The Tutka Bay Lodge Cookbook: Coastal Cuisine from the Wilds of Alaska

by Kirsten Dixon, Mandy Dixon, Pam Houston (Foreword by)

Overview

In personal stories, evocative photographs, and recipes that are purposefully simple and designed for the home cook, Chef Kirsten Dixon and her family share fresh, rustic cuisine offering friendship, communicating passion, and bringing comfort and delight to the table. This recipe collection represents the cuisine at Tutka Bay Lodge, the Dixons’ seaside lodge nestled within the curve of a quiet cove at the entrance to Tutka Bay, a deep seven-mile fjord in Kachemak Bay, Alaska. In old-world tradition, Kirsten Dixon’s family works together to craft a lifestyle that centers around three themes: the natural world, their culinary lives, and living a life of adventure. The cookbook is organized by sections for breakfast, lunch, appetizers, dinner, and the Cooking School at Tutka Bay. Among the one hundred recipes are Brioche Doughnuts with Cider Black Currant Marmalade, Hot-Smoked Salmon Croquettes, Grilled Oysters with Salmon Bacon and Pernod, Braised Short Rib Ravioli, and Wild Berry Chocolate Shortcake. “Seafood is the star of our cuisine here, as it should be. We certainly serve our share of ocean-caught salmon throughout the entire summer season. Halibut, cod, rockfish, shrimp, and crab also are served nearly daily. We are never too far from the garden in our cooking and many of our recipes include fresh-picked herbs or vegetables that grow well in Alaska. In addition, the wild berries, herbs, mushrooms, and sea vegetables inspire us to remember where on the Earth we live and how lucky we are,” Kirsten says.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781941821152
Publisher:	TURNER PUB CO
Publication date:	10/01/2014
Pages:	224
Product dimensions:	8.90(w) x 10.10(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

A passionate culinary student and educator, chef Kirsten Dixon has been cooking in the backcountry of Alaska for more than twenty years. She owns Within the Wild Adventure Company along with her husband, Carl, and daughters, Mandy and Carly. Together they operate Winterlake Lodge, Tutka Bay Lodge, the Cooking School at Tutka Bay, a home goods boutique, and a café, all located in Southcentral Alaska. Kirsten completed a Master of Fine Arts program in creative writing at Goddard College, Vermont, and has since written for and been featured in many national and international publications. She has written two cookbooks, including THE WINTERLAKE LODGE COOKBOOK for which she won the Best Female Chef USA award at the Gourmand International Cookbook Awards in 2004. Her new edition of THE WINTERLAKE LODGE COOKBOOK with new recipes, new design, and new photos was published in 2012. Expanded bio and resume at: www.facebook.com/WinterlakeLodgeCookbook/notes Mandy Dixon serves as Within the Wild Adventure Company’s pastry chef and the chef of La Baleine Café, a seaside cafe in Homer, Alaska. She trained at Le Cordon Bleu in Pasadena, California, and later enrolled in the intensive pastry program at the Culinary Institute of America in St. Helena, California. Mandy worked as a pastry chef for the Thomas Keller Restaurant Group in Yountville, California, before returning to the family business in Alaska in 2010. She was the food stylist for the second edition of The WINTERLAKE LODGE COOKBOOK, and is a coauthor of the upcoming THE TUTKA BAY LODGE COOKBOOK: COASTAL CUISINE FROM THE WILDS OF ALASKA.

