A little help here for the camp cook, please

Ah, spring in Southern California and all thoughts turn to cast iron. No? Well, mine do. Our big, once-a-year camp out is approaching and I'm getting excited. A few years ago I added my love of cooking to the camping experience which truly makes me a happy camper.

Outdoor Dutch Ovens. They are a challenge but maybe that's the appeal. Anyone can cook a stew in the oven but I can take my cast iron cookers and have a fantastic meal at the beach or any other place without electrics. We camp in that tiny trailer pictured above called a teardrop and before you scream, yes we sleep in there, too.

Every year we camp at Lake Perris with about 100 other of these little trailers and have so much fun. Trading stories and recipes, meeting new people, or re-acquainting with friends--it's lots of fun.

Saturday is always a gi-normous potluck dinner but last year someone decided to add a Friday night potluck for Outdoor Dutch Oven enthusiasts. Bring your cast iron, whether experienced or brand new, it's great to make new friends and learn something new about the challenges of cooking outdoors.

Last year I made a Cast Iron Apple Pie and chili verde; both a big success. This year I'm looking for something new so here's a big request. What should I make? It should be a dish able to simmer in one pot or bake in an oven for about 1-2 hours. Does anyone have an idea for me? Most of the prep is outside and my working space is usually a picnic table.

Reply in the comments and if you have a link to the recipe that would be great. I'm leaving next week so don't let that suggestion go to waste, leave me with an idea or two. I'll give you credit at the potluck.

Let's go Dutch

The Dutch I'm speak about is my new found love, Dutch Oven cooking. This is not that chic little Mario Batali number they sell at Crate and Barrel, nope it's the original outdoor cooking pot. They say the West would not have been settled without it. Since we do a lot of camping I decided I'd give it a try.

This will be a method much more than a recipe.

For hardware you need:

• Outdoor Dutch Oven with a flanged lid and bottom legs that allow you to place your coals
• Heavy gloves
• Charcoal and a way to light it, I used the chimney
• Long tongs
• A lid lifter; my darling made mine
• and all the other normal cooking tools

Here's the software:

• three chicken thighs
• three chicken Italian sausages
• fresh thyme
• chopped onion, celery, and garlic
• 1 cup of raw rice
• 2 cups chicken broth

Once I started the coals I put all 21 of them under the pot. This gave me enough heat to brown the mean and saute the vegetables.

I did remove the skin from the chicken thighs as it gets rubbery when cooked. After adding the chicken broth and bringing it to a boil I then redistributed the coals.

When you bake you want more on top than the bottom so 14 on top and 7 on the bottom should keep the pot at about 325/50 degrees.

Now to keep everything from burning I gave the lid a quarter turn each fifteen minutes and the pot every 30 minutes. After 30 minutes I lifted the lid and gave everything a stir. It was boiling, not simmer so I removed the lid to vent a bit of the heat. After it stopped boiling I replaced the lid for another 15 minutes. After 45 minutes I removed all the coals and let it set while I finished the rest of my dinner. Cast iron retains heat quite well so it stayed nice and warm.

Because I cooked the rice too hot it blew apart and was a bit mushy. I might cut back on the broth, too. Less coals is what was needed and more checking. There is a fine line with the checking; too much and you lose heat.

Chicken, rice and sausage, what was I thinking. It did need a little color and next time I'd add some red pepper or mushrooms and definitely some chopped parsley for a better presentation.

There is a lot of ash from the coals and I should have had a little whisk brush to get rid of them. I'll add that to my list. Also, lifting the lid must be done with care as not to add the ash to dinner. I never tasted any in this go around.

All in all, it was fun and I plan to take it with us next time we go out in the tear drop. I think I'll need more practice before I try making biscuits or rolls or maybe cornbread, though. When camping there were many who tried cakes and desserts. Some were good and other, well I'll have to try before I criticize.

Glamorous: you're doing it wrong

This is a photo of our Tear Drop kitchen. My beloved and I love to camp and we are lucky enough to be about an hour from the beautiful blue Pacific ocean and have the means to sneak away for a day or three. If you are retired, why not? Plus for a few days I have a "Million Dollar View" of the ocean.

The teardrop is a 1947 Kitt Manufactured model but the last owner redid all the cabinets. They are quite fancy. My husband put in the stainless counter because there are always spill and the wood wasn't practical. The color is original but, if we ever have some down time, it will get painted the same color as our pulling vehicle, our '51 Chevy truck; green and black. We draw a crowd each time we pull into a campground but tours are easy to give. Yes, we sleep inside, notice the small door on the right.

Let me give a tour of our kitchen. On the right is a two burner propane stove which doubles as a water heater. On the left is a small bar sink and in one of the cabinets behind is a five-gallon water jug which feeds the sink faucet. When I'm cooking I try to keep a large kettle going for hot water to clean up.

The drawers under the counter hold everything I need and somethings I wonder why I brought but that's what happens with drawers. It's very compact and efficient. We do bring along a small gas BBQ because you just can't make toast on the stove, though I've tried for years and finally gave up.

We've had some pretty plain meals and a few fancy ones. Last trip, while our camping neighbors were eating cold hot dogs for dinner, I fixed grilled chicken and salmon, rice and a nice avocado salad. It's all in your prep at home. Our breakfasts are usually the plain meals since eggs are a pain to clean up. When you have a small dishpan for washing pans you are quite careful with what you cook.

Here's a tip for outdoor cooks. While shopping in a little town close by, Carpenteria, we stopped at our favorite bakery/deli Reynoldo's and purchased two fresh tamales for dinner. When we got back to camp I was trying to think of a way to heat them for our dinner. I usually only travel with a couple of pans and no steamer. All I did was crumple a large sheet of heavy duty foil and put it in my large kettle, then filled the kettle half full of water. I placed the tamales on top of the foil, put the lid on, and simmered those darlings to perfection. Now that was a yummy supper.

So, why would I do this? For this "Million Dollar View" of course. Wouldn't you?