ACBN Friday 5/1/26: Riders Up

Hello, my friends. Happy Friday.

We're already fully into weekend mode here in Louisville; tomorrow is the 152nd running of the Kentucky Derby, which means that my kids have today off school for "Oaks Day". This pseudo-holiday specifically references the fillies-only Kentucky Oaks race that takes place at Churchill Downs this even, but more broadly reflects the fact that hardly anyone is showing up to do actual work this week. (Unless they're working in the service industry or some other capacity related to the race, in which case they're likely working extra hard).

I can't complain too much about this extra day off for the kids, since I took yesterday off work to go to the track myself.

Canonically, that was "Thurby", a clunky term that was at least more organically coined by locals than the "Winsday" or "502sday" labels subsequently forced onto the preceding days by Churchill Downs.

It's the most hectic time of year here, and one that many people find exhausting, but I love it. I love seeing this normally-sleepy city pulling out the stops to transform into a major destination for one weekend a year, and I love the ridiculous fashions and long-running traditions around it.

Heck, if you can't make it to the track, you can line up outside a specific local Kroger to pass through and see their florists preparing the garland of roses that'll be draped over tomorrow's winning Derby horse; we did this last year and I swear it was more fun that it sounds.

Of course, I'm not going to let this busy week stand in the way of my most sacred of duties.

Oaks Day or not, it's still Friday morning, and that's when I try to bring you the best things I can for the weekend ahead, from food and drink to music and books to pets from Readers Like You.

Today, I've got a party appetizer inspired by north-of-the-border excesses, a Derby drink alternative for the Julep-averse, some great music, a book that immediately caused me to buy more books, and much more!

Riders up. It's Friday.

Derby season does involve getting all dressed up, after all

This is a big food weekend here. There are a handful of foods traditional to the Derby–Benedictine spread, bourbon balls, Hot Browns, definitely-not-Derby-Pie-pie–but really, it's all about bringing something. We'll be attending a friend's crawfish boil, and I plan on showing up with a big tray of pulled pork because few things have a better effort-to-result ratio than just tossing a butt on the smoker.

For my featured food today, though, I'm going with a dip inspired by the greatest excesses of our neighbors to the North.

Last month, I took my family on a Spring Break trip to Toronto, and I had the chance to avail myself of perhaps Canada's greatest innovation in snack foods: all-dressed potato chips. This inexplicably-rare-in-the-States flavor combines Sour Cream & Onion, Ketchup, BBQ and Salt & Vinegar seasonings in one superb savory-sweet package, and I enjoyed them quite a bit.

Once back home, I decided I to try and move those same bold flavors from the chip to the dip.

All-Dressed Dip

• 2 cups sour cream
• 1 package French onion dip seasoning
• ~2 tablespoons tomato powder
• ~2 tablespoons BBQ rub (I already had this Grippo's BBQ chip seasoning, which was perfect for the effort)
• ~1-2 tablespoons malt vinegar powder (to taste)

Mix the dry ingredients together first, then whisk into the sour cream until fully incorporate. Refrigerate for several hours (ideally overnight) to allow the flavors to set in.

I embarked on this effort as a lark, but I really liked the end result. French onion dip is good, this was better. It's as simple as that.

Of course, I couldn't stay simple.

I decided to go one level further and use this as the base of a batch of pimento cheese. I didn't record quantities perfectly, but I mixed eight ounces of shredded cheddar cheese with some caramelized onions, finely chopped sun-dried tomatoes, a couple canned chipotle peppers and a pinch of Maldon salt–one solid ingredient for each 'All-Dressed' flavor component–and then eyeballed additions of the sour cream mixture until the consistency felt right.

Once again, this was very good. I put it on a cheeseburger and nearly ascended to heaven, or possibly the emergency room.

Here is a less-aggressive application, in which I put it on a pimento cheese sandwich with a handful of crushed chips for texture:

See, this is why I need to run. I'm not going to stop having ideas like this.

I have drink ideas too, of course...