Category Archives: Culinary feats

Cedar Planked Sweet Alaskan Shrimp on Mushrooms

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Cedar planks add fire-cooked aroma and rustic class to seafood. The planks work in ovens as well as on the grill. In making this dish, I supplemented a few Crimini caps given to me by a friend with pieces of dried oyster mushrooms.

We are convinced that one of Alaska’s best kept secrets is that it is a food-lover’s paradise. Many Alaskans harvest wild game such as moose, Sitka deer, caribou, mountain sheep and ptarmigan. Ranched reindeer, bison and elk are available as well.

The growing season may be short, but with long hours of sunshine, markets in central and southeast Alaska are typically full of locally grown produce. Strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, cloudberries, currents and more can be found growing wild or purchased at local markets, making Alaska one of the best places on earth to get a slice of pie or a jar of jam. Meanwhile, foraging for mushrooms and edible plants, including seaweed, remains an important part of the culture up here. Not long ago, we were treated to a salad featuring young fireweed shoots, and the seaweed salads we’ve had have been delicious. While the wines we pour with this bounty are shipped up, we don’t have to go far at all to enjoy superbly crafted local beers.

But the centerpiece of Alaskan food is without a doubt seafood, starting with salmon. All five Pacific species are abundant, and they all have their place in the kitchen. Fresh halibut is a revelation on the palate, not to mention one of the most versatile fishes one can cook with. People who eat a lot of fish often find that they end up preferring various species of delicately flavored rockfish. Our own top choice is sea-run Dolly Varden – a char with pale orange flesh, a delicate flavor, and just enough fat to be self-basting. Aside from these fin fish, there are oysters, sea scallops, clams and several species of crabs, all of which benefit from Alaska’s clean, cold seas.

And, of course, there are shrimp. Known as amaebi in Japan, the shrimp of Alaska’s waters are prized for their natural sweetness. The recipe offered below has many possible variations. For example, try a shiso leaf instead of the tarragon, freshly picked chanterelles or Portabellos instead of Crimini mushrooms, or, for a lighter flavor, sea salt instead of soy sauce. Ginger, lime zest, sherry or a sprinkling of sake would add yet another dimension.

Cedar Planked Sweet Alaskan Shrimp on Mushrooms

Ingredients

  • cedar or alder plank, soaked for at least 2 hours
  • 12 Alaskan shrimp, peeled, deveined, butterflied, tail on, and if large enough, lightly scored
  • 12 fresh mushroom caps or 12 appropriately sized pieces of any good mushroom
  • 2 tablespoons clarified butter
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 1 teaspoon dried tarragon
  • freshly cracked pepper
Directions
  1. Preheat oven broiler to hot (500 °F).
  2. Heat clarified butter in frying pan over medium heat. Add garlic and mushrooms. Add soy sauce, sprinkling on mushrooms and in butter, and move mushrooms around to coat with butter and soy sauce. Cook till mushrooms are just cooked, turning once.
  3. Remove mushrooms from pan and place on plank. Sprinkle each piece with dried tarragon, or add leaves of fresh tarragon. Place shrimp on mushrooms, fixing in place with toothpicks. Add freshly cracked pepper.
  4. Place plank in oven and broil for 3 – 5 minutes.

If you make more than a few of these, your guests will not have room for dinner. They are addicting. They’d be terrific prepared on a grill, too, and would pair beautifully with hot sake.

Scallop and Shrimp Chawan Mushi with Smoked Quail Eggs

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Chawan mushi combines two of my favorite things: custard and an element of pleasant surprise. Although the custards served to me (mostly by my grandmother) in my youth were invariably sweet, it was love at first spoonful when I had my first taste of chawan mushi in a Tokyo restaurant. On that occasion, I would have been happy just to enjoy the small ramekin of savory soupy custard that came with my meal. But when one of those spoonfuls revealed a sweet shrimp, and another a tender boiled quail egg, I was full-blown, head-over-heals gone.