Table of Contents

Foreword by Pam Houston With Gratitude Welcome to Tutka Bay Lodge We Look for Seashells in the Morning Morning Meal Apple Cheddar Waffles Blueberry Pancakes with Berry Syrup Breakfast Rice Bowl Brioche Dough Brioche Doughnuts with Cider Black Currant Marmalade Cider Black Currant Marmalade Crab Cake Benedicts with Hollandaise Sauce on Homemade English Muffins Crispy Russet Potato and Gruyère Hash Browns Danish Pastry Using Quick Danish Dough Herbed Buttermilk Biscuits with Smoked Salmon Homemade Granola Homemade Ricotta Homemade Yogurt Hot Oat Cereal Huevos Rancheros with Homemade Flour Tortilla Monkey Bread No-Knead Breakfast Bread Red-Flannel Hash Salmon Bacon with Rhubarb Lacquer The Perfect Crab Omelet Whole Grain Wild Berry Bars Wild Berry Ricotta Muffins Let’s Take Our Luncheon by the Sea A Pleasant Walk, A Pleasant Talk Along the Briny Beach… Aioli Blueberry Cream Cheese Cookies Carrot Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting Chilli-Crab Fresh Rolls Cod Fritters with Pea Cream Curried Fish and Chips Dungeness Crab Melts Fish Tacos with Simple Salsa and Homemade Corn Tortilla Ginger Lime Shrimp Stir-Fry Hot-Smoked Salmon Croque Madame Hot-Smoked Salmon Croquettes Kachemak Bay Seafood Chowder (no photo) Local Seafood Paella with Sofrito Pickled Red Onion Red Currant Jam Tart Rhubarb and Ricotta Churros Rhubarb Lemonade Bars (no photo) Russian Summer Soup (no photo) Sourdough Panzanella Spot Shrimp Pizza with White Sauce We Gather the Oysters and the Wine Fête Blueberry Chutney Bullwhip Kelp Sweet and Spicy Pickles Charred Tomato Flatbread Crab Steam Buns Crabapple Chutney Creamy Horseradish Dipping Sauce Grilled Oysters with Salmon Bacon and Pernod Halibut Sliders Mini Salmon Pirogi Pan Seared Scallops with Honey Cider Glaze Puff Pastry Flatbread Quick Fruit and Nut Bread Rice Cakes with Smoked Salmon Rockfish Fritters Rosti Crab Cakes with Fennel Remoulade Salmon Rillettes Sea Crackers Sea Lettuce Relish (no photo) Shrimp Chips Spicy Roasted Garbanzo Beans At the Table We Share Our Stories To the Table Almond Chocolate Toffee Beef Filet with Jakolof Bay Oyster Sauce Beet and Sweet Potato Crumble Braised Short Rib Ravioli Caramel Nut Tart Carrot Ginger Soup Dark Chocolate Berry Tart Grilled Ribeye with Ocean-Style Chimichurri Halibut with Rhubarb and Ginger Herbed Salad with Pickled Radish Miso Butter Pasta with Fresh Basil And Salmon (No Photo) Pork Tenderloin with Leek Cream Raspberry Semifreddo Rose Panna Cotta with Strawberries Salmon-Filled Gnocchi Toasted Barley Risotto with Comté Cheese (No Photo) Weathervane Scallops with White Wine Sauce White Chocolate Bread Pudding Wild Berry Chocolate Shortcake Our Teaching Life A Good Cook Can Cook Anywhere Alaska Fisherman’s Stew Alaska Seafood Sausage Candied Crabapples Curry Powder Five Sauces for Salmon Goa Coast Shrimp Curry Halibut Shawarma Making Sea Salt Marcona-Crusted Halibut Cheeks with Sofrito Ramen Noodle Bowl Salmon Masala Salt-Crusted Salmon Sweet and Smoky Salmon Rub White Bean Stew Index About the Authors

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"A talented chef, Kirsten regales us with culinary treasures that pay tribute to Alaska's rich bounty." —Country Living

Editorial Reviews

As a writer, as soon as I read Kirsten Dixon’s tender instructions for the crab omelette, to fold the omelette over like a letter, I read the recipe twice and knew that letter was for me! And I wanted to read the whole book and eat the covers. “Tutka Bay is a magical place and its vivid spirit touches every dish in this delicious volume.” —Ron Carlson, award-winning novelist

“Tutka Bay is magic. The natural beauty of the place is (almost) enough to fulfill every sense. But then there’s Kirsten Dixon’s food. Every meal—from the morning muffins, breads and egg dishes to the salads and sandwiches to the wild salmon and halibut and crab at dinner— struck the perfect note. This is a collection of recipes that will appeal to every cook— those that have shared her home in Alaska and those who just dream of being there. The Tutka Bay Summer Paella—chock-full of Alaska’s best seafood— is a dish I will never forget. So happy to have this collection of recipes from such a talented chef and writer.” —Kathy Gunst, cookbook author, writer, blogger, and Resident Chef for WBUR’s "Here and Now"

