Game Day Snacks…Alaskan Style!

Football Snacks

Well it’s nearly that time of year again and whether you are hosting the party or heading over to someone else’s cabin you want tasty snacks that are shareable and crowd pleasing. Here I’ve made two dishes that are perfect for any game day spread.

For the first dish I couldn’t quite settle on a name. Queso con Carne de Alaska? Queso con Alces (moose)? Basically you can call this whatever you have sitting around in your freezer. I’m not a huge fan of wild game but I think the flavors of this spicy cheese dip help to mask the gaminess a bit. I used bison because that’s what I had on hand, but if you have ground moose, caribou, or venison that would be pretty fantastic too. Another thing to note is that in general I am always a big proponent of making cheese sauce from scratch (and just about everything else), but for Superbowl Sunday who wants to be stuck in the kitchen cooking! So here I’ve opted to use Velveeta…it’s basically the only day of the year I do. Once you’ve put everything together I highly recommend keeping it warm in a crock pot, nobody wants to see this cheesy goodness congeal back into a yellow block.

Secondly we’ve got a delicious and uniquely Alaskan BBQ sauce with which to bathe cocktail sausages in. Cocktail sausages are one of my favorites on any party or potluck snack table, so I’ve made a recipe that can be made that day or ahead of time incorporating the Alaskan Brewing Company’s  Smoked Porter.

 

Chard and Leek Gratin

Chard &Leek Gratin

 

The one time I attempted to grow Swiss Chard in Interior Alaska it grew like crazy and went to seed before I could manage to do anything with it. I tried sauteing it and I tried adding it to a salad and I have to say that I was never particularly impressed. This is an easy (yet impressive) way of adding leafy greens to your diet. It’s not a particularly healthy preparation, but boy is it delicious!