NW salmon gets its due in ‘Bon Appetit’
Someone at “Bon Appetit” likes Washington state.
In the March issue, the magazine featured Washington oysters, calling Seattle “the greatest of oyster cities.” In my March 26 post, I wrote about the briny bivalves and how some of my Seattle shopping pals like to order them along with a glass of Champagne.
Now the June issue pays tribute to our beloved Northwest fish with photos, illustrations and wild salmon tidbits such as “Go Wild,” or why you should spring for it, and “What You’ll Find in the Wild,” a listing of the five types of Pacific salmon and what to do with them. (Not that we Northwesterners wouldn’t know, but the magazine does have a national audience.)
Renee Erickson of Seattle’s The Whale Wins and The Walrus and the Carpenter restaurants offers the recipes for the essay and recommends wine pairings. A finalist in this year’s James Beard Award for Best Chef in the Northwest, Erickson has a book due out in September.
From the magazine, however, I can’t wait to try her “Butter-basted salmon with hazelnut relish” and her “Poached salmon with artichoke confit.” (Full disclosure: I spent a very pleasant evening with three of my friends at The Walrus and the Carpenter. And no disclosure: You know who you are.)
“Bon Appetit,” keep those Northwest stories coming.
Janet Cleaveland
What happens when a retired journalist spends a lot more time in the kitchen than in past years? She tries new dishes and jumps at the chance to write a blog about food, family and good times. My kids are grown now, but I'll be looking back at how they learned to cook, what recipes my husband (the Intrepid One) and I are experimenting with, and how food and conversation make for happy times in the kitchen. I worked for The Columbian for 15 years as a copy editor and another 10 elsewhere, though I didn't start out as a journalist. I thought I wanted to teach English literature. My husband grew up in Clark County, and I've lived here since 1983. My kids have grown and left home. Like my husband of 52 years, our adopted chocolate Lab would never pass up a chance for a tasty meal.