Seafood as the Most Unexpected Culinary Fallback

For most of my life, seafood was a special occasion. It was the thing you made when you had something to prove, for an annual family feast or a candlelit dinner for two. It was the dish ordered at a restaurant with white tablecloths and linen napkins, the culmination of a reservation that you made weeks in advance. It was the protein that I had saddled with a level of seriousness that felt at odds with laidback days or busy weeknights, when a simple pasta or easy takeout felt like a more appropriate fallback.

I can't tell you exactly when that flipped — only that it did, somewhere in the accumulation of the many mealtimes that I’ve spent married to Arron (WAC founder + CEO). Being married to an Alaskan has long ensured that our freezer is stocked with a panoply of species and fillets and cuts. But having a glorious abundance of frozen fish didn’t instantly make it feel like my go-to protein. 

Looking back, I’m struck by how much of that hesitance around seafood had nothing to do with the fish itself and everything to do with what I thought fish demanded of me. I assumed I needed confidence I didn't have, timing I couldn't trust, a marinade I hadn't planned twelve hours in advance. But seafood steadily became my fallback through learning things, winging things, and trying things in the kitchen. Before I knew it, the process had recast seafood as my go-to protein.

I’ve since come to understand that wild-caught seafood from Alaska asks little more than for you to pull up a chair at the dinner table. It’s versatile and adaptable enough to fit a range of flavor profiles, whether elevated, experimental, nostalgic, herbaceous, delicate, bold, fun — there are literally no limitations, only possibilities that let your palate play. 

On the subject of versatility, I want to give a shoutout to WAC’s pre-marinated options. Halibut paired with a cultured compound herb-butter. Teriyaki sockeye marinated with a savory, not-too-sweet glaze that’s crafted from premium ingredients. These pre-marinated seafood options have bailed me out on the toughest days, because they’re already dressed for culinary success — if you haven’t yet tried them, I think you’ll be truly impressed. Genuinely, they’re so delicious that I voluntarily enjoy preparing our pre-marinated offerings even when I do have the bandwidth to prepare a fully committed feast.

While it certainly helps, you don’t have to marry an Alaskan in order to lean into living with a freezer full of fish. Simply by being part of this fish family, you’re well on your way to embracing seafood as your fallback protein. Wherever you are in your WAC membership — whether you’re a new member, a seafood beginner, a loyal long-timer, a pro chef — I hope this week’s newsletter inspires you to reach into the freezer to dream up what you’re cooking next.

Live Wild, 

Monica

Pictured above: A candid shot of me and Arron in the kitchen — my life’s version of what it’s like to be married to an Alaskan.