook book done by him!!

For the wine and food nut, this book is of epic proportion. Vivid and lively pictures combined with the real people and real stories of the Pac NW illustrates the connection between Braiden Rex-Johnson and her subject. The
wine country traveler's guide to the good life in the Pac NW. Bravo!