“This is a beautiful book full of photographs and recipes from an enchanted land that few will have the chance to visit . . . how lucky for us that Kirsten and Mandy have taken the time to share their story. Reading this book is like having a seat at the Chef's Table . . . prepare to be inspired!” —Stephen Durfee, Pastry chef, Chef Instructor at the CIA Greystone, Chocolatier

"I loved my stay at Tutka Bay Lodge. A breathtaking location, the warmest hospitality, and exceptional food. Now Kirsten and Mandy are revealing a few of those secret recipes." —David Vann, internationally-bestselling author

"My daughter and I visited Tutka Bay 4 years ago and we have very, very fond memories of the experience; it’s a truly magical place, made all the more so by the wonderfully warm welcome we received. Of all the places I’ve been in the course of my travels I think this may be the one that I find my mind returning most often, and this book takes me right back to that marvellous experience. The recipes are tantalising, the photographs breathtaking. Just reading the list of contents aloud transports me back to Tutka Bay in my imagination. I can’t wait to try some of the recipes." —Joanne Harris, acclaimed British author of the award-winning novel CHOCOLAT

“Whenever I think of Kirsten Dixon and her beautiful Tutka Bay Lodge, I can't help but smile. It is a place infused with a sense of joy, discovery, and adventure—but after the bear viewing and whale watching, there is no greater treat than sitting down at her table and enjoying the deep simple deliciousness of Kirsten’s cooking and her daughter Mandy’s glorious baking. The recipes in this lovely book bring it all home, and we are the luckier for it.” —Dani Shapiro, author of Slow Motion and Devotion

“There is no way to prepare for the wonder and tranquility of life at the Tutka Bay Lodge, for the silence of the forest paths, the whisper of pine sough, the vigilance of eagles in the tall firs, and for the company and gifts of the very special family who have come to be the stewards of this place, and whose hospitality is at once respectful of rare wilderness and attentive to the refinements and culinary knowledge of the old world. Their oysters come from the next cove, their salmon from a family of fishermen on Kachemak Bay, the vegetables and herbs from their own gardens. This is local food, harvested for the table by highly skilled chefs who are themselves devoted to sustained living in the far north. Here, it is possible to restore the spirit to a sense of wonder: to slip by kayak through the still waters at dawn among otters and sea lions, to feel your heart leap with the fish. You will take home with you a memory of earth as it was and still is in such rare places, and once home, in your own kitchen, with the guidance of this book, you can bring a bit of this world to your own.” —Carolyn Forché, Lannan Visiting Professor of Poetry and Professor of English at Georgetown University

From the Publisher

This is a beautiful book full of photographs and recipes from an enchanted land that few will have the chance to visit . . . how lucky for us that Kirsten and Mandy have taken the time to share their story. Reading this book is like having a seat at the Chef's Table . . . prepare to be inspired!” —Stephen Durfee, Pastry chef, Chef Instructor at the CIA Greystone, Chocolatier

Stephen Durfee

Tutka Bay is magic. The natural beauty of the place is (almost) enough to fulfill every sense. But then there’s Kirsten Dixon’s food. Every meal—from the morning muffins, breads and egg dishes to the salads and sandwiches to the wild salmon and halibut and crab at dinner— struck the perfect note. This is a collection of recipes that will appeal to every cook— those that have shared her home in Alaska and those who just dream of being there. The Tutka Bay Summer Paella—chock-full of Alaska’s best seafood— is a dish I will never forget. So happy to have this collection of recipes from such a talented chef and writer.

Kathy Gunst

Whenever I think of Kirsten Dixon and her beautiful Tutka Bay Lodge, I can't help but smile. It is a place infused with a sense of joy, discovery, and adventure—but after the bear viewing and whale watching, there is no greater treat than sitting down at her table and enjoying the deep simple deliciousness of Kirsten’s cooking and her daughter Mandy’s glorious baking. The recipes in this lovely book bring it all home, and we are the luckier for it.

Dani Shapiro

As a writer, as soon as I read Kirsten Dixon’s tender instructions for the crab omelette, to fold the omelette over like a letter, I read the recipe twice and knew that letter was for me! And I wanted to read the whole book and eat the covers. “Tutka Bay is a magical place and its vivid spirit touches every dish in this delicious volume.

Ron Carlson