I Miss The Internet
The Friday Newsletter has a spicy big-game dip, a classy cocktail, international Midwest Emo, vague nostalgia for the desktop computer age, and more!
I miss the internet.
Not this. Obviously, I have an internet connection right now; you wouldn’t be reading this if not. I’d have to send this by mail or come directly to your house, and as much as I’d like to, I simply don’t have that kind of time. (There’s a lot of you, and I don’t know where most of you live.)
No, I mean… I miss The Internet.
I miss The Internet back when it was a thing unto itself—a place apart from our world, a place that we could poke into from time to time and learn things, chat with friends, buy silly t-shirts or simply goof around without it permeating everything we do. I miss The Internet of blogs, chatrooms and flash videos, The Internet of discussion boards and algorithm-free fun. I miss The Internet that lived inside a desktop computer that sat on a special computer desk, possibly even in its own room, the Computer Room.
Is this feeling borne largely out of Elder Millennial nostalgia for an imagined simpler time that just happens to coincide with my youth? Absolutely.
It doesn’t mean it’s not real, though.
I’ve been reassessing my relationship with social media over the last few months—NO REASON, REALLY, HA HA—and while I haven’t been successful at fully logging off, I’ve realized how much I miss a time when we could talk to each other over long distances without being plugged in 24/7/365.
When I was in college, I spent two multi-month stints in Europe (a study-abroad in 2003 and an internship 2005), and if I wasn’t in the school building or the office, I simply did not use the internet. It was great! I could go to the internet—look things up, send emails to friends and family, buy train tickets, etc.—and then once I had done these things, I would walk away from the internet. I did not carry it around in my pocket, it did not follow me everywhere I went, and it did not shape my experiences or the experiences of the people I was interacting with in any significant way.
Maybe I’m just becoming a middle-aged crank; that would not be a surprise.
Still, I think we were better off when The Internet was in its own room, and I think we should send it back there.
(You’d still get this newsletter in that scenario, of course.)
Friends, it’s Friday again at The Action Cookbook Newsletter.
It’s not like things are going great outside the Computer Room, but we persist despite the horrors; our joy is none of their dang business.
Today, I’m talking Super Bowl food, of course—I’ve got an gameday dip with a real kick, and to wash it down, a classic (and classy) cocktail. Add to that some international Midwest Emo, a fun caper book, an appreciation of a movie that’s aged better than most, reader pets—and more!—and you’ve got a winning game plan.
Sit down at the big desk and log on, friends. We’re riding the information superhighway straight into the weekend.
The Jerk Store called, they’ve got Dips now too
I would feel derelict in my duty to you, dear reader, if I did not make something at the intersection of delicious and stupid for Super Bowl weekend. Rest assured, I have answered this call. Still, I couldn’t go down the route that I assume so many other food-adjacent people on the internet are going to go, offering up barbecue-and-or-cheesesteak items in recognition of Kansas City and Philadelphia, the participants in Sunday’s game. A BBQ Cheesesteak is appealing to me conceptually, but I’ll let others handle that.
No, I had to answer a question that had been nagging me.
If I replace the buffalo sauce in buffalo chicken dip with jerk seasoning, would it be good?
The answer is a definitive yes, with the caveat that the result is not necessarily attractive. Buffaloed things take on a pleasant red-orange hue; my Jerk Dip turned out a less-than-appetizing grey. Perils of experimentation, I suppose, but the taste is spot-on, and it’s a nice change of pace if you’re still lamenting the missed opportunity for a Buffalo-Philly showdown. (I would have made a Buffalo Cheesesteak.)
Anyways, here’s a dish whose name is two insults.
Jerk Dip
16 ounces cooked chicken (I used Costco’s canned chicken, but a rotisserie chicken stripped and shredded would work well)
1/2 cup Walkerswood Mild Jerk Seasoning (it’s still pretty hot)
1/2 cup sour cream
8 ounces cream cheese, softened at room temperature
4 ounces shredded pepper jack cheese
Add all ingredients to the bowl of a stand mixer fixed with the paddle attachment; mix for 30-60 seconds until well-blended. Transfer to a greased 9x13” baking dish, and cook for 20 minutes at 400F. While that’s going, make the salsa:
2 mangoes, peeled and cut into small chunks
1/2 of a red onion, diced
1 bell pepper, diced
1 bunch scallions, chopped
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
1/2 cup “tamed” pickled jalapenos
juice of 1-2 limes
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt and pepper
Add all of the ingredients to a large bowl and toss to combine.
When the chicken mixture finishes in the oven, allow to cool slightly, then spread the salsa in an even layer across the top.
Tasty!
If that’s not your speed, a few other situational recs:
If you’re feeding a crowd: make these Spinach-Artichoke rolls!
If it’s just a small gathering: Francophone Sloppy Joes!
If you’re wanting to really go all-out: Chicken-Fried Ribs!
If you’re trying to keep it healthy in 2025: Salmon Burgers!
Of course, there’s many more in the ACBN Recipe Archive!
Now, for a game-appropriate drink—
The Laissezs will continue until the bon temps rouler
I resisted the temptation to do anything directly thematically related to the two teams playing in this year’s Super Bowl, but we can at least take a moment here to appreciate the host city, New Orleans.