- [Narrator 1] "Sara's Weeknight Meals" is made possible by: - [Narrator 2] Aboard Oceania Cruises, we share a journey of culinary discovery, from shore excursions dedicated to local food traditions, to our hands-on cooking school at sea.

Our master chefs take inspiration from vibrant markets and flavors, as they create the international dishes served to guests each evening.

That's the Oceania Cruises: Epicurean Experience.

(gentle music) - [Sara] And by USA Rice.

Today on "Sara's Weeknight Meals," may the North be with you, starting in Alaska where wild salmon is king.

Difference between the taste and look and everything of the farm versus the wild, what would you say?

- Like a nice cup of espresso versus instant coffee.

- Ooh, is that how we really feel?

In Juneau, we'll join an Alaskan native to grill salmon outside on cedar planks.

There's a reason he still cooks it the way his ancestors did.

That is so gorgeous.

Back in my kitchen, I take a way back machine to cook with an old buddy from Gourmet Magazine.

Well, we don't look any different, do we?

- Amazing.

We're gonna talk about two fabulous entrees that we're making today.

- Okay.

- One with salmon and one with pasta.

- [Sara] The star of stage and screen, the muddica.

What is muddica?

It's Italian and we like it, because- - You need more crunch.

- You might want more crunch.

A crunchy pasta and salmon two ways.

Excellent choices.

That's today on "Sara's Weeknight Meals."

Alaska's a place where every view is a postcard.

And the sheer natural beauty almost slaps you in the face.

It was inevitable that people would find ways to put all that nature in your mouth.

In the summer, that means one thing: salmon.

Millions of them make the incredible journey home to spawn in these waters.

- As you know, salmon are migratory.

- [Sara] It's a miracle of nature.

I learned about in Juneau from Forest Bowers, a fish biologist at the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

- Yeah, look at this amazing view of the Mendenhall Glacier.

This is spectacular, isn't it?

- Wow.

- And we're near some of the salmon spawning habitat.

So salmon will spend up to three years in fresh water, then migrate to the ocean.

It's a pretty incredible journey.

They'll remain in the ocean anywhere from one to seven or eight years.

- [Sara] So they come back specifically just to spawn?

- Yeah.

- And how do they remember how to get back here?

- Well, it's complicated.

In the ocean, they are migrating primarily through like electromagnetic cues using the earth's magnetic field.

Once they get near the river, then we know that they're using chemical cues.

- [Sara] So like the smell of the fresh water or something like that?

- Exactly.

- And how many of 'em make it back?

- Less than 5%.

- What happens to the rest of them?

They just die of old age?

- There are a lot of things that like to eat salmon.

- Ah.

- Yeah.

- Well, like us?

- Yeah, exactly.

- So when they come back and they spawn, then what?

Do they do it all over again?

- No, they die.

- What?

- Yeah, it's a crazy- - That's not fair.

- It's a crazy life history.

- [Sara] In Alaska, it's illegal to farm salmon.

Alaskan salmon are always wild caught.

Difference between the taste and look and everything of the farm versus the wild.

What would you say?

- Like a nice cup of espresso versus instant coffee.

- Ooh, is that how we really feel?

- Yeah.

- Yikes, okay.

- Yeah.

- You've just said it.

Okay, so say no more.

(light music) How long have I known my next guest?

Well, here we are in the 1990s, catering a James Beard House dinner for Jacques Pepin's mother.

Lori went on to be a food editor at many top magazines.

She edited hundreds of cookbooks books.

But I'll always remember her as my sous chef at Gourmet Magazine's executive dining room.

As you can see, she always had my back.

Well, we don't look any different, do we?

- Amazing.

- I know.

It's like it was yesterday.

- Amazing.

It really was or is.

- Yes.

Yes, here we are again.

(light music) - So great, so many years later.

Well, we won't talk about that.

- No, no, we were just 12 back then.

- We're gonna talk about two fabulous entrees that we're making today.

- Okay.

- One with salmon, and one with pasta that have a similar ingredient.

- Okay.

- It's called muddica, and it's from Sicily.

We're doing a basic muddica first.

And the way that muddica came about was back in the day when cheese was scarce and they gave it to the troops because they needed to fortify the soldiers.

