Start of the Summer

Interesting to cook in someone's yard with all their tools! Homemade tables, cowboy charcoal, and their kitchen! Heat..OMG, 90 in the sun, standing over hot coals. This was Memorial Day weekend up in Waupaca, WI! The Northwoods Dutch Oven Chapter, north contingent came together and cooked all sorts of great foods. We started the day with doing East Indian Naan bread, and then Pan de Campo with jalapeno. We took the ovens and got them screaming hot by using the lower half of a kettle type grill loaded up with glowing coals. This created a very hot tandoori type oven effect..well sort of anyway. The naan is a yeast bread made with eggs, yogurt, flour. Single rise and then kneaded smooth again. Roll out or pull out a small piece into a 6x9 in teardrop. Place that flat bread into the bottom of the oven and cook till slightly brown on the bottom and then bubbly on the top. Pan de Campo is a baking powder bread. No rise needed, but it likes to be a smooth dough. Cook the same way as the naan bread.
Other things that we cooked over the weekend were Coca Cola chicken, meatloaf, turkey and goat. Apple Pie, Banana cake, Apple cake with caramel drizzle and pecan garnish. Venison in white wine and mushroom sauce. Home made corn tortilla and enchilada bake with the meat from the day before (turkey, goat).

There was the Country Music Festival in Richland WI..cooking next to Cucinero Wes Stigen in his chuckwagon setup. Fantastic gourmet pizza bites all weekend long. How about corned beef and sauerkraut pizza, Mojo sauce (garlic citrus base Cuban style), red sauce with good stuff up top. A Cherry Bean cobbler. Orange Cake supreme. And some of the best live country music to listen to...that was great..Thanks Bill for having us as demonstrators. We''ll be back next year.

Then, for the Birthday celebration on June 12th, The Diva went on a teaching trip with her good friend Nikki. WE took a loooonnnnggg drive to Crete IL to visit with Bridging Brownies on their first overnight campout! WE taught them how to light charcoal with chimneys..Yes you can play with the matches, but respect the fire! How to put together baked spaghetti in a deep 12 in oven. And 40 in a 12 for biscuits. They also got to make chocolate cherry cobbler and apple spice cake! Clean pots, that is what we like. These girls got to make their dinner and enjoy too! Thanks girls for my birthday song and the great skit.

Our Northwoods teaching team is doing Dessert DOG on June 16 for NE IL Boy Scouts at their Jaden Training Center dedication. WE are doing Puff Pastry, Peachy Jalapeno Bars, Tip Top Cake and Pecan Pie. All from the Dutch Oven and all very fancy. We'll be stars with our Powderhorn Aprons. I'm pumped. You can see pictures after June 16th on Illinois Dutch Oven and on the Art of Camp Dutch Oven yahoo forum.

Keep the coals burning and your ovens hot..Till next time..Dutchoven Diva ready to cook!
Next up for the Diva