Japanese diners seem to think of chawan mushi more as a soup than a custard, and I have to admit that over time, I have come to prefer this dish fairly loosely set. In addition to fresh, grilled or smoked seafood (a bit of smoked salmon makes a nice finishing piece), fresh vegetables such as peas, butter beans, lotus root or mushrooms, or a tender piece of salty grilled chicken, beef or wild game all work well. Creative cooks may want to experiment with the basic dashi recipe or substitute chicken or beef broth. A pinch of smoked sea salt adds another dimension to this versatile dish which can be served hot to take the chill of a winter evening or refreshingly cold on a warm summer day.

Below are the directions for Scallop and Shrimp Chawan Mushi with Smoked Quail Eggs – with much appreciation to a Japanese friend who mailed us a package of smoked quail eggs, thus inspiring this dish. By the way, chawan means tea cup; mushi means steaming.

The Watercourse, a signed and numbered giclée by Whitehorse, Yukon Territory artist Nathalie Parenteau serves as the backdrop for this All-Clad poacher. With its raised tray, it’s perfect for steaming chawan mushi either in an oven or on a stove top. In the past, I’ve improvised with a large round kettle fitted with an inverted shallow wicker basket. The same kettle also works with an inverted metal strainer that happens to fit.

Jack’s Dashi

Ingredients

  • 2 cups water
  • sheet of dried kombu (Japanese kelp) about 4″ x 4″ (about 5 grams)
  • 1 teaspoon “Better than Bouillon Lobster Base” (or make traditional dashi with 1/4 cup dried bonito flakes)

Directions

  1. Add two cups of water and the kombu to a pan. Heat over medium heat.
  2. Just before the water boils, remove the kombu. Turn off heat and stir in the lobster base bouillon.
  3. Strain through cheese cloth or fine-mesh strainer to remove stray pieces of kombu (or bonito flakes, if those are used). The lobster bouillon base will create a slightly darker dashi than bonito flakes. In the finished chawan mushi, this will create an attractive cream color.
  4. Set aside to cool.

Scallop and Shrimp Chawan Mushi with Smoked Quail Eggs

Ingredients

  • 6 small ramekins, preferably with loosely fitted lids. Plastic wrap with a small puncture (to allow steam to escape) can be used to cover the ramekins if lids are not available.
  • 2 cups dashi (see recipe above)
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 6 sea scallops
  • 6 sweet shrimp, peeled, deveined, tails removed (Alaskan shrimp are similar to the ama-ebi of Japan and are perfect for this dish)
  • 6 smoked quail eggs
  • (optional) sea salt to taste
  • (optional) 2 tablespoons good sake

Directions

  1. In a bowl, whisk eggs until smooth. Make sure dashi is cool (so it won’t cook the eggs) and stir into egg mixture. Add soy sauce (and sake, optional) and mix together, but avoid mixing so vigorously that foam is created. Taste for appropriate saltiness. If more salt is desired, use sea salt. Set mixture aside.
  2. Slice scallops depth-wise into three or four parts. Place scallops and 1 shrimp each into the ramekins.
  3. If there are bubbles or foam on the egg and dashi mixture, use a spoon to remove. The finished chawan mushi should be smooth. Cover the scallops and shrimp with the egg and dashi mixture so that ramekins are about 2/3 full. Cover each ramekin with a loosely fitting lid or punctured piece of plastic wrap.
  4. Arrange the covered ramekins in a steamer and gently steam for 12 minutes, until mixture is loosely set.
  5. Turn off heat. Place a smoked quail egg atop each chawan mushi, cover with lids again, and keep them in the steaming pan so that the custard continues to set and the egg warms through – approximately 3 – 5 additional minutes.

