The Tutka Bay Lodge Cookbook. Kirsten Dixon

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. Organized by sections for breakfast, lunch, appetizers, dinner, and the Cooking School at Tutka Bay, the cookbook includes one hundred recipes, including 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.