The snow shovels and boots have been unearthed from the garage, staff parties are booked, and yes, those are Christmas decorations on display at each and every big box store. The holiday season is upon us. While most people have at least begun their Christmas shopping at this point, we're going to suggest that rather than revert to the standard, safe go-to gift certificates for folks on your shopping list, you buy them a book. Remember those relics? They can make very thoughtful and relatively inexpensive gifts for just about anyone. This year, we've compiled a list of 12 recent literary releases from local writers that will entertain and intrigue kids, adventurers, aspiring chefs, sports enthusiasts and amateur historians. Happy reading!
Araxi: Seasonal Recipes From The Celebrated Whistler Restaurant
Recipes by James Walt, text by Jim Tobler, 250 pp, Douglas & McIntyre
After almost 28 years of feeding happy Whistler visitors and residents, the folks in the kitchen at Araxi have finally decided to share some of their secrets with aspiring home chefs. In October, they released their first cookbook, Araxi: Seasonal Recipes From The Celebrated Whistler Restaurant, a visual feast for any food lover on your shopping list (especially for fans of Fox's Hell's Kitchen series).
Using executive chef James Walt's original creations - tried, tested and true Araxi classics, like squash blossoms and fois gras pate - author Jim Tobler has crafted careful and natural text to paint a vivid picture of not only the restaurant, but the surrounding region that inspires Chef Walt's fresh seasonal dishes.
Walt also had a hand in the vision and structure of the project. A self-described "cookbook junkie," Walt has 700 culinary texts lining his home bookshelves, so he knew how to create something that married well with the restaurant's culinary philosophy. He opted to break the Araxi book into two distinct sections to correspond with the seasons: summer and winter, and included a special harvest menu section in the centre to showcase the bounty of the Sea to Sky region.
"The criteria I set up for myself was that every recipe in the book has been on the menu for the last five years," Walt explained.
And while many would shy away from trying to reproduce fine dining dishes that appear on the menu of a lauded restaurant like Araxi, there's actually a great assortment of simple dishes that only require a few basic ingredients mixed in with professional dishes that require a bit more patience and practice to master.
"I set criteria where I didn't have off-the-wall ingredients and stuff, because a lot of what we cook is regional, so I think as long as you're familiar in a kitchen at home and you enjoy the kitchen... any home cook, I think, can really get into it," Walt explained.
If the chef's words of reassurance don't help calm your nerves, a quick glance at beautiful photographs within the book may help you muster up the courage to get your hands dirty in the kitchen. Araxi: Seasonal Recipes From The Celebrated Whistler Restaurant features more than 100 gorgeous photos by culinary photographer John Sherlock of the lush surroundings of the Sea to Sky area coupled with stunning untouched photos of the dishes.
If you can't take my word for it, listen to what culinary celebrities Gordon Ramsay and Heston Blumenthal had to say about the finished product.
"What a book to have! Inspiring and creative - a must-have ingredient in any kitchen," Ramsay said.
"This book is full of the attention to detail, freshness and passion that makes eating at Araxi so special," Blumenthal added.
- Reviewed by Holly Fraughton
What's Cookin' In Whistler
By Deanna White, 242pp.
This community classic has been a beloved staple in Whistler kitchens since it was first published over 20 years ago. And though the cover art and recipes may have changed and evolved over time, the general concept is timeless: a collection of favourite dishes - some original, some adapted from other cookbooks and magazines - that will appeal to a variety of taste buds, and even some that are geared specifically towards skiers and snowboarders. They've been pried from the recipes boxes of some longtime locals, like Borgi Rayen, Roland Pfaff (former chef and owner of Val D'Isere restaurant), Rolf Gunther (of Rim Rock Café) and Nancy Greene.
There are some serious treasures found within the pages of this unassuming book: the recipe for the Rim Rock Café's infamous Sticky Date Pudding (no joke), cottage cheese pancakes (which are apparently the ultimate hangover cure), a skier's brekkie designed to keep you fueled for a day on the slopes, the "wifesaver" (a make-ahead cheesy brunch casserole) and even traditional bannock from Mount Currie.
The book is broken down into traditional categories like appetizers, mains, and soups and salads, but with a Whistler twist, of course. It includes sections like Breakfast Before The Hill, Vegetarian Mountain Meals, Invasion of the Cookie Snatchers and Death Defying Desserts, ensuring that some of the ski mountain culture and character shines through for the benefit of local chefs, or even a city slicker family member or friend.
Aside from the wealth of recipes found within, there's also a short introduction and history of the community, written by none other than Whistler Museum founder Florence Petersen, great illustrations and fun facts scattered throughout. There's even information about Whistler's ubiquitous black bears at the back, which makes for one hell of a Whistler-specific cookbook. Pick up your copy at Armchair Books.