This dish makes a delicious appetizer, can be served as one would serve a soup, or as part of the main meal. It will keep nicely in the refrigerator for a day or two. Our village in bush Alaska is dry, so sake is not an option. But I highly recommend you include it, as it really compliments the flavors of this dish – and pairs well as a drink served with the finished chawan mushi.

Rosemary Kalamata Olive Loaf

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Aromatic and flavorful, tonight this rosemary kalamata olive loaf will accompany a moose roast. Roasted lamb, too, would be a good choice, and we anticipate it pairing well with Italian or Greek dishes, as well. This morning we served toasted slices with olive oil with halibut omelets. During the baking process, our kitchen was filled with the irresistible scent of rosemary. We agreed it was one of the best savory breads we’ve ever had.

This is another recipe from 300 Best Bread Machine Recipes by Donna Washburn and Heather Butt. Monitor the dough during the kneading process to make sure the amount of flour/moisture is right. Because the kalamata olives added moisture, I found I needed to add a little more flour than is indicated below.

Olive Rosemary Loaf

Ingredients

  • 1 cup water
  • 3/4 cup kalamata olives, pitted and chopped coarse, extra moisture gently squeezed out in paper towels
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tbsp granulated sugar
  • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 3 1/4 cups all purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup fresh rosemary (or 2 tsp dried)
  • 1 1/4 tsp yeast

Directions

  1. Measure ingredients into baking pan in the order recommended by the bread machine manufacturer. Insert pan into the oven chamber. Start your machine. During the kneading phase, check to make sure the dough is of proper consistency. Add flour or water as needed.

Overnight French Toast with Blueberries

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Blueberry French toast made from leftover challah bread makes for a gourmet breakfast. Thick slices of apple-smoked bacon and freshly brewed cups of espresso roast coffee rounded out this Spring Break breakfast.

Overnight French Toast with Blueberries

Ingredients

  • 6 slices day-old (or older) challah, cut into 1 inch cubes (other brioche-style breads can be substituted)
  • 1/2 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
  • 1/2 cup fresh blueberries (or dried blueberries soaked in hot water for five minutes)
  • 4 eggs, beaten
  • 1/2 cup milk (I used soy milk)
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/3 cup maple syrup
Directions
  1. Lightly grease a baking dish approximately 8 x 8 inches. (My dish was 7 x 10.)
  2. Spread cream cheese on top of bread slices. Cut slices into 1-inch cubes. Arrange the bread cubes in the dish. Sprinkle with 1 cup blueberries.
  3. In a large bowl, mix the eggs, milk, cream, vanilla extract, and syrup. Pour over the bread cubes. Cover, and refrigerate overnight.
  4. Remove the bread cube mixture from the refrigerator about 30 minutes before baking. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
  5. Cover, and bake 30 minutes. Uncover, and continue baking 25 to 30 minutes, until center is firm and surface is lightly browned.

I opted to sprinkle chopped pecans onto the French toast during the last 10 minutes of baking. The French toast is not overly sweet, which is what I was going for. You could mix in confectioner’s sugar with the cream cheese for a sweeter version. Cinnamon would also be a nice addition.

Upside-Down Pecan Pumpkin Cake

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Moist, packed with flavor and topped with crunchy nutty deliciousness, this upside-down will have your guests glad they saved room for dessert. 

I baked this cake in a 9-inch springform pan because that was the best pan for the job in my cupboard. Set on a baking sheet it worked well, and unmolding the cake was a cinch.

