Where do you get the best crab cakes? Ask one hundred different people and you'll likely get one hundred different answers. Some swear by classic Chesapeake Bay crab cakes, and some by spicy Creole crab cakes, while others maintain that Pacific Northwest crab cakes can't be beat. In I Love Crab Cakes!, award-winning chef and cookbook author Tom Douglas brings the best of East, West, and Gulf coasts to the table and proves that the most delicious crab cakes of all come straight from your home kitchen.

Tom thoroughly examines every thorny, crab cake–related issue. Bread crumbs, cracker crumbs, panko, or no crumbs at all? What kind of crabmeat: Dungeness, king, or Peeky Toe? Are the best crab cakes pan-fried, deep-fried, or not even cooked?

Tom offers up dozens of his famous crab cake recipes, including classic crab cakes from East and West, North and South, plus newer innovations such as Wild Ginger Crab Cakes, Pesto Risotto Crab Cakes, and Crab Louie Cheesecakes. There are crab cake sandwiches, breakfast crab cakes, and crab cake sauces and salsas.

There's a new culinary melting pot. It's called Seattle. Here you'll find everything from Japanese bento box lunches and Thai satays to steaming bowls of Vietnamese soups and all-American blackberry cobblers. No chef embodies this diversity with more flair and more flavor than chef/author/restaurateur Tom Douglas. And no book does it better than Tom Douglas' Seattle Kitchen.

Tom's creativity with local ingredients and his respect for Seattle's ethnic traditions have helped put his three restaurants and Seattle on the national culinary map. Join Tom and celebrate the Emerald City's rich culinary tradition: sweet I Dungeness crabs, razor clams, rich artisan cheeses, and deeply flavored Northwest beers. Share in the delight of sophisticated Washington wines, coffee fresh vegetables, fruits, and the exotic flavors of the Pacific Rim countries.

Tom Douglas' style is laid-back sophistication with a dash of humor. You can see it in the names of his chapters, "Starch Stacking," "Slow Dancing," and "Mo' Poke, Dadu" (this last title, courtesy of his daughter, Loretta, means "More Pork, Daddy"). And you can taste it in his signature dishes such as Dungeness Crabcakes with Green Cocktail Sauce, Roast Duck with Huckleberry Sauce and Parsnip-Apple Hash, Udon with Sea Scallops in Miso Broth, and Triple Cream Coconut Pie.

Try his hearty Long-Bone Short Ribs with Chinook Merlot Gravy and Rosemary WhiteBeans or spicy Fire-roasted Oysters with Ginger Threads and Wasabi Butter. Relax in the comfort of the comfort foods he prepares for his own family: Loretta's Buttermilk Pancakes with Wild Blackberries, Basic Barbecued Baby Back Ribs, and Five-Spice Angel Food Cake. They're all clear, simple recipes that'll have you cooking like Tom Douglas from the very first page.

But this is more than a cookbook; it's a food lover's guide to Seattle. Join Tom on a tour of his city with his list of top ten best things to do -- and eat -- in Seattle, from his favorite ethnic markets and neighborhoods to where to get the best breakfast.

Why not turn your kitchen into a Seattle kitchen? All it takes is a little help and inspiration from Tom Douglas.

Douglas grew up in a big family where his mother and grandmother served big dinners every night of the week. Today, he's one of the country's hottest chefs, known not only for making Pacific Northwest cuisine and wine a centerpiece of American dining but also for hosting sensational big dinner parties at home. With his wife, Jackie Cross, Douglas takes an equally innovative approach to cookbooks, sharing menus and memories in an out-of-this-world collection.

Drawn from special meals with family members, friends, vintners, and fellow restaurant owners, Tom's Big Dinners brings together thirteen of his favorite feasts, with no-nonsense recipes that make it easy to cook like a restaurant chef without ever leaving home.

The menus range in style from the refined Wine Cellar Dinner, with recipes for Goat Cheese Fondue, Vine-Roasted Squab with Syrah Jam, and Chocolate Crêpes, to the relaxing Screen Door Barbecue, featuring Pit-Roasted Pork Spareribs, Down-Home Collard Greens, and Hard Watermelon Lemonade, and the festive Pop Pop's Winter Solstice, starting with Pop Pop's Perfect Martini and Caramelized Fennel Tart, followed by Creamy Seafood Chowder and Parsley Scones.

The Pike Place Market Menu and Puget Sound Crab Feed showcase classic Seattle-style dishes, while Tom's extravagant Chinese Feast incorporates the Asian influence prevalent in Pacific Rim cooking.

In their energetic and warmly inviting book, Tom and Jackie take the hassle out of first-rate entertaining. Suggestions for do-ahead preparation appear in each chapter, along with wine pairings for each course.

A celebration in itself, Tom's Big Dinners brings big-time fun, flavor, and flair to your own dinners.