June Thrifty - Seafood and More ~ The New Alaska Cookbook and Jax Fish House

The New Alaska Cookbook- Recipes from the Last Frontier's Best Chefs, published in 2009. This book is the second edition with the first being published in 2001 and adds four additional chefs into the mix for a total of nine.

Appetizers starts us out with salmon bruschetta, oysters with fennel and leeks, crab cakes, wild mushroom tarts, king salmon pate, vodka cured gravlax and salmon croquettes, followed by Soups, Salads and Sandwiches which consist of seafood chowder, sweet potato soup with crab and shellfish Portuguese, the salads include summer beet or salmon, while sandwich choices are a Cobb salad or oyster po boys.

A few of the Entrees selections are seafood gumbo, scallops (with angel hair pasta or jerk dusted), salmon (alder plank roasted, cold poached with mint mayo, lime chili and sesame crusted, halibut (lemon pepper, hazelnut crusted or panko crusted), roasted Dungeness crab, shrimp & smoked Gouda polenta tart, coconut curry seafood rice bowl, roast Cornish hens with prawns, smoked goose pie, pan seared duck breasts, lamb shanks, rack of lamb and venison medallions.

Side Dishes and Beverages pitch beet & potato towers, saffron risotto cakes, polenta fritters, goat cheese mashed potatoes, glogg and black currant lemonade, while Sauces, Stocks and Other Basics is filled with vinaigrettes, avocado salsa, lemon herb butter, sweet onion jam, spruce tip syrup and of course the usual stocks with the addition of a roasted duck and shellfish stock.

For Desserts, there is poached pears, apple crisp, baked Alaska (naturally!), honey lavender ice cream, chocolate brownies with blueberries, chocolate truffle torte, cheesecake, scones, rice pudding and a sourdough bread pudding.

Jax Fish House - Book of Fish, published in 2002. All recipes are from the eponymous restaurant located in Boulder, Colorado, with each chapter sorted by type of seafood.

The introductory pages offer helpful hints and tips on cooking methods, a fish buying guide and pantry basics (beurre blanc, cocktail sauce, creme fraiche and toasted flour). Included in each chapter is a short description of the seafood ingredient used in the recipe. Up first is Arctic Char - walnut crusted, followed by Catfish ~ blackened with shrimp etouffe, Calamari - fried, Chilean Sea Bass - pan roasted, and Clams - both New England and Manhattan chowders and po boys.

We take a break from the food for Cocktails ~ Bahama Mama, oyster shooters and a spicy shrimp bloody Mary, and continue with Corvina - fried with molasses BBQ sauce & red onion jam, Crabs - cakes and fried soft shell, Crawfish -  in a smoked tomato gazpacho, empanadas, gumbo and Brunswick stew, Grouper - pan seared with hash browns and Halibut - sesame tempura crusted or garam masala crusted.

Moving on we have Lobster - bisque, pot pie or club sandwich, Mahimahi - tamarind glazed or rosemary skewered, Monkfish - prosciutto wrapped, Mussels - with red curry cream or in corn chowder, Oysters - Bienville or Russian (with caviar), Salmon - smoked in a Caesar salad grilled or pecan crusted, Scallops - ceviche or Coquilles St. Jax, Shellfish - cioppino and paella and Shrimp - Pad Thai Shrimp salad, Hoisin glazed and curried egg rolls.

Surf & Turf offers miso pomegranate glazed pork tenderloin & seared scallops and a Rockefeller New York strip, Swordfish - grilled with corn relish, Trout - cedar planked and Tuna - poke or chipotle charred.