Last weekend, June 9-11, our friends, Kim and George Suyama, former neighbors of ours in West Seattle, came over to Walla Walla to stay with us. The visit was to attend a "Garden Party Book Event," hosted by Diana Broze, featuring signings of "Rosé All Day" and "Five Ways to Cook Asparagus." The Rosé book was written by Katherine Cole, who happens to be the daughter of Doug and Kathie Raff. Doug has been our family's attorney for many years. Katherine writes about wine for the Oregonian and has been the author of three books on wine and the host of The Top Four a national food and wine podcast. "Five Ways to Cook Asparagus" is written by Peter Miller, operator of Peter Miller Books, a shop specializing in architecture and design books which was located in George Suyama's architecture offices. He is a trained chef and the author of many cookbooks, including "Canal House Cooks Every Day."

On Friday evening, we started off with wine and appetizers in Diana Broze's garden. Peter served up some sautéed asparagus and morel mushrooms, served along with some local and Oregon wines. Then we went over to the Whitehouse Crawford Restaurant for dinner in celebration of Colleen Miller's birthday. I ordered the 2013 Kerloo Cellars Upland Vineyard Grenache which went nicely with each of the guests' entrees, salmon, chicken or lamb.

The next afternoon was the Book Signing event in Diana Broze's garden. Lots of people came and many copies were sold and signed. A selection of Washington Rosé were poured, along with a few from Oregon. Here's what each book has to offer. 

Subtitled "The Essential Guide to Your New Favorite Wine," "Rosé All Day" is a virtual compendium of the Rosé wines of the world, including ones from exotic places such as Morocco, the Canary Islands, Lebanon and India. The different rosé winemaking techniques - blending red and white wine, direct press of red grapes, short pressing to tank or barrel, or saignée, bleeding off red juice - are explained. The book then explores the rosé wines of the world, including the popular ones of Southern France, the New World and more. Descriptions of various rose wines are included. Washington State gets five pages, including rosés from Tranche and Waters. Appendices include on line retailers and the top five rosé in five categories.

"Five Ways to Cook Asparagus (And Other Recipes)" is subtitled, The "Art and Practice of Making Dinner." It includes not only five ways to cook asparagus, but also broccoli, carrots, onions and cauliflower. Also legumes, rice, pasta and more. Then also "Five Ways to Bring the Beasts, Birds and Fish to Dinner.  Additional sections include Weekend Cooking, Toolbox: Five Essential Skills, Menus: Five Ways to a Meal, and "A Sweet End to the Meal, A Dessert of Fresh Fruit. The recipes discussed are creative and imaginative. This book will provide a tasty experience for any cook.

After the book signing, several of us gathered at Jim German's Passatempo Taverna for an Italian style dinner. All kinds of antipasto, pasta, entrees and verdure (including asparagus of course) were served along with some Italian whites and reds, including a Syrah from Campania. This concluded a memorable weekend of Rosé Wine and Asparagus.