Cooler by the lake FOOD's

[jmkjr72]

well if we can make it
i will bring the dutch oven and make a couple of dishes that my scouts love and have won the scoutmaster cook off at summer camp a time or two

[tearhead]

Well, it's still nearly two months off, but since Lynn bumped this thread, we can conclude that Lynn is anxious to have us begin food planning for CNTLVII. Everyone, please feel free to be leisurely about this. But for Lynn's sake, given the bump, let's start a month early.

We generally have three events: a Friday evening wine/beer and cheese/snack party, a Saturday breakfast, and a Saturday night potluck. I will try to compile as we go and make sure that an updated list appears on each subsequent page. I'd say the breakfast is the meal most in need of planning (somebody bring syrup this year!), so I'm offering a list of suggestions. So, here we go:

Friday wine/cheese:
Pat and Mark--Bob Henry's Apple Pie (a beverage)
Lynn--wine, cheese
Mike and Michelle--wine, summer sausage, cheese
Steve-- pulled pork sliders
Gary and Cheri--Shiraz and artisan bread

Saturday breakfast (just bring one thing):
Coffee, creamer, sugar (I'll bring the coffee urn)
Orange Juice--Gary and Cheri
Other Juice.--Gary and Cheri
Milk
Pancakes--Dan
Syrup *Important* --Dan
Butter
Scrambled eggs
Sausage Links-- Pat and Mark
Bacon--Mike and Michelle
Fresh Fruit
Coffeecake, bagels or muffins
Potatoes (fried)--Steve

Saturday evening potluck:

Main dishes
Lynn--Ironworker's Dinner
Mike and Michelle--Dutch oven enchilada casserole

Salads/vegetable dishes:

Bread/rolls

Desserts

[Gary and Cheri]

Thanks Pat,

As you have been in charge of arranging the food for many of our past events I appreciate your skills in organizing this year's. Please take charge with my blessings. I'm sure we will once again eat like kings and queens.

For all that are reading this and are new to a gathering, Pat has put out a list items which we have found make for well rounded meals in the past. Your contributions will be appreciated by all in attendance and again make this a successful and enjoyable outing for everyone. Saturday's evening meal (and possibly Friday night) is the best time for those of you into cast iron to become inventive. Don't worry if you have never made something before as most of us doing cast iron are experimenting and as with all experiments some don't work out like we plan and that is half the fun.

Gary

[RioWilson]

OK here goes...

Friday we'll do wine, summer sausage, cheese.
Breakfast we'll do Bacon (locally sourced)
Sat Night we'll do a Dutch Oven Enchilada Casserole

We have some serious cabin fever - thankfully headed to Florida in 11 days with the Teardrop!!

-Mike and Michelle

[Woodbutcher]

Have a good time in Florida, I am envious of you. Someday I will do a winter trip there.

Pat, Put me down for Fried Potatoes for breakfast, pulled Pork sliders Friday. Saturday night????? to be decided.

[dan galvin]

Ok last year i did pancakes i will do the same and i will bring the syrup this time that was forgot last year
Dan

[tearhead]

Dan, totally not your fault! Nobody signed up for it and I didn't notice. Seems like we figured ou that jelly works too!

[Gary and Cheri]

We will bring a couple artisan breads for Friday night along with a good Shiraz. Saturday breakfast we will bring a gallon of orange juice a half gallon of grape fruit juice and a half gallon of something else. Saturday night is still to be determined but it will be cast iron.

Gary and Cheri

[OuttaHand]

I just ordered a 10" Dutch Oven (Camp Chef "Yosemite"). I am a Dutch Oven and cast iron newbie. I need the assistance of you experienced DO and cast iron gurus ....

Please provide ideas for me that I'll be able to do in the Dutch Oven for Saturday night's meal. Naturally, I want to bring something that will come close to the quality of what you guys are capable of. But it should be simple enough that I can't mess it up.

I'm planning to season the DO when it arrives (out in my gas grill) and I think I'd like to practice with it a couple times before the camp-out. So if you can point me to a dish that would work well, I'd love to run through it a couple times before CNTL.

PM me with ideas (or post here)

[RioWilson]

I just ordered a 10" Dutch Oven (Camp Chef "Yosemite"). I am a Dutch Oven and cast iron newbie. I need the assistance of you experienced DO and cast iron gurus ....