Upside Down Pecan Pumpkin Cake

Ingredients

  • 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, evenly divided and melted
  • 3/4 cup of brown sugar
  • 3/4 cup pecan halves
  • 1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon mace
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 cup pumpkin puree, canned or fresh
  • 1/2 cup warm (110 degrees) milk

Directions

  1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spread pecan halves on a baking sheet and toast for 5 minutes or until aromatic.  Remove from the oven and let cool. Coarsely chop the pecans and set aside. Leave the oven set to 350 degrees F.
  2. Melt one stick of butter in a small sauce pan. Add pecans and brown sugar, mix thoroughly. Spread this mixture evenly at the bottom of a 9 inch cake pan.
  3. In a large bowl, sift together flour, sugar, cinnamon, mace, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Set aside.
  4. Melt second stick of butter.
  5. Add melted butter, eggs, milk, vanilla extract and pumpkin puree into a mixing bowl. Beat together with mixer until well combined, about 2 minutes.  Add flour mixture and stir with spoon until just combined.
  6. Pour batter on top of pecan mixture in the baking pan. Bake until a cake tester inserted into the middle comes out clean, about 50 minutes. Transfer the cake to a wire rack to cool, approximately 5 minutes.
  7. Place a plate over the cake and invert to unmold cake and let cool completely.

We served the cake with homemade vanilla bean ice cream and cups of freshly steeped almond roobios tea.

This recipe was adapted from http://thenoshery.com/2011/03/28/praline-upside-down-pumpkin-cake/.

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Stuffed Alaskan Halibut

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Wild Alaskan Halibut with bleu cheese, stuffed with mushroom-pine nut purée and Alaskan shrimp.

The other evening after making Salmon en Papillote I had a few tablespoons of mushroom-pine nut purée left over (see recipe here). I’d never made stuffed halibut but felt certain the purée would make an excellent stuffing. To enhance it further, I mixed in several Alaskan shrimp cut into smaller pieces. I made a slice in the halibut exactly as one would do with pita bread and spooned in the stuffing.

Next I rubbed salt and freshly ground pepper into the halibut fillet and set it aside. I then put about three tablespoons of olive oil and one tablespoon of butter in a casserole dish just large enough to hold the fillet, tossed in several cloves of garlic, and heated the dish in an oven set at 375 degrees F (190 C). Once the oil-butter mixture was heated through, I placed the halibut fillet skin side down and baked the fish covered for twenty minutes. Then I topped the fillet with bleu cheese and continued baking till the cheese was melted.

This recipe was as easy as it was delicious – one of the best halibut dishes we’ve had. A 3/4 to one pound fillet prepared this way will serve two.

Ten to 20 pound halibut like this one are perfect for the kitchen.

Waste Not Want Not OR Spiced Pear Butter

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Pear butter and cream cheese slathered on fresh-baked bread and canning jars of just-made pear butter ready for the freezer.

Jack and I try not to waste, especially when it comes to food. When our school’s head cook brought me a box of pears that were too banged up and bruised to serve to students, I gladly took them with the promise of creating something tasty in return.

I bagged up what weighed in at eight pounds of what appeared to be d’Anjou pears. With our supply of maple syrup running low (pancakes and waffles are a weekly feature on our breakfast menu) I reckoned they’d cook down into a fair amount of sweet, lightly spiced pear butter.

Outside it was blowing a gale. I made the walk home in near white-out blizzard conditions only to find my front door knob frozen solid! A snow drift as high as the house had the other door completely buried! After trudging back to school to get help – and fortunately finding one of our maintenance crew who knew exactly what to do – I decided to forego a walk to the store to pick up orange juice, a key element in my most recent batch of pear butter. I did have plenty of lemon juice on hand. Time to experiment.

I have to say this pear butter came out even better than the last. If you picked this up in a cute jar in a boutique gourmet shoppe, you would be happy you spent the $8.

Making pear butter requires an investment of time and effort, but it’s worth it. We taste tested it on Challah bread with a smear of cream cheese. Delicious. We already can imagine filling all the nooks in our weekend waffles with warmed pear butter and chopped pecans. It would be equally tasty on broiled pork chops or grilled chicken.

