The 2008 Fish Alaska Recipe Contest Cook-off was in September at the Kincaid Grill in Anchorage, and again, this year's event was nothing short of a great time.

Amazingly, two of our 2008 finalists were previous grand prizewinners: Teri Robl and Frieda Byars. Teri won our very first recipe contest in 2005 while Frieda won us over in 2006. The two other finalists were up against some stiff competition, but Loren Hollers of Soldotna and Robert Maker of Anchorage were able to shine even against the seasoned lady chefs.

We had a lot of entries into the contest this year. It has grown from year to year and it made choosing the monthly recipes quite a challenge. Our judges were up to the task, though, and Governor Palin, Chef Al Levinsohn, Fish Alaska publisher Marcus Weiner and I narrowed down the winning recipes to the following four: Teri with Valley of the 10,000 Smokes King Crab Barbecue Appetizer, Frieda with King Crab Green Papaya Salad, Loren with Macadamia Nut Crusted Halibut with Mango Chipotle Salsa and Robert, who made his Jammin' Salmon Benedict.

All of the recipes were unique and amazing in their own way and each won a hefty prize package from our loyal sponsors, but the one the judges deemed the best of the best this year is Loren Hollers from Soldotna, who prepared the most delicious and perfectly cooked macadamia nut crusted halibut and mango peach chipotle salsa. This dish was marvelous, but what impressed me the most was Loren's ability to cook the halibut to absolute perfection in a foreign kitchen under the pressure of the contest and in the quantities he had to prepare to feed our crowd.

Now, as I mentioned, one of our judges was Governor Palin, who e-mailed her top choices of the monthly recipes to us last spring. The cook-off was late in September, though, and well, it turns out the Governor was pretty busy in September. Still, Chef Al, Marcus and I were lucky enough to have two judges step in to fill her shoes, Sean Parnell, Lt. Gov. of Alaska, and Kikkan Randall, Olympic skier.

The Lt. Gov smiled slyly as he remarked to the crowd, "It's been a tough tour of duty," referring to the task of filling in for Governor Palin as a judge. Right after that our friend and local artist Scott Thompson presented the Lt. Gov. with an amazing carving he made just for him. The carving was of a fly fisherman who had gotten his fly stuck in a log, or so he thought. The fisherman was actually hooked into the trout of a lifetime and the line was wrapped around the log.

As if that wasn't amazing enough, Scott had also hand-carved a special piece of art for Governor Palin, a mother bear teaching her young cub to fish on a riverbank. Scott is one generous contest sponsor and the fortunate Grand Prize winner, Loren, received an original painting by him of salmon feeding on bait fish.

Onto the contest itself, the great food started when our guests first arrived around noon. With a lot of help from my husband, Wayne, brother Marcus and best friends Cristy and Taleen we manage to put out an assortment of tasty finger foods to occupy everyone's palette while they waited for the finalists to present their dishes. This year we made Rockin' Rockfish Bites, Smoked Salmon Mousse on Assorted Crudite, and Mini Salmon Burgers with Lime Cilantro Sour Cream.

The amateur chefs first have to present a plate to each judge who is scoring the dish on taste, originality, visual appeal and texture. Then they serve the crowd of about 50 people a small taste of their competing cuisine. It's no easy task! And who's in the crowd, you might ask? They are the people who make this cook-off even more of a challenge and more of a reason to want to win from their generous prizes donated.

But the work is all worth it when you hear what these four Alaskan seafood lovers received in a finalist prize package worth over $1,400, including a Kenai River full-day guided fishing trip and overnight stay with Northstar Adventures, a gift certificate to Allure Day Spa & Hair Design, a full-day halibut trip with Bob's Trophy Charters in Homer, Habervision sunglasses, a gift basket from Allen & Petersen's Cooking & Appliance Center, and a gift certificate to Custom Seafood Processors.

And those are just the finalist prizes. For winning the whole contest Loren received a grand prize package valued at over $11,000, with a Trip for two to Ocean View Lodge in Old Harbor, Kodiak, 4 days, 3 nights and all-inclusive saltwater fishing with roundtrip air to Kodiak provided byÊERA Aviation and flights to Old Harbor provided by Island Air Service. Loren also received a $1000 shopping spree at Allen & Petersen's Cooking & Appliance Center, a trip to Valdez with airfare from ERA, a stay at Best Western ValdezÊHarbor Inn, a day charter on Wild Iris Fishing Adventures, derby tickets and gift certificate from The Prospector. He also received the use of Alaska Aviation Heritage Museum for a party that he throws, a 30-minute Goose flight provided by Alaska Aviation Heritage Museum, an original painting by Scott Thompson, a Foodsaver Gamesaver Turbo Vacuum Packer, and gift certificate to Custom Seafood Processing.

It makes me really happy to know that all the work that goes into creating the recipe contest is worth it when the outcome is a winner like Loren, or a previous winner like Teri or Frieda, because both ladies made it a point to tell me afterwards, on separate occasions, that they were glad Loren won because he worked really hard and he deserved it. I think you all deserve it and we appreciate you entering and participating in our contest. And finally, for the first time in print here are the 2008 finalist recipes and please flip to page 76 for the grand prize winning recipe.

For those interested in the 2009 contest, it's already time to start selecting finalists again. This year's judges will be Chef Al, Marcus and myself, plus Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell. The winner will receive another amazing prize package including a trip for two to McDougall Lodge on Lake Creek for 4 days/3 nights, a $1000 shopping spree at Allen & Petersen's Cooking & Appliance Center, a trip to Valdez with airfare from ERA, hotel, fishing charter, derby tickets and a gift certificate from The Prospector. The winner also gets a day trip to Kodiak for two people that includes airfare from ERA and fishing with Memory Makers Tours & Guide Service. A four hour facility rental, family membership and an aviation print will be awarded to the winner from the Alaska Aviation Heritage Museum. They will also receive an original painting by Scott Thompson, an assorted fishing tackle package, and a gift certificate to Custom Seafood Processors, and a Smoke 'n Fold Outdoor Smoker by Camerons Products.

