A Chef's Bounty: Celebrating Oregon's Cuisine [Hardcover]

William King (Editor), Rick Schafer (Photographer)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 3, 2007

An exploration of Oregons culinary frontier, A Chefs Bounty: Celebrating Oregons Cuisine, includes approximately 150 recipes from 50 celebrated Oregon chefs and restaurants from across the states seven tourism regions and six agricultural regions using farm-fresh and sustainable Oregon products. Full-page, full-color culinary and landscape photography by renowned Northwest photographer, Rick Schafer, showcases the land, the people, and the products that make Oregon so unique. Award-winning Chef William King of Portlands McCormick & Schick s Seafood Restaurants has compiled recipes from notable chefs throughout the state. Each featured recipe can be easily prepared by the home cook, using the freshest ingredients from Oregon s rich agricultural bounty. In celebration of Oregons culinary landscape, A Chefs Bounty, features recipes from the notable culinary entities within the state, and presents vignettes on Oregons agricultural products and producers. Selected chefs have contributed their signature recipes that capture the textures and flavor unique to the state. The focus is not only on the recipes, but offers an invitation to bring the agricultural bounty of Oregon into the kitchen.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Tis the season for let s just say it gluttony. I absolutely experienced intellectual gluttony as I perused A Chef s Bounty: Celebrating Oregon s Cuisine, the new cookbook by William King and Rick Schafer. The Impressions King and Schafer make a formidable team. King, currently the vice president of culinary development for the McCormick and Schmick s group, has an exalted history in the food industry, from authorship to awards to philanthropic affiliations. Schafer, a multi-generation Oregonian and a talented, oft-published photographer in his own right, solidly complements King s accomplishments. This is a stellar team: The recipes, culled from some of the Pacific Northwest s most celebrated and cutting-edge restaurants, are nicely replicated, the preparation tutorials are clear and the food is beautifully, enticingly photographed. A Chef s Bounty is not a beginner s cookbook. One has to know how to sweat a shallot and make an aioli and own a chinois, if the goal is preparation of all the lovely offerings. That said, there is enough here for the moderately experienced, and the seasonal reference guide will prove extremely helpful to the novice. A section in the back of the book, The Pantry, is a thoughtful addition, providing a list of staple preparations like stocks and crêpes that, in the telling, illustrate further techniques. I found the sourcing list, like a little present, at the end. Though some purveyors are already in my black book, I greedily added the others. The gluttony theme continues. The Book What the volume provides, most astoundingly, is variety and surprise, offering recipes for the full range of Pacific Northwest legendary ingredients. A feast for the eye and for the palate, King gives us Marionberry Elk Chops, Hazelnut Crusted Venison Filet and Grilled Natural Bison Striploin to complement a marvelous array of local seafood, duck, lamb and beef. My favorite local offerings, our fabulous array of mushrooms and artisan cheeses, are well represented. The Wild Mushroom Marsala and Heidi s Three Mushroom Tart were fabulous, rich and earthy and delicious. The photograph for the tart shows a sauce not included in the recipe; over the plate, I drizzled a port wine reduction in one direction and thinned crème fraîche in the other, and topped the slices with a dollop of the crème fraîche and a few chopped chives. Play: It s what we do in the kitchen. The Dinner Party I decided to approach this review in a bold and more public manner I invited five people, four of whom I had never fed, to dinner, and pressed my friend into duty as personal culinary assistant. I called upon Bryan Shuttleworth at The Cellar Door to advise me as to selections from my cellar. We went for it. Every offering was a huge success. This was not a meal for the faint of heart, literally and metaphorically. But satisfying? Yes, for days and days. The showstopper, for my arteries and my checkbook, was the oh-so-tender Butter Poached Oregon Kobe Beef, from the Winchester Inn in Ashland. My friend, incidentally, has used this method on fresh elk tenderloin with superb results. The beef set me back a chunk of dough (no one here sells Kobe by the pound, but City Market can procure a whole tenderloin for you), and was well worth it. I skipped the polenta and served whole two-inch medallions with the grilled asparagus, using the restaurant s guidelines for preparation, topping the meat with caramelized shallots. Woodward Canyon s 2002 Artist Series Cabernet made for a lovely marriage. The beef? Like eating pâté: no knives necessary and groans of pleasure round the table. If you re up to it, this is a perfect holiday gasp of a main course. Poor Herr Goose will be quickly forgotten. A Chef s Bounty is a glorious book... --from A Feast for the Eye and Palate by Kate Astle, Oregon Winepress, December 2007