Ingredients

  • 6 pounds of cored pears cut into cubes (D’Anjou or Bartlett)
  • 1 tbsp dry ground ginger
  • 2 cups water
  • 1 cup lemon juice
  • 4 – 5 cups of sugar
  • 1/2 tsp cardamom
  • 1 tsp orange zest (lemon would be good, too)

Directions

  1. Put cubed pears and ginger into a large pot – preferably one with a thick enough bottom to prevent scorching. Add 2 cups water and 1 cup lemon juice. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer and cook until pears are soft, 25 – 40 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.
  2.  Purée the mixture using food processor, stick or regular blender. Pour puréed pears back into large pot.
  3. Add sugar. Taste after adding 4 cups to see if more sugar is needed. Add cardamom and citrus zest. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary.
  4. Cook on medium-low heat, stirring often to prevent the purée from sticking to the bottom of the pan and burning. Cook until the mixture is fairly thick. Test by placing a small dollop on a chilled plate: it should not be runny. The cooking-down time can take anywhere from 45 minutes to 2 hours, depending on the batch.
  5. Store in freezer containers or canning jars.
Recipe adapted from http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/pear_butter/

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Alaskan Chinook Salmon En Papillote

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Salmon Challenge #5: Wild Alaskan Chinook en papillote (in parchment paper) on mushroom-pine nut purée and garnished with Alaskan shrimp.

I got the idea for this recipe in A. J. McClane’s North American Fish Cookery, a thin volume of just over 100 fish and shellfish recipes. In his day, McClane was perhaps the most well-known contemporary name in angling literature and journalism and was a gourmet chef to boot. Now 31 years old, this book is very much worth having if you can find a copy. McClane used petrale sole in the original recipe. Salmon was the first of several modifications I made. I would have loved to have had sherry for the mushroom-pine nut purée, but the miso soup used instead gave it a very nice flavor.

To make two servings you will need two oven-proof plates and two sheets of parchment paper large enough to cover the plates. A pair of charger plates to set the hot plates on when they come out of the oven are a nice touch.

Ingredients

  • 3/4 pound fillet of wild salmon, cut in half. Skin on or off is cook’s choice. I leave the skin on in virtually all recipes.
  • olive oil
  • 1 cup chopped mushrooms
  • 3 or 4 cloves of garlic, chopped coarse
  • 1/2 cup sweet onions, chopped coarse
  • 1/4 cup pine nuts
  • 1/2 cup miso soup flavored fairly strong
  • 1/2 tablespoon dry tarragon
  • ground black pepper
  • sea salt
  • soy sauce
  • sherry (optional – to add to mushroom-pine nut purée while sautéing).
  • carrot sliced into julienne strips – enough to place a few on each fillet without overwhelming the fish
  • shrimp peeled and deveined, 2 to 5 for each fillet, depending on size of shrimp. Other garnishes could include thinly sliced lemon, julienne squash, shellfish (small oysters, shrimp, scallops, mussels, crab meat), or fresh herbs

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

2. Rinse the salmon fillets, pat dry with paper towels, sprinkle with ground pepper and sea salt and set aside.

3. Very briefly sauté the julienne carrots in olive oil and a little soy sauce, stirring continuously till just limp but still crunchy. Remove from skillet and set aside.

4. Prepare 1/2 cup of strong miso soup and set aside.

5. Place about 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet and heat over medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook for a minute or two. Add the mushrooms, garlic, pine nuts, tarragon, a few grinds of pepper and sea salt. Add the miso soup. Sauté till liquid is mostly evaporated and ingredients are cooked through. Set aside.

6. Purée the mushroom-pine nut mixture in a food processor or blender. If more liquid is needed, add a small amount of water and olive oil.

7. Arrange one sheet of parchment paper on each ovenproof plate and put a little olive oil in the center (where the purée will go) to prevent sticking.

8. Spread half the purée on each sheet of parchment paper. Place salmon fillets atop the purée. Top the salmon with julienne carrots and shrimp.

9. Seal parchment paper by crimping or folding ends together and folding under.

10. Bake on plates on center rack for 20 minutes.

Try this exceptionally flavorful entrée with a glass of Champagne.

