Chili, Smoked Salmon, and Memories
Two crowd-pleasing recipes and three writing workshops
Every summer, for more years than I can recall, nonfiction writers have been gathering in a one-stoplight Texas town around three hours northwest of Dallas. For a spell, they hole up in a little hotel called The Spur, which has an antler chandelier in the dining room and no TVs or phones in the rooms. The tiny town becomes a living story lab where writers meet and write about cowboys, oilfield workers, and other characters of the sort that populated the novels of Larry McMurtry, who grew up here.
The workshop has evolved through the years, and when I got involved as a workshop instructor I looked forward to the many traditions that endured through the generations of writers. One of them was dinner at the home of Kathy Floyd, who is now the Managing Director of the Larry McMurtry Literary Center, which hosts the Writer’s Workshop (this year’s workshop is Sept. 23-27).
The highlight of the dinner was a side of smoked salmon the size of a skateboard, prepared by Kathy’s son, Robert Sandefur. I never got to meet Robert, but I felt like I knew him through the stories of his mother. Kathy, a natural-born storyteller, has written stories that I can feel in my guts, the way you feel a well-played symphony. Robert’s salmon was a symphony of flavors.
The other day, Kathy wrote to tell me Robert had died from a protracted illness. As I read her email, I was cavorting wth the peony farm interns at a square dance in Homer, Alaska. I ran out to the parking lot, called Kathy, and sobbed on the rail of some stranger’s pickup truck while she wept in Wichita Falls.
Later, I asked Kathy for permission to share this story along with Robert’s obituary and his smoked salmon recipe (below). I plan to make it with a wild Alaskan sockeye I caught with my son in Bristol Bay. I can almost smell and taste it as I write this.
In case you need a good (and science-based) excuse to make your Meemaw’s berry cobbler, your mother’s hummingbird cake or some other such thing that might otherwise give you pause during swimsuit season, here’s a good reason:
You may already know that smell is the most powerful trigger of memory. But did you know that scents that evoke happy memories can be good for our mental health? Some research suggests that “odors that evoke positive autobiographical memories have the potential to increase positive emotions, decrease negative mood states, disrupt cravings, and reduce physiological indices of stress, including systemic markers of inflammation.”
Now go make that cake.
Robert’s Smoked Salmon
“This is what got Robert started on the smoked salmon road,” Kathy says of this Food Network recipe by Alton Brown. Though he made some adaptations: He substitutes maple sugar for brown sugar, doesn’t use pepper, and might not brine it for the full 12 hours (though the drying is important). “After he rinses it, he ‘spanks’ it,” Kathy says. “Maybe it was his way of communing with the salmon.”
Feeding Fishermen
On July 4, my dad’s birthday, I flew to Bristol Bay to join my son briefly in his first season as a commercial salmon fisherman in Alaska. (Here’s a short video of what that looks like.) I mostly went to cook for the crew as they worked some 18-hour days and picked two to five tons of fish in a single tide. On cold, dreary evening I made them my dad’s chili. I always feel like I’m cheating when I use this recipe, because it uses packaged seasoning mix. But everyone loves it. I hope you do too.
Ken’s Chili
This crowd-pleaser takes about 20 minutes of prep work. The longer it simmers, the better it tastes, and it’s even better the next day. Dad’s secret ingredients: a can of Coors Light (not some fancy schmancy IPA) and TWO packets of McCormick’s chili seasoning.
1 lb. ground beef (elk, moose, and bison make great substitutes)
1/2 package or 1 package of Jimmy Dean sausage - hot
1 onion, diced
1 28-oz. can Bush’s chili beans
1 can stewed tomatoes
1 can kidney beans
1 package McCormick’s chili mix - hot
1 package McCormick’s chili mix - regular
1 can Coors Light
Olive oil
Toppings (optional): grated cheddar cheese, sour cream, sliced radishes, cilantro, lime wedges
In a Dutch oven, saute onions in olive oil and brown meat. Add Coors Light and deglaze the pan. Add all other ingredients (except toppings), stir, and simmer on low to medium heat for at least half an hour, until thickened. To scale for a larger crowd, add more beans. Make it lighter by rinsing the meat after browning or omitting the Jimmy Dean sausage.
Writing Workshops and Retreats
Need to workshop a story idea or find your way out of a writing rut? Consider attending a writing workshop or writing retreat, where you can find inspiration and instruction in a community of fellow writers. Here are three I’m involved with (more details in this previous issue of The Waterproof Notebook).
Flow State River Retreat
Sept. 18-22 2026
Who: Writers, editors, and creative thinkers
What: Guided multi-day whitewater trip
Where: Middle Fork of the Salmon River
Why: Get off-grid to incubate big ideas
Sawtooth Writing Retreat
Sept. 23-26, 2026
Who: Writers of all genres and levels
What: 4-day retreat in the Sawtooth Mountains
Where: Near Ketchum/Sun Valley, Idaho
Why: Write and learn among writers of all genres and levels
Kathy is a gem and my heart breaks for her. Thank you for sharing in memory of her son. 💜