Being Italian, you don't want to be without cheese, do you?

- No, Parmigiano Reggiano or- - I mean, that's blasphemous.

- Yes.

- So there's always stale bread around.

Everybody's got it hanging around.

What do we do with it?

They made a tasty, savory breadcrumb mixture that mimics the taste of cheese.

Parmigiano Reggiano.

- Brilliant.

- Yeah, so we're using it in two different ways.

- Okay.

- So we are gonna take this olive oil and we're gonna pour a half a cup.

And I'm going to add- - Red pepper flakes.

- Yes.

We're gonna flavor this oil basically - Half a teaspoon?

- Yes.

- And how much garlic is that?

That's a lot of garlic.

- [Lori] This is three tablespoons.

- Woo!

- Yes, no.

And we are making quite a batch, so- - [Sara] We're making a big batch.

- Yes, we're making a huge batch.

And so I'm gonna use this just to stir around my garlic.

Can you smell it?

- I sure can.

- Oh my God, the whole house is gonna smell like it.

- [Sara] Well, we like that.

- Yeah, we do.

So now we're gonna add Panko breadcrumbs.

And we have a big skillet here as you can see, because we want the entire thing to get golden brown.

And that's where a lot of the flavor is coming in.

- And how many breadcrumbs is that?

- [Lori] That's about three and a half cups.

- [Sara] Okay.

- [Lori] And salt.

I'm gonna sprinkle this in.

- So Lori, have you ever tried using a microplane for garlic?

- Yes, that is an incredibly great tip because, and I often forget at home.

- Yeah.

- That I should be doing that.

And then I'm like, "Why didn't I use the microplane?"

Really makes the perfect minced garlic.

- Yeah, I can see that.

- With no struggle.

- Are we almost there?

- We are just about there.

See how golden brown that is?

- Yeah.

So do we need to get it out of the pan?

- Yeah.

Because it'll just keep cooking.

- Okay.

- So I'm gonna turn this off.

And let me just grab them all.

- So this is a big batch, as we said.

And we're gonna set aside some of it for the second recipe.

- Right, we're using it for two.

- [Sara] Oh, parsley.

Okay, I've chopped about a half a cup.

- You can go ahead and put it right in there.

And this is my last final scoop, I think.

- There we go.

So I'm gonna bring over- - Yeah, that's gorgeous.

- [Sara] The salmon for the first recipe.

- Clean up this.

- This is gorgeous looking.

- So this topping is kind of a glue, and it comes from you, working with you.

A parsley on you.

- Oh, I got garnish?

- You got it, yeah.

- Am I garnished?

- No, I'm good for that.

- I think I just put it over there.

(both laughing) Everybody needs a little garnish.

- Yeah, it looks good on you.

So we're gonna do two tablespoons mayonnaise.

- If you don't have mayonnaise, could you use sour cream?

- Oh, I love sour cream.

- I know, you too.

I know a few things about- - Yeah, exactly.

And then I love Dijon mustard too.

- Me too.

- We're adding a tablespoon, and we're just gonna stir this together.

This is basically glue for the crumbs.

- Because if you tried to put 'em on straight, they'd just fall off.

- Yeah, exactly.

- [Sara] So let me, I'm gonna brush this with the oil.

- I'm gonna slice some lemon.

These are beautiful lemons.

- [Sara] Yeah.

- [Lori] This is basically going to create a bed.

- Oh, nice.

- For the salmon.

And just add a little flavor to skin side of the salmon, 'cause we're gonna put the skin side down.

You're all ready for me.

- Mm-hmm.

- Look at the salmon.

Isn't it gorgeous?

- Yes.

- [Lori] This is center cut.

And part of the reason why we keep the skin on too is to keep the moisture in.

- Oh.

- So now the glue.

Gonna put just enough to be the glue.

And you know where this comes from.

- The rack of lamb?

- Yes, yes.

The rack of lamb that we used to do in the dining room with those beautiful, beautiful breadcrumbs.

Wanna make sure we use all of it.

- [Sara] Yeah, of course.

- There we go.

And then we're going to use just a half a cup.

- Okay, the star of stage and screen, the muddica.

- And this is about two tablespoons per.

- But you could put more, you could put less.

- Yes, yeah.