And just for getting to the cook-off, finalists receive a Kenai River full-day guided fishing and overnight stay with Northstar Adventures, a gift certificate to Allure Day Spa & Hair Design, a full-day halibut trip with Bob's Trophy Charters in Homer, a gift basket from Allen & Petersen's Cooking & Appliance Center, assorted fish smoking products from Camerons Products and a gift certificate to Custom Seafood Processors.

Enter online at fishalaskamagazine .com, and while you are at it, get inspired with previous contest winning recipes like Teri's Morroccan Style Wild Alaska Salmon or Frieda's Oriental Halibut Salad.

Good luck. We can't wait to see what you come up with next!

Special thanks to the Kenai River Brewing Company and The Coast International Inn for their sponsorship in addition to our sponsors listed above.

Valley of the Ten Thousand Smokes Shrimp and Crab Barbeque Appetizer
By Teri Robl, Fritz Creek, AK
Serves 6

36 raw side-stripe shrimp, head on
3 king crab legs cut into 3-inch
piecesÐshell on
H lb. butter
G cup olive oil
G cup minced garlic
G cup minced shallots
H cup sliced green onion
3 tbsp. minced oregano
3 tbsp. minced rosemary
2 tbsp. minced thyme
H cup Worcestershire sauce
(more or less to taste)
1 bottle of Alaskan Amber beer
Salt and freshly ground pepper
to taste
Creole Cajun seasoning to taste
Hot sauce to taste

Preheat oven to 250¡F. Spread shrimp and crab out evenly in a 13" x 9" baking dish. In a 1-quart sauce pan, heat butter and oil over medium-high heat. Add garlic, shallots, green onions, herbs. SautŽ 4 minutes. Blend in Worcestershire sauce and amber beer. Pour hot mixture over seafood. Season with salt and pepper, Creole Cajun seasoning and hot sauce. Use lots of seasoning, as shells will prevent seafood inside from absorbing most flavors. Place in oven and stir once during cooking. Cook 15 minutes or until shrimp are pink and curled. Be careful not to over cook or seafood will get tough.
Place 6 shrimp and 3 king crab sections in individual wide shallow serving bowls and top with equal portions of herb spicy butter sauce. Serve with hot Alaskan sourdough bread and cold Alaskan Amber beer.

Alaska King Crab Green Papaya Salad
By Frieda L. Byars Leonov, Anchorage, AK
Serves 4-6

Dressing
G cup sweet chili sauce
G cup soy sauce
1 tbsp. Sirachi
H cup lime juice
G cup sweet rice salad vinegar
N cup apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp. fish sauce (optional)
1 tbsp. brown sugar
N cup water
3 cloves crushed fresh garlic
H tsp. grated fresh ginger
1 tsp. sesame oil

Combine all ingredients and set aside in the refrigerator.

Salad
1 large king crab leg,
cut into H-inch pieces
1 bunch green onions,
cut into thin strips
H cup carrots, shredded
4 cups green papaya, shredded
(can be substituted with green
mango, kohlrabi or jicima shredded)
H cup toasted pine nuts or
sunflower seeds
1 green and 1 red fresh jalapeno
sliced into thin strips
1 bunch fresh cilantro, with a few of
the stems
H cup pomegranate seeds and/or
H cup Craisins or Gogi berries
2 Roma tomatoes sliced very thin

Remove shell from crab and set aside in a bowl. Toast the pine nuts on a cookie sheet at 350¡F, stirring every few minutes until they just start to brown, about 5 to 10 minutes. Remove from oven and cool. Grate a carrot to equal about a half cup. Put the grated carrots in a bowl of ice water, then drain and put on paper towels until dry. Put the grated papaya and carrots into a bowl. Slice the green onions and jalapenos into thin strips. Coarsely chop the cilantro. Just before serving, assemble as follows: Toss all ingredients in bowl. Mound on each serving plate and top with about 2 tbsp. salad dressing (to taste).

Jammin' Salmon Benedict
By Robert Maker, Anchorage, AK
Serves 4-6
1 large cheese bagel halved
and toasted
J-inch slice of pineapple
(sliced to fit bagel)
J-inch slice of avocado
G inch sockeye fillet (skinned)
1 tbsp. fresh garlic minced
3 tbsp. olive oil
2 poached eggs
4 asparagus tips

Put olive oil and garlic in cast iron skillet. Use medium high heat and lightly fry the salmon (approximately 1 minute per side). Meanwhile prepare 2 poached eggs in water with a dash of cayenne; and steam 4 asparagus tips approximately 4 inches long. Place bagel on bottom, then place pineapple slice on bagel, then the avocado slice, next the salmon, then eggs, the asparagus; top with Jammin' Sauce.

Jammin' Sauce
4 egg yolks
H cup butter
2 tsp. lemon juice
1 H Tbsp. Tapatio sauce
Dash of smoked paprika
Dash of ginger
Dash of garlic salt
Dash of salt and pepper

Place egg yolks and N of butter in top of double boiler. Cook over hot (not boiling) water until butter melts, stirring rapidly. Gradually add remaining butter, N at a time, stirring constantly. When butter is melted; remove from hot water, continuing to stir. Mix in lemon juice, 1 tsp. at a time. Return to hot water, stir in spices and heat to desired temperature (2-3 minutes). Spread over salmon stack.



Melissa Norris is publisher of Fish Alaska magazine.