Kim Severson

From fish and fiddleheads to salmonberries and Spam, Alaskan cuisine spans the two extremes of locally abundant wild foods and shelf-stable ingredients produced thousands of miles away. As immigration shapes Anchorage into one of the most ethnically diverse cities in the country, Alaska's changing food culture continues to reflect the tension between self-reliance and longing for distant places or faraway homes. Alaska Native communities express their cultural resilience in gathering, processing, and sharing wild food; these seasonal food practices resonate with all Alaskans who come together to fish and stock their refrigerators in preparation for the long winter. In warm home kitchens and remote cafés, Alaskan food brings people together, creating community and excitement in canning salmon, slicing muktuk, and savoring fresh berry pies.This collection features interviews, photographs, and recipes by James Beard Award–winning journalist and third-generation Alaskan Julia O'Malley. Touching on issues of subsistence, climate change, cultural mixing and remixing, innovation, interdependence, and community, The Whale and the Cupcake reveals how Alaskans connect with the land and each other through food.

In 2009, Julia Moskin and Kim Severson, who were both staff reporters for the "New York Times" Dining section, faced off in a dinner duel mediated by Frank Bruni, the paper's legendary restaurant critic. Armed with only $50.00, they each prepared a meal for six, a culinary battle non pareil that was prominently featured in the paper and quickly became one of that month's most emailed stories. Building on that success, Moskin and Severson extended their duel into a year-long kitchen war. "Cookfight" captures the delicious results of that brinksmanship as each chapter chronicles Moskin and Severson confronting a new challenge, from the budget challenge reported in the Times to a Farmers Market Challenge challenge to a Dinner Party challenge. In each chapter, the authors offer funny, side-by-side narratives and tantalizing, inventive recipes such as Julia's Mozzarella, Red Grape, and Black Olive Salad and Kim's Ginger and Cereal Milk Panna Cotta. "CookFight" features an engaging dual design and full-color photos that capture the energy and joie de vivre of Moskin's and Severson's home kitchens. Working mothers with spouses, children, and aging parents to worry about, Moskin and Severson cook for the real world - and "Cookfight" is a celebration of fun and friendship in the kitchen, even on the hardest days. With color photography throughout, useful sidebars and cooking tips, and Kim and Julia's sense of humor as they battle it out, "Cookfight" will entertain the seasoned cook, inspire the kitchen novice, and delight all who appreciate good cooking and great eating.