As we approach the first anniversary of the beginning of the pandemic, home cooking might have become more of a slog than a respite. But it doesn't have to be: We've gathered this list of cookbooks from some of our favorite local chefs and writers, like Gabriel Rucker, Bonnie Morales, and Naomi Pomeroy, so you can refresh your repertoire with new-to-you recipes and beloved dishes that evoke pre-COVID memories of dining in some of Portland's most popular restaurants. Head to Powell's Books or your preferred local bookseller for any titles that catch your eye, or borrow them from the Multnomah County Library Like List —we've also included links to sample recipes from the books so you can try them out right away. For more ideas, browse our food and drink guide.
RESTAURANT COOKBOOKS
Bar Norman Like List
Wine Food: New Adventures in Drinking and Cooking by Dana Frank and Andrea Slonecker
The most fun way to learn about wine is definitely through drinking it, preferably paired with something delicious. This book from sommelier and Bar Norman
Like
List
owner Dana Frank and culinary creative director and stylist Andrea Slonecker will take you through the ins and outs of tasting wine and matching it with food (from pasta to your favorite takeout), along with 75 recipes for wine-friendly dishes like delicata squash and sausage crostata with ricotta and honey and slow-braised lamb ragu with rigatoni and whipped ricotta.
Kachka Like List
Kachka: A Return to Russian Cooking by Bonnie Morales
Nobody does Eastern European comfort food like chef Bonnie Morales of Kachka
Like
List
, and her colorful debut cookbook shows you how to recreate her signature Russian dishes like potato vareniki and braised chanterelles with potatoes at home. (If you need a pelmenitsa, or pelmeni mold, for your dumplings, Kachka's online store has some in stock.)
Ken's Artisan
Flour Salt Water Yeast: The Fundamentals of Artisan Bread and Pizza by Kevin Forkish
This bread bible from nationally renowned Portland baker Ken Forkish will take your quarantine sourdough hobby to the next level. Learn how to craft gorgeous rustic loaves and crackly Neapolitan pizzas like the ones Forkish sells at Ken's Artisan Bakery
Like
List
and Ken's Artisan Pizza
Like
List
. If you're itching to get started, try his recipe for overnight 40% whole wheat bread.
Le Pigeon Like List
Le Pigeon: Cooking at the Dirty Bird by Gabriel Rucker, Meredith Erickson, and Lauren and Andrew Fortgang
Bring the flavors of James Beard Award-winning chef Gabriel Rucker's luxe yet unpretentious French bistro Le Pigeon
Like
List
to your home with recipes like duck confit, leek carbonara, and spinach and artichoke foie gras dip. (The restaurant is currently running a three-course dinner pop-up
Past Event
Like
List
hosted in individual hotel rooms at the Jupiter NEXT
Like
List
.)
Olympia Provisions
Olympia Provisions: Cured Meats and Tales from an American Charcuterie by Elias Cairo and Meredith Erickson
In this cookbook, the modern salumeria offers recipes for confits, pâtés, sausages, salami, and more, as well as stories behind the craft and history of charcuterie. If you're ready for a project, try your hand at making the traditional Italian cold cut capicola (Tony Soprano's "gabagool").
Ox Like List
Around the Fire: Recipes for Inspired Grilling and Seasonal Feasting from Ox Restaurant by Greg Denton and Gabrielle Quiñónez Denton
Channel your inner pyromaniac with this book on Latin American-inspired fire cooking techniques from the James Beard Award-winning Ox
Like
List
chefs Greg Denton and Gabrielle Quiñónez Denton. You'll learn how to apply heat to create dishes like grilled salmon with sumac oil and green onion yogurt—you'll also want to check out the restaurant's signature chimichurri.
Pix Patisserie
Petite Pâtisserie: Bon Bons, Petits Fours, Macarons and Other Whimsical Bite-Size Treats by Cheryl Wakerhauser
From last year's "pancake cereal" craze to tiny cooking videos, diminutive food has been de rigueur for some time now. Pix Patisserie owner and pastry chef Cheryl Wakerhauser was right on trend when she released this cookbook with recipes for miniscule sweets last year. Try her recipe for miniature seven-layer crêpe cakes, which she describes as "birthday cakes for French Chihuahuas."
