Just about the time you are ready to file all cookbooks written by chefs together under the title “incomprehensible scientific treatises,” along comes a book as homey, wholesome and unpretentious as Cory Schreiber’s “Wildwood” (Ten Speed Press, $39.95).
Here’s a chef who loves his native state of Oregon, loves cooking with the rich array of products that flourish there (especially seafood, fruits and vegetables) and has a family history there in the restaurant business that goes back 150 years. He has no need to introduce cooking theories and ingredients from other continents and other cultures. Instead he writes about his family and nature’s bounty in ways relevant to local food and cooking.
Let me hasten to add that in cooking there is a great difference between simple and simplistic. Schreiber has cooked in half-a-dozen or more of this country’s great restaurants (including Gordon in Chicago). He knows French techniques and uses them when appropriate. But the focus is on the ingredients and how to cook them to best emphasize their freshness and reflect the season. There is a refreshing lack of elaborate garnishes in this book and in his Portland restaurant, Wildwood.
The chef takes us to the sources of Oregon’s bounty in three chapters that include seafood, the spring vegetables and summer berries of the Willamette Valley, various hunting grounds for wild mushrooms, and the orchards of the Hood River Valley.
The first recipe in the book is for pan-fried razor clams, the last a huckleberry cake borrowed from James Beard, another Oregonian and cookbook author who set great store by doing what came naturally to fresh, wholesome ingredients. In between, along with descriptions of places and recipes, are nostalgic photographs from the family album of their Oregon Oyster Co. and Portland’s Dan and Louis Oyster bar (which remains in the family today), evocative landscape photos in black and white by Jerome Heart and color photos of finished dishes by Richard Jung.
In sum, “Wildwood” ranks among the best and most accessible of regional cookbooks. It should be noted, though, that two desserts failed to find complete favor in the Tribune’s test kitchen. Apple-apricot-ginger buckle was dominated by the flavor of molasses, while dried apricot-cranberry poundcake did not cook in the suggested time.
But the accompanying scallop recipe was enthusiastically received.
SEARED SCALLOPS WITH CIDER BROWN BUTTER
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 25 minutes
Yield: 4 servings
This recipe is reprinted as it appears in “Wildwood,” by Cory Schreiber.
1 cup apple cider
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 pound sea scallops, patted dry with paper towels
1 Granny Smith apple, cored and julienned
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
16 small fresh sage leaves
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1. In a large skillet, bring the cider to a boil over medium-high heat. Boil for 6 to 8 minutes, or until reduced to about 3 tablespoons. Pour into a bowl and set aside.
2. In another large skillet (or the same one), melt 2 tablespoons of the butter over medium heat. Season the scallops with the salt and pepper. Cook the scallops until lightly browned on the outside and opaque throughout, about 2 minutes on each side (do not overcook). Remove from the pan and keep warm.
3. Add the remaining 4 tablespoons butter to the skillet. Brown the butter over medium heat, being careful not to burn. Stir in the reduced cider, half of the julienned apple, the sage and lemon juice. Simmer until the apple is tender and the sauce is slightly thickened, about 1 minute. Taste and adjust seasoning.
4. To serve, put the scallops in a serving dish and spoon on the sauce. Garnish with the remaining julienned apple.
Nutrition information per serving: (calculated by the Tribune)
Calories ………… 300 Fat ………… 18 g Saturated fat .. 11 g
% calories from fat .. 54 Cholesterol … 85 mg Sodium ……. 625 mg
Carbohydrates …… 15 g Protein …….. 20 g Fiber ……… 0.8 g