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Wild Alaska Sesame Seed Salmon

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Wild Alaska Salmon Lox

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Molten Lava Chocolate Cake for Two

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One bite reveals a dark, rich, molten chocolate center. Served warm, this dessert tastes like a celebration.

When we got word that the seller had accepted our offer for our new home, Jack and I both thought “Champagne!” With that not being possible in Point Hope, we went for the next best option – a gourmet celebration meal. Jack created a perfect dinner of seared strip steaks topped with bleu cheese and garnished with a sautéed medley of onions, mushrooms, and garlic. He served the steaks with carrots and parsnips sautéed with a hint of maple syrup. Foil-wrapped baked potatoes and sour cream finished off the plate.

My contribution was dessert. I had read several recipes for molten lava chocolate cake that sounded just right – rich, warm, chocolate and sized to serve individually. I adapted my version from a blog that had scaled down the recipe to two.

Jack had purchased these beautiful ramekins when he lived in Japan. My original thought was to serve the cakes in the ramekins as pictured. I decided to experiment with mine and inverted it. The jam spread perfectly under the cake. I dusted the inverted cake with a bit more powdered sugar. It was a perfect end to a perfect meal.

Molten Lava Chocolate Cake

adapted from Sweetebakes

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 2 tbsp unsalted butter
  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar, plus extra for garnish
  • 1 egg
  • 3 tbsp all purpose flour
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
–
Directions
–
  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Butter two ramekins and place on baking sheet. Set aside.
  2. In a double boiler, melt chocolate chips and butter, stirring until smooth.
  3. Scrape chocolate mixture into a bowl and add powdered sugar. Mix until incorporated.
  4. Add egg and whisk until smooth.
  5. Stir in flour and vanilla extract until smooth.
  6. Pour batter into prepared ramekins and transfer baking pan to oven.
  7. Bake for 12 minutes. Cakes should puff to surface of ramekins.
  8. Allow to sit for 1 minute.
  9. Place a dollop of raspberry or peach jam on cake before inverting onto plate.
  10. Dust with powdered sugar to garnish.

–

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Yelloweye & Grits: Breakfast Onboard Gillie

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Yelloweye rockfish (Sebastus ruberrimus), a species of the Pacific Coast from Baja Mexico to Prince William Sound Alaska, is prized for its delicate flavor.

We’d spent most of the night on our C-Dory, drifting over deep water on Prince William Sound, admiring the moon and stars in the clear summer sky, talking about our life and occasionally dropping heavy, water-slicing knife jigs to the rocky bottom 160 feet below. Fishing was slow – a few small lingcod notwithstanding. The night was as still as a painting, the inky water mirroring the heavenly lights. With the engine cut off, the quiet was enveloping. When the yelloweye hit, I knew right away it wasn’t another ling. “Might be our yelloweye!” I said to Barbra as I worked the fish up from the depths.

And sure enough, it was. Barbra expertly scooped it up in the net, I did a quick fillet job, put it in a plastic container which I set in our cooler, and we headed back to port for some well-earned sleep. It was already early morning, though not quite yet dawn.

A few hours later when we woke, the sun was already high in the sky and the marina was bustling with activity. With daylight burnin’, we walked up the dock to the showers, blue skies and a few puffy white clouds overhead, deep green hanging on the mountains rimming the harbor.

Back onboard Gillie I put the Coleman stove on the aft deck, fired it up, and after Barbra made coffee I fixed a fisherman’s breakfast of southern-style grits topped with easy-over eggs and a couple of yelloweye fillets along with the collars – that especially sweet piece of meat that includes the pectoral fin muscle. (The collar looks a little like a lobster in the above photo.)

Not a fancy breakfast, but a special one. I kept the seasoning simple: a little sea salt and black pepper ground coarse. The steaming plates of food accompanied by French roast coffee made for a great start to another day in paradise.