Alaska Cooks

Say the title of this post aloud three times fast. Anyway. We live in the land of salmon, and there are lots of fish here for the taking, yet this is the time of year when it can be hard to get excited about salmon for dinner. Again. In the South of my youth, fish was fried. Catfish, brim, crappie, anything that could be yarded out of a farm pond was likely headed for a quick roll in cornmeal and a dunking in hot oil. As a kid we spent a lot of time at the beach house, and were fortunate enough to have Calabash, North Carolina just down Highway 17. For those of you unfortunate enough to grow up elsewhere, Calabash is the epicenter of things great and good when it comes to Southern seafood. A few hundred residents, 40 restaurants, and 100 fishing vessels have built a tradition of fresh seafood, generally served right off the boat. Most of it is fried, blessedly so, and in portions that will make you a bit nervous, until you start eating. It’s that good. And yet, as a child it took me years to decide that I would eat and enjoy this kind of food. It makes me sad now, knowing there were meals then I did not get to eat. Now I find myself living in Alaska where produce from the sea is king. I’ve come around. Sea meats are good.

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fish, seafood

Despite our recent heat wave , the gratuitously cruel sighting of a robin, the lengthening days, and the early onset of ants-in-the-pants spring fever, we are still in the middle of winter. It’s not yet time for the lovely bright and light flavors of spring for us, although we are being tempted. A recent day on skis left a need for something hearty and homey to go with the crackling heat from the fireplace. I recall an intense desire to not have to leave the house and have to shop for anything. There was a pork tenderloin in the fridge and a bowl of apples that needed attention on the kitchen table table.

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apples, pork, sauce

Not long ago we had friends over for a dinner, usually a pretty regular occurrence. The holidays and all that went with them been getting in the way. There were travel plans and family obligations coming up, so we decided to make a night of it. I laid in a largish supply of wine, cheese, and treats, but put off getting the nuts and bolts of the meal until after I had gotten out of the office, just a few hours before the guests were to arrive. I had purchased a sizable tenderloin the day before, but had neglected to clean it. The puff pastry was still cryogenically preserved, in a state somewhere between concrete and granite deep in the bowels of the freezer. As is often the case, my plans failed to take into account a number of variables that slightly more intuitive folks might have expected:

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fungi, uh-oh

You may have noticed that Alaska Cooks has undergone a few changes lately. One could charitably say that we’ve been downright schizophrenic for a few weeks. After many late nights, wasted weekends, and an embarrassing amount of alcohol, our fine staff of programmers, coders, photographers, and writers have finally reached a consensus on a new layout, design, and some added functionality. It is safe to say at this point things are approximately 90% complete. A brief run through the new features:

As always, thanks very much for reading. Looks like the library and photo links in the menu bar are only working in Firefox and not in Internet Explorer. We’ll be working on it. If you notice any more gremlins or glitches, please let our maintenance crew know.

off-topic

Early in January, the other Jared over at the Carnivore Project started the Adopt-a-Meat program, and this was supposed to be a part of that. Life got in the way and this post is past it’s due date. Sorry, other Jared. I owe you one.

It’s the time of year when those of us fortunate enough to live in the North start to get at least a little bit stir-crazy. December 21st was the shortest day of the year, and already we’re gaining over 5 minutes of sunlight a day. The extra few minutes add up quickly, and by the end of this month the passing of each week will mean nearly an extra hour of light each day. After several months of days that start at 10 AM and end with sunsets at 3:30, we are ready for spring, and all that comes with it. One of the perks that comes with living here is a basically never-ending supply of protein, and our freezer is still full of carefully preserved salmon, halibut and cod from last season. We dole it out a fillet or two at a time, each a little piece of last summer. [read more →]

alaska, fish, salmon