Alaska’s picks: Pacific Northwest foodie gift guide

foodie-gift-guide

At Alaska, we pride ourselves on knowing our food. Our food and beverage team scours our hometown of Seattle as well as the cities we fly for culinary inspiration, and offers this holiday shopping guide for the food-lover in your life.

We think your out-of-town relatives will be particularly impressed with all the Pacific Northwest has to offer.

1. Cheese and crackers: La Panzanella crackers and Beecher’s Handmade Cheese

Beecher’s is about as Seattle as it gets. The cheese shop opened in Pike Place Market in 2003, as the city’s only artisan cheese shop. More than a decade later, Beecher’s is still producing fresh, authentic cheeses seven days a week. We love it so much, we feature it in our popular Signature Fruit & Cheese Platter available for purchase inflight. Pair your offering with Beecher’s famous mac & cheese recipe and you’re sure to hit it out of the park. After all, Beecher’s Cheese is “the snack that pleases.” We also love La Panzanella crackers, from a wonderful family owned company right here in the Seattle area. Try them onboard in our Northwest Deli Picnic Pack.

2. Skillet Bacon Jam

Skillet Street Food got its legs back in 2007 in a single Airstream trailer roaming Seattle. Today the company has three sit-down restaurants and two Airstream trailers, a catering business and a side business selling its wildly popular Bacon Jam. Skillet tells us the meaty spread was never intended to be more than a condiment, but became so popular that the company started to package and sell it. We love it too, and have even introduced a grilled cheese sandwich with Skillet Bacon Jam into our onboard menu rotation this year. It’ll be back on flights in January, or you can taste it on the ground at Skillet. It’s also available online or in specialty food stores around the U.S. Find a retailer at skilletstreetfood.com.

3. Seattle Chocolates

Seattle Chocolates makes responsibly sourced, all-natural chocolate bars and truffles. We’re currently serving the company’s hot buttered rum and San Juan sea salt truffles, and many more flavors are available online. You’ll be the guest of honor at any holiday party with Seattle Chocolates as your hostess gift.

4. Sun Liquor’s famous Aged Eggnog

Sun Liquor has been making its beloved holiday eggnog since 2006, now so popular that barman/distiller Erik Chapman tells us his phone rings off the hook at this time of year, with thirsty Seattleites anxiously awaiting the year’s batch of hand-crafted eggnog. This year, for the first time, Sun Liquor has bottled its famous nog for distribution at Total Wine & More locations in Northgate, Tukwila, Lynnwood and Bellevue. If you serve this nog, you’ll be the host with the most. Prost!

If you’re flying this holiday season, try these recipes to mix up your own inflight cocktails with Sun Liquor’s premium liquors sold onboard.

5. Canoe Ridge and Chateau Ste. Michelle wines

At Alaska we believe  a great wine can be an adventure. We know our customers love to discover new wines, and we’re proud to offer delicious hand-poured wines from the Pacific Northwest when you fly with us. We’re currently serving Chateau Ste. Michelle Indian Wells red blend and Columbia Valley chardonnay in our first class cabin and custom-blended wines from Canoe Ridge in our main cabin – specially engineered to retain their flavor at 35,000 feet. On the ground, try Canoe Ridge Expedition merlot and pinot gris.

6. Tom Douglas Rub with Love

Last month we announced a new partnership with iconic Seattle chef Tom Douglas to develop signature entrees for Alaska flights. The partnership kicked off with Tom Douglas’s Cascade Brisket Chili, featuring tender, smoky chunks of brisket in a mildly spicy ancho chile tomato sauce. It’s topped with melted Tillamook cheddar cheese and a charred pepper, and served over a baked Yukon Gold potato. For an on-the-ground taste of Tom’s signature flavors, try one of his artful Rub With Love seasoning blends.

7. Starbucks Coffee

In the darkest days of winter, warm mugs of coffee perk up the Pacific Northwest. Even before stores sprouted on every corner, Seattle has been drinking the original hometown brew since 1971, and since we serve Pike Place Blend on every flight, this is a natural pick for our foodie gift guide.

8. Almond Roca

Made in nearby Tacoma, Washington (putting the Tac in Sea-Tac), Almond Roca is a local and international favorite. No Northwest stocking is complete without this buttercrunch toffee candy in signature pink and gold. Try a new flavor this year, such as Dark Roca, currently featured in our Northwest Deli Picnic Pack.