How Alaska eats: I value our friend-chip (especially if it comes with Kenai dip)

Newsletter #33: Who’s down with PDT?

I’d like to bring light to a little concept known in my world as “PDT” — that is, “private dip time.” You might be familiar with this thing that happens when you find yourself in the kitchen alone and you know there’s some of that cheesy-hot, mayonnaise-based Kenai dip from you local grocery store deli in the fridge. And maybe you grab a handful of chips (let’s hope they are Juanita’s) and indulge a bit. I say there’s no shame, friends, in having a personal relationship with dip.

But, since it’s going to be Super Bowl weekend, maybe you’d like to share your dip with friends. Friend dip time, we’ll call it. Maya Wilson has a pretty nice recipe in her cookbook for Kenai dip and I made it this week. (It is not, however, the original recipe, which I explain.)

Kim Sunée is thinking about that feeling you get when you look in the freezer at those blocks of frozen coho and feel far less inspired than you did in October. She’s got a zippy salmon recipe with citrus and herb-jalapeno sauce to get you going.

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Oh, hey, are you in need of another weeknight dinner recipe this week? Try a beef and barley stew and maybe some bacon fat biscuits with cheddar and rosemary based on an old Alaska recipe.

In food writing news, Edible Alaska has changed hands and will now be driven by Jeremy Pataky and Amy O’Neill Houck of 49 Writers fame. Recipe writers, essayists and food photographers: I hear they are taking pitches.

[Read previous newsletters here. Find more Alaska recipes here.]

Oh, and pro-tip: This is not a good week for chicken nuggets. Might opt for fish sticks on the at-home kid menu. (Chances are the pollock is from Alaska anyway!)

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Here’s hoping your team gets the most touchdowns.

KENAI JALAPEÑO CHEESE DIP

CITRUS SALMON WITH GREEN HERB SAUCE