Living Within the Wild: Personal Stories & Beloved Recipes

Living Within the Wild features over 100 original recipes, accompanied by personal stories and stunning photographs, to illustrate the lives of one Alaska family that has learned to live well amidst the intense but scenic backcountry of Alaska. The Dixons have been running award-winning adventure lodges in Alaska for over thirty years, celebrating the bounty that the land has to offer with guests from around the world. Their lodges and restaurants are known not just for the rare adventures and incredible views of the Alaskan wilderness, but also for appealing dishes created from the freshest local seafood and produce. Chefs Kirsten and Mandy Dixon's combined culinary experience has been recognized nationally and internationally, from cooking at the famed James Beard House in New York City to serving private dinners for National Geographic guests. In this book, mother and daughter offer their favorite recipes, featured on their menus at the lodges and café but specially recreated for the home chef's kitchen. They also share their unique experiences of life at the lodges--from embracing entrepreneurial challenges to working with family, to sharing the deep purpose and meaning in living in the natural world and wilderness. Chapters are organized thematically, weaving through stories about the seasonal shifts that make this women-run business unique. A final chapter honors the men in Kirsten and Mandy's lives by sharing quick profiles along with a favorite recipe. From your own kitchen, learn to make delicious dishes such as Black Bean Reindeer Chili or King Salmon Bowl with Miso Dressing; snack on Dried Tomato Sesame Cookies, or dine on Smoked Caramel Blueberry Brownies. And along the way, experience a sense of backcountry Alaska through the flavors of seasonal and regional ingredients as the Dixons welcome you into their secret world in the remote wilderness. Chef Kirsten Dixon has been cooking in the backcountry of Alaska for more than thirty years. She attended the Le Cordon Bleu in Paris and earned a Master's in gastronomy from Adelaide University in Australia. She is one of the owners of Within the Wild Adventure Company, which the Dixon family owns and operates from their Southcentral Alaskan restaurants and lodges at Winterlake Lodge, Tutka Bay Lodge, the Cooking School at Tutka Bay, the home goods boutique RusticWild, and La Baleine Café. Kirsten has been featured by the James Beard Foundation and in national and international publications including National Geographic, Fine Cooking, Forbes, Saveur, and more. Chef Mandy Dixon is one of the partners of her family's Within the Wild Adventure Company, and the owner and chef of La Baleine Café in Homer, Alaska. She grew up in her mother's kitchen, later going on to train at Le Cordon Bleu in Pasadena, California, and the Culinary Institute of America in St. Helena, California. Mandy worked as a pastry chef for the Thomas Keller restaurant Group in Yountville, California, for several years before returning to the family business. She has been featured by the James Beard Foundation as well as a number of publications including National Geographic, Fine Cooking, and more.