Despite having lived in two coastal cities where seafood was fresh and bountiful, I never really learned how to cook it. The Pacific Northwest Seafood Cookbook is made for folks like me, though experienced seafood makers will likely find much to bookmark for later feasting. It's written by Naomi Tomky, a well-regarded industry-experienced Seattle-based food writer whose thoughtful analysis on the local culinary scene and beyond has appeared everywhere from the New York Times to Food & Wine magazine to this very publication, and she brings an easygoing conversational tone to her cookbook debut. Tomky's own seafood knowledge is bolstered by generously donated recipes from an impressive range of seafood-savvy pro chefs, restaurateurs, local cookbook authors, amateur cooks, and others who reflect the region's diversity—from big names like Tom Douglas, Mutsuko Soma, Eric Rivera, and Shiro Kashiba, to Archipelago's Aaron Verzosa, Hillel Echo-Hawk of Birch Basket catering (who prepares meals using precolonial ingredients), pastry chef Taghreed Ibrahim, and Bonnie Morales of Kachka in Portland. by Leilani Polk