What's Cooking, Alaska?

No, I'm not going to discuss how Sarah dumped the state cook or leak the mooseburger recipe of our State Super Mom (aka the "perfect woman," according to one Republican delegate). Frankly, I'm not sure how much more I can take of people like Wasilla's current mayor gushing about how running her town and running the country require exactly the same skill set.

SOOOO...let's talk about food. Alaskan cookbooks, to be specific. Apolitical, unless you're going to get into Sarah's aversion to Prop 2, which would have put limits on aerial wolf and grizzly kills, or her aversion to Prop 4, the Clean Water Initiative, to protect Alaska's salmon-spawning waterways.

OOOOPS. Let's just assume we've got fish and wild game is taken by - ahem - legal measures. (Rumor is that some of those Palinburgers were made with moose taken illegally by Troopergate star Mike Wooten).

Okay, then. Look no farther than What's Cooking, Alaska?, a collection of 100 recipes from Chef Al Levinsohn, billed as Alaska's Favorite Chef. Chef Al does cooking spots on one of the local stations here in Anchorage, and he runs a couple of great restaurants - the Kincaid Grill and the City Diner.

Levinsohn's book features approachable recipes, some more Alaskan than others. I suspect it's a nice balance for readers who don't have easy access to wild game or berries, but I would have liked the collection to be more uniquely Alaskan, not just in terms of ingredients but aloso in the chapter and recipe introductions. Still, I've found several dishes I want to try.

Poached Alaskan Salmon Salad, anyone? Make it now, before Pebble Mine takes its toll on those salmon streams.