I kind of sometimes like just to be able to see the edges of the fish just so it looks prettier.

That's the food styling angle in me.

There we go.

And I just basically pat it in.

There we go.

- Okay, that's it?

- That's it.

- Now that is a perfect weeknight meal.

- Right?

- Yeah.

So now this goes in the oven.

- [Lori] 375 for about 15 minutes.

These are all pretty thick so it could go longer.

- Okay.

Well, okay, here we are, it's night two.

- It is.

- Yeah.

And we're gonna make a second recipe.

- So we are going to make a roasted cauliflower linguine topped with crispy breadcrumbs, which is the muddica.

And in the meantime, I have put my cauliflower in the oven 'cause it's at 400.

Takes about 25 minutes.

And they're tossed in some olive oil and salt and pepper.

- [Sara] And you've got me chopping some sun dried- - Yes, chopping some sun dried tomatoes.

That again is another element to up that, boost that flavor element.

- In our basic muddica.

- Exactly.

- Okay.

- So I'm gonna start with heating up my oil.

- All right.

- While you're doing that.

- Yeah, I'm almost done, so these sun dried tomatoes, you can get 'em either in oil or you get 'em just dried.

We had the dried ones.

So we resuscitated in some hot water for about a half an hour.

- [Lori] And look how beautiful they are.

They're nice and tender now.

So I have put two tablespoons of oil in my skillet, and I'm putting in pine nuts.

- Okay.

- And we're going to toast these pine nuts till they're golden brown.

And look how beautiful these are.

They're like tiny little nuggets here.

I'm gonna add the capers at the same time so that's gonna flavor the oil as well.

- That smells good already.

- Doesn't it?

And I'm just waiting for these to get golden brown.

And then I'll add your lovely sun dried tomatoes.

- You know, these had a big fad many years ago and then they sort of got lost.

I love these guys.

I don't know why they fell off.

- They're coming back.

- [Sara] Yeah, they are.

- [Lori] I'm going to add the one and a half cups of our basic muddica.

- Alright.

And then the rest you can just put in the freezer for another day.

- Oh, yes, yes.

Put it in the freezer.

You could keep it in the fridge for a couple of days.

Oh, that's gorgeous.

- That looks wonderful.

- Color is beautiful.

And now I'm just gonna scoop this.

- [Sara] Oh, did you want me to chop some parsley?

- I do.

- What do we need?

About a half a cup?

- Yeah.

- [Sara] I know, I'm just gonna check the cauliflower.

- Okay.

Just careful, it's hot.

- [Sara] Okay.

Oh, that does look lovely.

- Doesn't it look perfect?

- Yes, that does.

- Look how little they are too.

So this is our linguine, and it's one pound.

We wanna cook this till it's al dente.

- Yes, 'cause we're gonna finish cooking it with the sauce.

- Right, exactly.

- And now you're gonna make the sauce.

- I am.

I'm going to add a third of a cup of olive oil.

So hot pepper flakes.

So I'm seasoning, blooming the spice at the same time that I'm seasoning the oil.

Then- - Saffron.

- Yes.

We're only gonna add like four threads.

- And if, for some reason, you didn't wanna splurge 'cause it's expensive.

- Yes.

It can be expensive.

- Yeah, you could leave it out.

I think, right?

- Yeah.

It's a background flavor.

Just gonna stir.

Oh, I can smell it already, it's amazing.

Then four garlic cloves that you sliced.

I believe it was four.

- [Sara] Yes.

- Oh, look at that.

Look at that.

- Are we trying to get a little color or not?

- Just a little bit.

And then for another flavor bomb, we're adding a tablespoon of anchovy paste.

- Ooh, brilliant.

What if you don't have anchovy paste?

- You're gonna use anchovy filets.

So the pasta is ready.

You're gonna transfer this to here with any water that's clinging.

- 'Cause it's gonna finish cooking in this pan.

And it needs some liquid to do that.

- Exactly, and it's also lovely starchy pasta water with some salt.

And now, I'm just gonna stir this around.

So now the cauliflower.

- Okay, here comes the cauliflower, yeah.

- It's cool down.

- Look how beautifully done that is.

- Yeah, that is beautiful.

- [Lori] And you want them small 'cause you want them to immerse, get intertwined with the linguine.