Please provide ideas for me that I'll be able to do in the Dutch Oven for Saturday night's meal. Naturally, I want to bring something that will come close to the quality of what you guys are capable of. But it should be simple enough that I can't mess it up.

I'm planning to season the DO when it arrives (out in my gas grill) and I think I'd like to practice with it a couple times before the camp-out. So if you can point me to a dish that would work well, I'd love to run through it a couple times before CNTL.

PM me with ideas (or post here)

I have always had good luck with Byron's recipes....enjoy!

http://papadutch.home.comcast.net/~papadutch/

[Gary and Cheri]

Outtahand,

Go to the fourth posting on this thread and you can download tnttt's Cast Iron Cookbook as a pdf to your computer.

viewtopic.php?f=51&t=44133

I will add several more as I figure out where I got them from, but the internet has tons of cast iron recipes and many in book form that anyone with a computer can download for free. I will download these onto my computer and then spend hours looking at them to determine what I would like to try at the next gathering. Find something that makes your mouth water and give it a try. If you screw up, no big deal as there will be plenty of food and we will all understand as we have all screwed our cast iron cooking up more than once.

If you want some videos watch at this site.

http://www.youtube.com/user/outdoorcastironcook

Dean and Joanie are teardrop campers from California. They are really into the teardrop life and they are a couple of the main people that run IRG (International Readwood Gathering) which is held every two years. Cheri and I were lucky enough to attend two years ago and met Dean (the Frog Crawler) and Joanie (the Teardrop Nanny). Their videos are a great source of information.

Gary

[Gary and Cheri]

Here are a few more downloadable pdf files with recipes to look at.

Gary


http://extension.arizona.edu/4h/sites/e ... ecipes.pdf

http://www.housatonicbsa.org/Camping/MA ... PES850.pdf

http://www.oa-bsa.org/resources/toap/du ... ecipes.pdf

http://extension.usu.edu/files/publicat ... 0-01pr.pdf

http://www.scoutingthenet.com/Cooking/B ... okbook.pdf

http://www.arkie.net/~pow-wow/cooking.pdf

http://oces.okstate.edu/pittsburg/famil ... 202009.pdf

http://web.archive.org/web/200408311510 ... ESERTS.pdf

[OuttaHand]

Well, now the problem is . . .I'm HUNGRY!!!

I had previously stumbled upon that video of the Lentil chili. That looks very simple and tasty. That's definitely a contender!

I also have downloaded the pdf cookbooks referenced above and have gone through a few of them. LOTS of great ideas!

I think my next step is to look through those to narrow my choices to a few. Then, when the DO comes, I'll season it and try a couple in the driveway. That will tell me how tough they might be to accomplish in a campsite and what utensils, etc. I'll need.

On a related note for those of you who cook with DO's while camping: Do you use a Dutch Oven stand of some kind? Or cook on the ground? What about a heat shield?

[Woodbutcher]

Kevin try this site for ideas.... http://camp-cook.com/forum/index.php

Also, you can practice in your house oven to see if you like a recipe before you bring it to a gathering. To start with outdoors just do a cobbler. They are easy and mostly fool proof.
I cook on an aluminum griddle that is just slightly larger then the bottom of a 12" DO. Then if the site has a grill grate on the fire ring I set it on there to keep from bending over all the way. As of now I have no wind screen.

[Gary and Cheri]

Outtahand,

You will want something to pick up the lid with. This is from the Bass Pro Shop but can be found other places.

http://www.basspro.com/Lodge-Logic-Cast ... uct/56673/

Nice to have something to put the lid on or elevate the oven.

http://www.basspro.com/Lodge-Logic-9-Ca ... /10202803/

As for wind and a place to cook I like a metal drain pan like this one from Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/Behrens-2168-3-Ga ... +drain+pan

You might want gloves and there are other lid lifters and maybe a trivet to hold meat up from a hot bottom.

http://www.basspro.com/Lodge-Logic-Cast ... ct/100348/

And then more ovens. I personally have a 6 (one quart), an 8 (two quarts), and a 10 deep (five quarts). Almost always use just the 10 deep.

Gary

PS Just for reference Your 10 will be a four quart and a 12 is six quarts. A 12 is too big for me but is what most use.