The bookshelves at Northwest Palate are weighted down with regional recipe collections. So what sets this new cookbook apart? In a word: execution. Chef William King and photographer Rick Schafer share equal billing in this paean to Oregon cuisine, and that s appropriate. King, who was chef for the original McCormick & Schmick s in downtown Portland and is now vice president for culinary development for the group s 75-plus restaurants nationwide, has assembled an enviable collection of restaurant recipes. Virtually all of Oregon s national stars are here. Le Pigeon supplied its vaunted Honey Bacon Apricot Corn Bread, for instance, and Park Kitchen contributed its Sudan Farms Lamb Tartare. But King draws from every one of Oregon s seven distinct agricultural regions. From Eastern Oregon, we get Huckleberry and Hazelnut Sourdough Hot Cakes from La Grand s Foley Station. In Central Oregon, the Blacksmith Restaurant supplied its quirky Chicken and Waffles. Celilo Restaurant in the mid-Columbia region came through with its Black Cod, Sweet Corn, and Fava Beans. Schafer, a fifth-generation Oregonian best known for his scenic photography, threw himself into this project, criss-crossing the state in the quest for images to accompany each recipe. His wife, Teresa, tested every recipe that appears. Schafer s food styling can sometimes get a little prop-heavy, but the food itself never looks less than delectable. It s easy to be cynical about a project so clearly designed to showcase this region s culinary attractions, but facts are facts: Oregon and the Pacific Northwest have a lot to boast about! A Chef s Bounty is not only well-provisioned, well-photographed, and well-organized, it passes the ultimate litmus test for any cookbook: it makes you want to go right out, bring home the ingredients, and get cooking. --Angie Jabine, from Northwest Palate Magazine, November/December 2007

Home chefs and professionals alike can delight in this remarkable collection of unique recipes and its masterful handling of Oregon resources. Beautiful presentation, easy-to-follow directions, and nuggets of information sets this cookbook apart. --Ray Colvin, Dean of Le Cordon Bleu Hospitality and Restaurant Management Program, Western Culinary Institute, Portland, OR

About the Author

ABOUT THE AUTHOR In 1985, Chef William King joined McCormick & Schmicks Seafood Restaurant in Portland, Oregon and was named Executive Chef within a year. Today, Bill is Vice President of Culinary Development and Training for the over 75 restaurants run by the well-respected restaurant group. Bill has authored two cookbooks for the McCormick & Schmicks Seafood Restaurant Group. He was named Oregon Seafood Chef of the Year in 1987. Bill lives in Portland, Oregon, with his wife, Jennifer. ABOUT THE PHOTOGRAPHER Rick Schafers career in photography began with a ten-year apprenticeship under renowned photographer Ray Atkinson. Schafers work as a commercial photographer has been published internationally over the last twenty years. Recent works include these exhibit format books: Oregon IV; Our Portland; Oregon Golf; Magnificent Places: Oregon Coast; and Portrait of Oregon. Rick is a native Oregonian and lives in Portland with his wife Theresa and their four children.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Arnica Publishing, Inc.; 1st edition (October 3, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0979477107
• ISBN-13: 978-0979477102
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 8.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,346,755 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Coffee Table GORGEOUS. PRACTICAL application., September 27, 2008

By 

Wingman "football food junkie" (Northwest) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Chef's Bounty: Celebrating Oregon's Cuisine (Hardcover)

I purchased this book from AMAZON because my wife's best friend, who is a Chef, said it had just received the Benjamin Franklin Silver Award. . . that's impressive, so I figured what the heck. These tough economic times mean we are entertaining at home more. We have now prepared meals from the book at home three times and our guests have been amazed !!! Frankly, I have been amazed. Not only is the outcome phenomenal, the execution is relatively easy too. Coffe table GORGEOUS . . . PRACTICAL application. I love it. Thank you Chef Bill King.

5 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Leave it to the experts, November 12, 2007

By 

Tabitha Jensen (Hillsboro, OR United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Chef's Bounty: Celebrating Oregon's Cuisine (Hardcover)

Although the recipes are innovative and reflect the creative spirit of Portland's restaurants, the vast majority of these recipes are much too advanced to be prepared by the typical home cook. Some recipes require very hard-to-find ingredients and meat cuts, such as tripe and duck eggs. Others require special equipment and techniques that are simply out of reach. Although the photography is beautiful, it's disappointing for someone who would actually be looking to re-create these dishes in a typical home enviornment. Unless you're looking for a nice coffee table book, make the trip down to Bluehour or Park Kitchen and skip this one.