- Does my parsley go in now?

- Yes.

Nothing really measured as far as the parsley is concerned.

- Yeah.

- Oh, this looks amazing.

- [Sara] And when does the muddica go in?

- The muddica is once we plate it.

- [Sara] Oh, it doesn't go in now?

- No, we top it.

- It's a topper.

- So let's see.

This is a lot of pasta.

This is quite a yummy- - Wow.

- [Lori] Serving.

I want some cauliflower, 'cause that always goes to the bottom.

- [Sara] You want me to zest a little lemon over each one?

- [Lori] Sure, and I'll sprinkle some pine nuts.

- [Sara] Okay.

- And this will give you a little extra crunch too.

- [Sara] Oh, we can't forget the muddica.

- No, no, that's the star of the show.

Kind of the absolute topping here.

- [Sara] Boy, this is just my favorite with all these different things going on.

- I know, I know.

It's just layers, layers and layers.

Look at that sun dried tomato, it's so pretty.

You can bring some of the muddica to the table because as you get through the first layer- - You need more crunch.

- You might want more crunch.

- Let's go eat.

(light music) - [Sara] Oh, I can't wait.

- This looks so good.

- Doesn't it, doesn't it?

- [Lori] Yes.

- With all that wonderful crunch on top.

I love all the flavors in there.

- Yeah, don't you?

- The mustard mayos with the garlicy crumbs, the moist salmon, and the crunch.

So- - Right.

Oh, dear, I'm not good at eating pastas, so don't laugh at me.

- Will she get any in her mouth?

Yes.

- Oh, it's perfectly coated too.

Like every strand.

- [Sara] Wow.

- [Lori] Mm, the cauliflower in that is perfect.

- The husband would love this.

He says thank you, I'm sure.

(Lori laughs) He loves anchovies, but every part of this is wonderful.

Thank you so much for coming.

It's been fun.

- Wouldn't miss this reunion.

- Yay!

- Reunion.

- Such a pleasure.

- Yeah, I feel full circle now.

(laughs) There we go.

Okay, that's nice.

(light music) - You live in this every day.

In salmon country, Juneau, Alaska, I made wild sockeye.

- Just never get tired of it.

- With Todd Antioquia, a native businessman and activist.

Before we get started, question.

I understand you're an Alaskan native, not a native Alaskan.

Can you tell me the difference?

- Yeah, so I'm Tlingit Indian, Alaskan native.

The Tlingit people lived in this region for more than 10,000 years.

And so as an indigenous person, I'm an Alaska native.

- Got it, okay.

- If you were born in Alaska but you were not an indigenous person, then you would be native Alaskan.

- Oh goodness, okay.

- So that's the difference.

- What are we making?

- So we are making my mom's cedar plank salmon.

My mom's name was Pat and I called her mama.

And so we're calling it Mama Pat Salmon.

Cedar plank salmon.

Cedar planking is a technique that's been used in the Pacific Northwest for a long, long time.

The smoke from cedar gives a beautiful flavor and scent to the fish.

So Sara, this is a gorgeous piece of sockeye salmon.

We've already removed the belly bones, and I'm just taking out the pin bones right now.

- And if you don't have this wonderful tool, you can use tweezers?

- You can use tweezers.

Need a little pliers, something like that.

Then you can use something like that.

- [Sara] Should I move this over here?

- Yeah, please.

- Okay, so we've got the salmon already, and this is beautiful.

We're gonna make the marinade, right?

- Yes, so Sara, we're gonna use a stick of butter and I'm just gonna cube this up.

- Okay.

- And while I'm doing this, if you would, you've already chopped about four cloves of garlic for us.

- That's right.

- And maybe if you would chop up about that- - Couple tablespoons or so.

- Yes, please.

- Okay, thank you.

- Finally chopped.

- All right.

So this is a pretty simple marinade, I think.

- It is.

- I've tried a number of different things that would differ from my mom's original recipe.

- Oh no, that didn't go over very well.

- They didn't go over quite as well, so I always go back to mom's recipe.

So I'm gonna take this and put the garlic in.

So we need now two tablespoons worth of minced chocolate.

(light music) - You want this next?

- Yes, please.

I'll take the juice of about one lemon.

