Bookshelf: local authors release new books

The Duke Serves Scallops, Nims Considers Oysters Dickerman Cleanses

By Ronald Holden

All of a sudden, all at once, it seems, there are three new books by local authors that belong on every kitchen bookshelf. Not because they are step-by-step cookbooks, but because they celebrate (in very different ways) the passion of their authors for food itself.

Let's begin with Duke Moscrip, founder of the six-unit chain that bears his name, and his new book, As Wild As It Gets. The subtitle is "Secret Sustainable Seafood Recipes," which includes favorites like shrimp, crab, salmon, and scallops. Scallops that come from just two boats, the Ocean Hunter and the Provider, that have their own at-sea observers on board to ensure that the crews follow sustainable practices.

A former Bothell High basketball star, a former stock broker, one of the original investors in Ray's Boathouse, and the face of his Chowderhouse chain for the past 35 years, Duke has become the personification of sustainable seafood. His company grosses some $15 million a year, roughly comparable to the Space Needle's take, but harder to do with six stores and an average check of $30. (The Needle's average is about $60.) And sourcing fresh fish is a tough business. Anthony's had to add its own seafood company 30 years ago to supply its 22 stores. Another local seafood chain, McCormick & Schmick, simply sold out; unfortunately, the buyer, Landry's, is not known for its commitment to seafood. Ivar's imports its clams and sells its chowder at 25 quick-serve units and in supermarkets. Not Duke, who insists on supervising every detail of his supply chain.

The book, lovingly produced and weighing in at four pounds, retails for $49.95.

Click here to see one of Duke's recipes

Next is Sara Dickerman, a nationally prominent food writer who lives in Seattle. Bon Appetit has just published her latest volume, The Food Lover's Cleanse, comprised of 140 recipes that address those new year's resolutions to "eat healthier."

 The good thing is that Dickerman keeps the "woo-woo" aspects under wraps, in favor of dishes that actually taste good. Bon Appetit has actually been running a "cleanse" feature online for the past six years; now, at last, the best recipes are in book form.

And finally, Cynthia Nims has turned her attention to oysters. A disciplined and accomplished author (books about mushrooms, salmon, game-night snacks), Nims is an energizer bunny of recipe writing; by her count, Oysters (from Sasquatch Books) is the ninth or tenth food book she's written under her own name. A graduate of La Varenne in Paris, she also moonlights as a translator and tour guide for Nathan Myhrvold's Modernist Cuisine gang. The Oyster book includes tips for the skittish (suggestions for mignonettes, granités and relishes) as well as breading and saucing suggestions for fried, baked, and battered bivalves.

Click here to see one of Cynthia's recipes

February 2016

Ronald Holden's next book of true tales about the local food scene, Forking Seattle, is due to be released in the summer of 2016.