Alaskan Smoked Salmon Dip

This recipe is a bit delayed, but better late than never! At the end of the summer my family and I traveled north to Alaska and it was by far the coolest vacation we've ever taken. My uncle Bill has been in Anchorage for the past few years, so we stayed with him and traveled to a few other cities. Here are some highlights from the trip:

K2 Aviation Flight with glacier landing

Bear spotting at Denali National Park

Glacier hiking at Matanuska

Glacier boat cruise in Seward

On top of all the fun sightseeing, we ate some really good food and drank some great locally-brewed beer. On one of our last nights in town, we made a feast with Bill's freshly caught caribou from his hunting trip the weekend before. He seasoned each slice with salt and pepper, wrapped them in bacon and grilled them until tender. I added this smoked salmon dip to the meal with Alaskan salmon Bill had caught himself and brought to a smokehouse. I don't think I can ever eat store-bought smoked salmon again. It was unreal how amazing the fresh salmon was, and combined with the caribou it made for a perfect Alaskan meal!

Alaskan Smoked Salmon Dip (Adapted from Ina Garten)
Yields: 6-8 servings  Prep: 20 minutes  Total: 20 minutes

Ingredients
8 ounces cream cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
2 tbs lemon juice
1 1/2 tbs horseradish
1 1/2 tbs fresh dill
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 lb Alaskan smoked salmon, shredded

Directions
Combine softened cream cheese, sour cream, lemon juice and horseradish in a medium bowl. Mix in dill, salt and pepper. Shred the smoked salmon using two forks and remove any small bones. Mix the salmon into the dip. Serve immediately with crackers or refrigerate.