So I'm gonna squeeze it into here.

This lemon gives it a nice bright flavor.

And now I'll just ask you to tightly pack two tablespoon of brown sugar and then two tablespoons of soy sauce.

- Okay, now I noticed we're using low sodium.

- We are, and that's my preference because it gives you an opportunity to adjust the salt to your liking.

So we're going to add a little bit of salt after this- - As well?

- As well.

About half a teaspoon, but if you don't have light soy sauce and you're using regular soy sauce, I wouldn't suggest adding any additional salt.

- Okay, that makes sense.

- [Todd] I'm a fan of crushed black peppers.

- Me too, big time.

And that's it, huh?

- That's it.

We're gonna put this on the flame here and simmer it for about 10 minutes to just enough to cook the shallots and garlic.

So Sara, these are the cedar planks that we're gonna barbecue the salmon on.

And we got these at the grocery store from the butcher.

So they've been soaking for about three hours.

One of the things that we're going to do that's a little different than the instructions, we're actually gonna put these on the barbecue and preheat them and actually get them smoking.

I find that the essence of the cedar permeates the salmon better that way.

- [Sara] What if you only soaked 'em a half an hour?

Bad idea.

Might catch fire.

- They might catch fire.

Yeah.

- But we get these on the grill.

- Yep.

- [Sara] Now that's, what, 450, right.

- [Todd] But in order to get it smoking, you need to have it pretty hot.

I would say 450 to 500.

- About how many minutes per side?

- About 10 minutes to start smoking on the one side.

You'll actually might hear it pop a little bit, and that's okay.

And then I would flip it over for about another 10 minutes.

Next, we're gonna put together one of my favorite side dishes to accompany the salmon, and that's a sea asparagus and that's weird.

- I can't wait to learn about that.

I've never had it.

- I'm excited to tell you about it.

But let's start though with some bacon, and we'll get that cooking first and I'll- - Ooh, has bacon in it?

- Yeah, it does.

(light music) - This is the strangest looking thing.

Of course just strange 'cause I haven't really seen it before.

Can I taste it?

- Yes, please do.

- It's quite salty.

- Yes.

- But not too salty.

- Yes.

- Wow.

- Yeah.

And it's excellent for you too.

It's a super food for us.

It's been rinsed with water because it is so, so salty.

- Oh, okay.

- Right out the ocean.

- Okay, but that doesn't go in just yet.

- Doesn't go in just yet.

- Okay, so I'm gonna park that over here.

- Yeah, let's see.

Let's go ahead and slice off that onion.

- [Sara] What if you can't get sea asparagus?

- We like to just, even this recipe that we're going to use, actually would work well with the regular store bought asparagus.

- Oh, okay, they're not related remotely, but that's funny that it's got, I guess 'cause it's long and thin, that's why it's called that.

- That's right.

- I love that this is talking to us.

- Yeah, it is.

- It sounds like popcorn.

- Yep.

We're going to base the salmon about halfway through its cooking process and stuff.

- [Sara] And you don't wanna use the same marinade that we put on the raw fish.

- So Sara, I think that the marinade's cool enough now for us to start brushing it on.

We don't want ever to have it too hot, 'cause it would start cooking the fish.

We do wanna get those little tasty bits on the salmon itself.

- Alright, so we'll let that sit.

- Yep.

- While the planks plank away.

Talk to us.

- [Todd] But I think our bacon's about ready to come off.

- Doesn't it?

Bacon smell good.

(light music) - I'm gonna drain just about, everything except for about a tablespoon of the fat.

And we'll use some of this later too.

- [Sara] Do you want me to pop the onions in?

- [Todd] Yes, please.

(light music) - So do you think we could get these cooking?

- Yeah, let's get them on the barbecue now.

We're all ready to go, the planks are ready and preheated.

So yeah, this is great time.

Let's bring these over.

And if I could ask you to open up the barbecue, and I'm gonna just use my clean hands here to- - Your impeccably clean hands.

- That's right.

Lay them right on.

- Oh, I hear the sizzle.

- Yeah.

- I hear the sizzle.

- [Todd] So we preheated the barbecue to about 500 during the cooking process.

- But now?

- But now, we're gonna lower it down to about 403, 375 to 400 or so.

- Okay.

