We asked our Salmon Sisters around the state how they are using wild Alaska seafood in their holiday menus -- their responses were inspiring and a clear reminder that Alaska's bountiful fisheries connect all of us, and are central to so many family gatherings around the holidays. Wintertime is the slow season for many of us, the perfect time to gather around our dinner tables with loved ones to tell stories, to try out a new seafood recipe, and to share meals with neighbors and friends. Below we share a very special new recipe from Fishes & Dishes, as well as a long list of favorite ways to enjoy wild seafood from our creative followers. We hope you take some time this holiday to enjoy creating something wild and delicious, and to share it with a few people that you love.
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Our big sister heroes Tomi and Kiyomi Marsh, authors of the incredible Alaska seafood recipe book Fishes & Dishes, have perfected a special new dish. It's a Salmon Pot Pie, and we can't wait to try making one for our holiday gatherings. This savory pie is bound to become tradition after a long winter's day in the snow. We hope you try it out too!
SALMON SISTERS PIE
Ingredients:
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onion (1 large)
1 cup chopped fennel
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups fish stock or clam juice
1 cups white wine
1/2 cup diced yukon gold potatoes, cooked
1 cup large shrimp, peeled
1 cup Pacific cod, cut into 1” cubes
1 cup salmon, cut into 1” cubes
1 tablespoon Pernod
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup half and half
3 ounces cream cheese
1/2 cup minced flat-leaf parsley
1 box refrigerated pie crust (or make your own 2 crust recipe)
1 egg beaten for egg wash
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and fennel and cook for 10 to 15 minutes, until the onions are translucent. Add the flour and cook over low heat for 1 more minute, stirring occasionally.
Bring the stock and wine to a low simmer in a large pot or saucepan. Add the seafood and poach just until firm, about 2 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to remove the seafood to a bowl and set aside.
Slowly add the stock to the onion/fennel/flour mixture and stir. Add the Pernod, salt and pepper and simmer for 3-5 minutes. Stir in the half and half and cream cheese and stir until mixed in thoroughly, and continue to simmer for 5 minutes until slightly thickened. Remove from heat and add in the seafood and parsley. Gently spoon the mixture into 8 half pint glass canning jars.
Roll the dough out the cut 8 rounds in the pastry about 1” bigger than glass jar. Fold under and crimp around the edges to seal. Brush egg wash over the top of the pastry. Make a few slashes in the top to allow the steam to escape. Place the jars on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper and bake for about 40 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and the filling is bubbling hot.
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Salmon Sisters eating wild Alaska Seafood this holiday:
We asked our Salmon Sisters around the state how they're using wild Alaska seafood into their holiday menus. Below are a few of our favorites!
Misty Pattison Coho Salmon jerky, pickled coho salmon, smoked geoduck, smoked King salmon, jalapeño Caned coho, pickled beach asparagus & bull kelp pickles are the seafood side of my Christmas gifts
Denise Peacock We use Alaskan salmon in scrambled breakfast eggs with sourdough toast!
Kate Bartlett Wild Alaskan Salmon Chowder on Christmas Eve!
Maya Rieselbach Smoked salmon, asparagus and goat cheese omelet for brunch!
Jessica Roderick Russian River Reds. Felet with lemon cranberry pecan sauce planed for Christmas Eve dinner, with a Root Roast side.
Cassie West We love fried halibut cheeks and smoked salmon dip, they keep everybody in the kitchen all day!
Chena Litzen Kenai River Reds canned last summer will make a delicious salmon pie.
Lillian Feldpausch Enjoying the fruits of our labor from the summer..... combine a jar of fresh pack yummy sockeye and a jar of smoked sockeye salmon for salmon spread, as well as making halibut fresh pack for spread.
Juli Hemphill We will have smoked salmon dip, grilled halibut and of course some grilled moose!! Love this dang Alaska place !!!!
Emily Dell Smoked salmon fettuccine!
Sheri Boehlert Fresh jarred Sockeye Salmon Fish Cakes
Lisa Matlock My Alaskan hubby is making his mom's mouth watering smoked halibut stuffed mushrooms for appetizers.
Melissa Williams Sautéed spot shrimp caught off my Dads boat!
Nikki Corbett Baked salmon, smoked salmon, strips, salmon head soup with the eggs.
Tehra Benson Our traditional christmas eve dinner is king crab and scallops with garlic and butter. Nothing more, nothing less.
Kelly L Nyberg Smoke salmon spread on crackers, smoke salmon stripes eating like candy!! Healthy snack.. Salmon steaks instead of beef!!
Stacey Vigilante We love the bounty of our waterways. From our favorite white King salmon, to the flakey fillets of halibut. Either pair perfectly with anything we serve during the holidays. My absolute favorite is grilled oysters with garlic and a bit of butter. Thank you for helping to protect our way of life, not just for us but future generations.
Tricia Krug We always have seafood chowder for Christmas with Halibut, scallops, shrimp and crab. Also a dish with smoked and baked salmon is a staple!!
Ruby Campbell I'm out of town for the Holidays so I am not near my frozen king Salmon, but I'll crack a jar that my mom jarred with Jalapeño's and mixed it with chives and cream cheese to spread on pilot bread crackers!
