The Dining In series was originally launched in 1977 as a way to recreate the dining-out experience in your own home. By gathering the best recipes from the best restaurants in major North American cities, the Dining In series became a very popular and successful series, expanding to 30 cities and 38 volumes, and selling more than 1 million copies. Each book is a collection of recipes for complete meals from a variety of the city's most notable restaurants and chefs, and in addition to a written description about each restaurant, many of their most popular, notable, and signature dishes were featured.
The idea for this volume, Dining In Seattle: Past & Present, some 25 years after the last book was published, stems from a desire to understand our contemporary dining experiences by appreciating the past dining and restaurant culture. We have seen a considerable shift from simple, formal, and classical cuisine to modern and sophisticated dishes using local, seasonal, and sustainable ingredients. There has also been a surge in popularity of cooking restaurant-quality meals at home, which makes this collection of recipes both valuable and relevant. There are ideal menus for all seasons and all occasions - casual to elegant - so don't be afraid to use this book for a quick weeknight dinner or lavish dinner party.
From the novice cook to the experienced chef, this book, with over 200 recipes, is for you. There are over 200 tips throughout the book, offering guidance on different techniques and ingredients to help the home chef replicate these dishes with greater ease. There are also wine pairings for each course of nearly every meal, selected by the restaurants, which are meant to complete the meal and enhance the cooking and dining process. Of course, these are just recommendations, so feel free to experiment and try your own pairings.
The book is divided into three distinct sections. The first section includes a write-up and menu with wine pairings, followed by the recipes needed to create a complete meal from each of the Present restaurants. The write-up is meant to provide context about each restaurant - its philosophy, history, and achievements. The second section contains the write-ups of the Past restaurants; these come from past volumes of Dining In Seattle books to give some insight into the Seattle dining landscape of the 1970's and 1980's. The final section is a selection of menus and recipes from Past restaurants.
Dining In Seattle: Past & Present celebrates a unique and mouth-watering aspect of Seattle by honoring the past and examining the present. The recipes in this book are collected from a variety of cuisines and locations around the greater Seattle area, each of which have contributed significantly to the culinary evolution of our region. If you haven't been to these restaurants, we encourage you to try them, and if you love to cook, we encourage you to have a go at these delicious meals. Share this book with friends and family to awaken the nostalgia of the past and explore what the region has to offer today. It is fitting that the first updated volume of the Dining In series is in Seattle - a city that loves its food and is great in honoring its history, embracing its present, and looking into its future without any reservations.