- If the barbecue's too hot, it will squeeze the fat out right away and you lose all of that wonderful flavor.

- Oh, that's like that little milky stuff you sometimes see in salmons, 'cause the heat was too hot.

- That's right, that's right.

- Wow.

So we wanna prevent that.

So yeah, we're gonna take the onions out and then toss them with some little bit of balsamic vinegar.

- [Sara] So I think the sweetness in the balsamic will really offset the saltiness of the sea asparagus.

- Absolutely.

- Good idea.

- [Todd] And then we're going to- - [Sara] Base the salmon.

Oh, wow.

That is so gorgeous.

- Looks good.

We're gonna put the sea asparagus in, and so I'm gonna ask you to- - How much more of this do- - I want to, yeah, a good tablespoon.

Let's see how that goes.

There's quite a bit, so yeah, go ahead and add it all back in.

- Oh, what the heck?

- Yeah.

- More is better.

- That's right.

- Is that enough?

- [Todd] That's plenty.

- Okay.

- That's plenty.

- So this was foraged by your husband, you said?

- Yeah, sea asparagus is only harvestable just over a very short time window.

- Oh, is that true?

- My cousins were harvesting in Kake last weekend, so they invited him down to go pick with them, and he gathered all this for us.

- [Sara] What do you think?

Those are turning beautiful color.

- I think this is great, this is looking good.

Do you wanna try it?

- Yes.

How did you know I'm leaning in there?

Mm, mm.

Oh, my goodness, mm.

They were good raw, but I think they're even, oh, my goodness.

- Yeah, a little bit of of flavor when we toss it with those onions.

I think we might be ready here in just a second.

- [Sara] And then where does the bacon come in?

- Yeah, I think we're gonna use about half of this, and I think we ask you to crumble it maybe as you put it on.

- Okay, okay.

- [Todd] If you were using store-bought asparagus, I would use all of that.

- [Sara] So I think we should check the salmon again, right?

- Absolutely, Sara, I can smell it, and it's definitely time.

- Alright.

Wow, okay, so what are we looking for?

- You can see how the fat is just finally squeezing from the thickest part, and we're gonna just test it too, just like you would test a steak.

- Steak, yeah.

- And sure enough, it feels- - It's pretty firm.

- [Todd] Feels like we're right on.

So we're ready to go.

- [Sara] Alright.

Should we take it off?

- Let's go ahead and take it off.

So we're just gonna grab that pan.

- Let me come on over.

- [Todd] And we're gonna keep it right on the planks.

- Oh, really?

- Yep.

And instead of, and we can even serve it off them.

The nice thing is that we will continue to kind of scent the salmon too.

You got that okay?

- Mm-hmm.

- [Todd] There we go, let's go in and eat.

Shall we?

- Oh yes, let's.

- [Todd] Yeah.

(light music) Here we go.

- Oh, wee!

- Beautiful.

Isn't that wonderful?

- Yeah.

- Does that look like it usually does when you all do it?

Yeah, that marinade is wonderful.

- [Todd] What do you think?

- Well, so good.

- Wow.

- Oh my god.

- Woo!

Are we having fun yet?

(all laughing) - Is it as good as always?

- It's lovely, yeah.

- [Sara] You're there with mom.

- Fill our souls.

- It's so fresh.

- An Alaska native person would have been nourished by salmon for millennia, and it's one of our foundational staples where we feed not only ourselves, but the people that we love and care about and our community too, so it's very much at the soul of who we are as a people.

- To that note, I think we need to have a toast.

To the salmon and to the Tlingit tribe.

- Hear, hear.

- Yes.

- Yes, to the people, to the salmon.

Yeah, (indistinct).

- [Sara] So we must now have more.

(bright music) For recipes, videos, and more, go to our website, saramoulton.com.

"Sara's Weeknight Meals" is made possible by: - [Narrator] A journey aboard Oceana Cruises is designed to cultivate curiosity.

Guests can explore local treasures and epicurean traditions.

Staff and crew are dedicated to guest interests, relaxation, and entertainment.

Evenings offer craft spirits, international wines, and dishes prepared by our master chefs.

That's the Oceana Cruises small ship experience.

- [Sara] And by USA Rice.

(light music) (bright music) (electronic music)