Pok Pok Like List
Pok Pok: Food and Stories from the Streets, Homes, and Roadside Restaurants of Thailand by Andy Ricker and J.J. Goode
The iconic Thai chain Pok Pok
Like
List
, which permanently closed all of its locations due to COVID, is sadly no more, but at least you can still relive the magic and bring dishes like yam khai dao, salt-crusted fish with chile dipping sauce, phat si ew, khao niaw mamuang, and Ike's famous fish sauce wings to life in your own kitchen with chef and owner Andy Ricker's cookbook. Ricker also shares vivid essays about his travels in Thailand, so you can daydream about jetting to Bangkok and browsing the street food stalls.
Portland Farmers Market Like List
Portland Farmers Market Cookbook: 100 Seasonal Recipes and Stories that Celebrate Local Food and People by Ellen Jackson
The Portland Farmers Market
Like
List
is consistently cited as one of the best farmers markets in America. Make the most of the market's bounty of seasonal produce with this book that contains 100 recipes from some of the city's best-loved chefs and restaurateurs, such as chocolate-apricot-habanero truffles from Missionary Chocolates
Like
List
and peach and pancetta pizza from Tastebud
Like
List
.
Ripe Cooperative Like List (formerly Beast)
Taste & Technique: Recipes to Elevate Your Home Cooking by Naomi Pomeroy
Who better than Naomi Pomeroy to help you elevate your home cooking? The James Beard Award-winning chef, who permanently closed her pioneering restaurant Beast
Like
List
due to COVID last year and opened the market Ripe Cooperative
Like
List
in its place, taught herself to cook with cookbooks and shares her professional knowledge in her own book, with recipes like milk-braised pork shoulder and blistered cauliflower with anchovy, garlic, and chile flakes.
Salt & Straw
Salt & Straw Ice Cream Cookbook by Tyler Malek and J.J. Goode
The Portland Mercury's Blair Stenvick named making homemade ice cream with the artisan ice creamery Salt & Straw's cookbook one of the things that got them through 2020. They especially recommend the chocolate gooey brownie and Arbequina olive oil flavors, but the book equips you with the knowledge to make any flavor you can dream up.
OTHER COOKBOOKS
Dishing Up the Dirt: Simple Recipes for Cooking Through the Seasons and Local Dirt: Seasonal Recipes for Eating Close to Home by Andrea Bemis
Andrea Bemis knows a thing or two about farm-to-table cooking: She and her husband run a six-acre organic farm outside Portland, which inspired her to start her food blog Dishing Up the Dirt. Her debut cookbook of the same name and her 2020 follow-up Local Dirt contain recipes for seasonal dishes like farm girl veggie bowls and pumpkin-hazelnut honey bread.
Portland Cooks: Recipes from the City's Best Restaurants and Bars by Danielle Centoni
Andrea Damewood wrote in 2017, "This book is a gem. Portland Cooks, released in August, brings together an amazing mélange of top local chefs and bartenders with recipes that are both tasty and accessible to the average home cook. Ever wonder how Broder
Like
List
makes its famous aebleskivers? Turns out you can make them in less time than it takes to get to the front of their brunch line. While not as lushly photographed as some local cookbooks, it’s still inspirational, with recipes for Langbaan
Like
List
’s famous scallop coconut cups, that fish-sauce kissed gumbo at Tapalaya
Like
List
, and the incredible chocolate chip cookie from Little T Baker
Like
List
. I made Mae
Like
List
chef Maya Lovelace’s approachable recipe for pimento mac ’n’ cheese. It took no longer than my usual preparation, and sent a mostly vegan friend of mine into a silent repose for 20 minutes—and then she got seconds. If I were buying someone a present from Portland, this would be high on the list."