Shonna Wheeler Kippered smoked salmon for Christmas Eve of course!!
April Arbuckle I am using halibut from the Bering Sea for halibut Olympia
Inger MacRae Every Christmas I make my own gravlax; cold cured salmon. It's to die for.
Sheila Miller Salmon breakfast strata!
Hayley DeBatty King crab every year and crab cake egg benedict Christmas morning!
Melanie Brown We will have a Bristol Bay King Salmon as our dinner centerpiece.
Dorothea Berntsen We use smoked salmon in our deviled eggs, king crab muffins we make this every year on Christmas Eve.
Sarah Levar Home made salmon meatballs as an appetizer!
Amberly May Wild Sockeye with a homemade marinate of paprika, salt & pepper, garlic, oil, and then pan fried in butter!
Be Lax Champion Salmon/ crab and artichoke dip with homemade sourdough! Salmon strips and agutuk!
Rashele Hunter Kimmel Christmas morning breakfast tradition. Smoked salmon and potato breakfast casserole!
Lorna Cameron Feast of the 7 fishes, for sure! Scallops, prawns, sablefish, salmon (of course), crab, razor clams & halibut, mmm our Christmas Eve tradition!! Keep it local, yo.
Casey Woster My family and friends all get together for a huge seafood feast on Christmas Eve, including crab legs, smoked salmon, seafood lasagna, and a great chowder, with all of the seafood either caught and processed by us or locally sourced. We look forward to it all year long. As us kids have grown, Christmas Eve has become even more special to us than Christmas Day, as it means that we are gathered with people we grew up with, sharing the bounty Alaska provides us.
Smoked salmon over a delicious holiday-inspired quinoa salad! - @rise_and_wander
Adding some canned smoked salmon to guacamole to add some fusion food to my families Christmas dinner. - @jenessabrokke
Our families salmon dip recipe has been a Christmas tradition for 40+ years, likely enjoy that with a Bloody Mary with some smoked salmon vodka. Salmon is always on the menu. - @mooresalmon
I am making candied Kenai river red salmon with raw honey and including that in the gift baskets I'm making for our family full of home canned and made goods. - @kayla.pedersen
We are preparing black cod collard tips for the family. - @mariahannshields
Salmon patties! - @topetanya
Salmon carpaccio is one of our favorites! - @gillianalyson
Fresh king salmon from Juneau with homemade pesto! - @be99801
Naknek River King Salmon will be at the center of our table. - @fishwineski
Smoked salmon for our loved ones, salmon dip for our Christmas company, smoked salmon chowder and mile high biscuits for snowy days! - @skiterratima
Salmon dip + pilot bread - @megrector
Poached salmon with mustard dill sauce, salmon dip & smoked salmon. - @breapeterson
Cheesy halibut dip and smoked salmo dip! Halibut caught in Homer and salmon from the Kenai! And every year since I was a little kid, we have had King Crab for Christmas dinner. No turkeys or hams around here! - @lindsaynhall
Jalapeno smoked halibut dip, crab Rangoon, soy suace and honey salmon, halibut Olympia, and clam bakes. - @madzlin
White winter King on the barbie. - @kateinak
Alaskan caught salmon cakes with a peppered honey drizzle on a bed of greens. - @darcyharrod
Copper salmon simply cooked on a cast iron with only olive oil, salt n peppa. No flavors necessary. - @ktsela
Sitka coho salmon made into meatballs for a holiday appetizer, with home made red sauce dipper for my friends! - @slevar
Blackened salmon burgers with garden veggies. - @collins_mary
Halibut Candy Ganty for a main course! Smoked Salmon Dip for appetizers. Dried fish (sockeye, coho, halibut) for stocking stuffers. Siracha jarred sockeye strips for appetizers. Beer battered fish (lingcod and salmon) n chips. Bacon Wrapped scallops. Fresh Shrimp. King and Dungy crab. - @pelicanjazz18
Pickled sockeye caught out of Bristol Bay last summer for an appetizer as well as dungy dip. Coppers and halibut for the main course. - @rachelvanderwerff
Breakfast salad with smoked salmon and eggs. Delicious! - @zalsmaphone
Fresh king crab that just made it home for the holidays, to top off our salads! - @reannabell
Homemade clam chowder and king crab leggings for dinner! - @bowlingleggz
Proscuitto-wrapped halibut! - @juliammor
We all bring a nacho topping for Christmas Eve dinner - this year I'll be bringing sugar and spice rubbed salmon. - @ericamerica
Wild Alaska Salmon over fettuccini alfredo on Christmas Eve as the main course on our Feast of Seven Fishes. - @awalkn
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Want to try some new recipes? Wild Alsaka Flavor has many favorites! #askforalaska
Need video inspiration? KTUU: Alaska Bites Segment: Holiday Seafood
I’m really not a “sister” but I always bring 3 items: 1, 6 quarts of razor clam chowder.. 2, a side filet of Cook Inlet Red Gravlox.. 3, a side filet of smoked Silver.. Of course I bring the necessary trimmings for each dish, and it lends festivity to the Holidays..