Just In from Chef Mandy Dixon: Fall Recipes Inspired by Alaska

Fireweed. It’s more than just one of Alaska’s quintessential plants — it is living punctuation. A keeper of time, whose magenta bloom in Homer peaks in late July to early August and whose leaves blaze crimson in autumn, it heralds both gratitude for the full throttle of summer and the tender shift into fall. It is often said that once you see the last couple of blooms open on the top of the fireweed, you’re five weeks away from snow. The prettiest time keeper in town, no doubt.

Indeed, the last blooms have opened upon many of these flowering monuments of summer. Though we’re still a few days away from the autumnal equinox, in Alaska if you look up from the fields — which were, it seems only yesterday, carpeted in magenta, are now aflame with the iconic red leaves of fireweed — and into the distance, you can see that the mountain peaks have begun to glimmer with freshly fallen snow. Fall is here. 

This week, to celebrate the arrival of the season, I’m sharing a piece by Chef Mandy Dixon of Tutka Bay Lodge in Kachemak Bay that embraces the seasonal change of color and pace in Alaska. At the bottom of this newsletter, you’ll also find Chef Mandy’s recipes for fall that are inspired by the species and coziness of the season.

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This Wild Place

By Mandy Dixon

Fall in Alaska is a quiet magic. The summer rush starts to ease off. Light comes in lower across our bay, the water turns a deep indigo, and leaves swirl in the wind. You can smell the last cranberries — sharp and tart in the air. After all those endless summer days, the season finally exhales. Everything gets hushed. This is my favorite time of year.

The air has that first bite of cold — enough to wake you up in the morning, but not too sharp yet. The sky opens up wider somehow. Evenings stretch out in rose and gold, and suddenly the wood stove becomes your best friend. Guests who come now feel it too. They’re stepping into a different Alaska, something quieter and more intimate.

Cooking in autumn has its own pace. Summer’s all about speed and abundance — fall is about depth and taking your time. The catch is still incredible — halibut, salmon, scallops, crab — but now I can lean into it, slow things down, and bring some real warmth to every dish. Root vegetables and squash start showing up, along with hearty greens, apples, and mushrooms, taking the place of those tender summer shoots. The kitchen fills with the smell of things roasting, stocks simmering all day, chowders that warm your hands while you eat.

There’s something grounding about folding the sea into fall flavors: seared scallops with roasted apples; halibut with whatever mushrooms we’ve foraged; and a seafood cassoulet that bubbles under golden breadcrumbs — these are the meals that pull people together, get them telling stories by the fire, and make them pause as the tide comes in and twilight settles.

Here at Tutka Bay Lodge, autumn draws us back to the water. The fjord is still generous with us — crab pots come up heavy, late-season salmon still flash silver in the bay, and kelp hangs slick and gleaming on the rocks. Our guests figure out pretty quickly that autumn here isn’t about rushing around. It’s about honoring the ocean’s steady rhythm.

This is the preserving season, too. Salmon smokes over alder, roe gets cured into jeweled pearls, seafood goes into jars for winter. It’s what people have done here for generations — carrying the essence of the sea forward into the dark months.

Fall at Tutka Bay shows you something true: wildness and comfort aren’t opposites. They’re companions. The tide sets our tempo, the catch shapes what’s on the table, and seafood becomes more than just dinner as everything slows down. It turns into a story about this place, about resilience and gratitude — a reminder that in this brief, beautiful season, we’re exactly where we’re supposed to be. Nourished by the sea, anchored by the wild.

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Without further ado, here are 4 fall recipes from Chef Mandy Dixon that are inspired by the turn of the season in Kachemak Bay: 

• Brown Butter Seared Pacific Halibut With Wild Mushroom Ragout Chef Mandy suggests serving this one over egg noodles. “The combination is earthy and bright, sea and forest in harmony.” 

• Fisherman’s Pot Pie Chef Mandy’s recipe uses store-bought puff pastry as a topping for this pot pie because it “makes the dish easy to bring together without sacrificing the flaky crust that makes pot pie irresistible.”

• Seared Scallops With Apple Cider Glaze I’m thinking about adding this one to my holiday meal recipe roster, per Chef Mandy’s suggestions. “It’s a celebratory and generous plate — impressive and perfect for a Thanksgiving gathering.”

• Squash and Salmon Risotto This risotto makes use of the fall harvests in Kachemak Bay. Per Chef Mandy: “Wild salmon is still abundant, and winter squash appears in the Homer farmers’ markets, bright and ready for the table.”

Happy fall feasting! 

Live Wild,

Monica

Pictured above: A cozy bowl of squash and salmon risotto on an Alaskan forest floor.