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.

Buffalo Chicken Dip with Banana Peppers

Perhaps this is a phenomena that exists only amongst my girl friends at home, but we love dip. We can polish off a bowl of dip so fast that we barely even remember eating it. I decided to come up with my own recipe for buffalo chicken dip, a favorite of my friends, for a girls night at my house. Because really, what goes better with a box of Franzia than steaming hot cheese?

Alright, so this is definitely not the healthiest post I've ever done. However, being from Upstate New York I need to recognize the glory that is buffalo chicken (wings, pizza, sub, you name it - I've tried it). Anchor Bar in Buffalo, New York is credited with the creation of buffalo chicken wings, but I didn't discover buffalo chicken in other forms until I entered college. Buffalo chicken of every variety is my #1 guilty pleasure food.

This dip is perfect for a tailgate or lazy night with friends. Just make sure to wear your turkey pants!

Buffalo Chicken Dip with Banana Peppers
Serves: 10-12 people  Prep: 10 minutes  Total: 30 minutes

Ingredients
1 rotisserie chicken (about 2 cups of chicken meat)
1 8-ounce package of cream cheese
1/2 cup blue cheese dressing
1/2 cup Original Anchor Bar Buffalo Wing Sauce
1 cup banana peppers, chopped or whole
1/2 cup crumbly Gorgonzola
Tortilla chips and celery

Directions
Preheat oven to 350. Remove all the meat off of a precooked rotisserie chicken and chop into medium cubes. Set aside.
In a 9-inch pie dish, combine cream cheese, blue cheese dressing and buffalo wing sauce. Add chopped chicken and banana peppers and mix well. Sprinkle Gorgonzola on top and place in the oven for 20 minutes. Serve with tortilla chips and celery.