Sam Friedman organized camp cooking competitions for five summers while living in Alaska. So he shared some of his tips on how to hold a camp cooking competition of your own. Tips The more the merrier: Make a broad guest list that includes people who like camping and food. Location: Pick a fun campsite, but one that’s not too far afield. Our six-mile walk-in cabin contest was too far away to get a critical mass of people. An urban campsite on a weeknight was too boring. Timing: Consider hosting in the spring when it’s warm enough to camp but the ground is still thawing. People tend to be very busy in the summer in Alaska. Breakfast is optional: Let a few folks make breakfast dishes but encourage people to focus on dinner. In the morning, there will likely be lots of leftovers from the night before.

To make salmon gravlax begin with two fillets. Set one in a glass baking dish, flesh-side up. Cover both with a thin coat of sea salt and brown sugar. Place fresh dill over the fillet in the dish and put the other fillet face-down over the first so the dill is sandwiched between the meat. Stretch plastic wrap around the fillets and set the package back in the baking dish. Place a few clean, heavy rocks on top and refrigerate. Every couple of hours, turn the package over, keeping the weight on top. In six hours or so the fish is ready to eat or freeze. To serve, use a fillet knife to cut thin slices; place them on a bagel smothered with cream cheese. Garnish with cilantro. Experiment using lightly smoked salmon fillets and/or adding herbs and spices. Use freshly crushed blueberries instead of the dill for a sweeter…