Summer is almost upon us and everyone is ready. The winter wasn't that bad but when there were bad days, they were bad days. I'm ready to dig out the camping gear, some recipes and go camping.
One of our favorite spots to go camping is in Old Forge at Nick's Lake. It is a campground run by the DEC, and we have been going there for years. When my girls were little, we would spend a whole week enjoying the beautiful park, lake and the peace and quiet.
This year, the kids will be going up there for a few days with their husbands and children and some friends and their kids. They will make many memories.
Today I'd like to share some great cooking ideas and recipes to take camping. I've found that the most important thing to do is to start by making menus. Make a list of the meals you would like to serve and then another list of ingredients that you'll need.
Make use of easy convenient food items when camping. Use evaporated milk and some instant cocoa for hot chocolate at night. Be sure to stock up on biscuit mixes, you can make dumplings in a snap. I also have my husband save his 35 mm film canisters to use for spices. You can easily label them and put a tablespoon or so of your favorite spices in them. Those little containers don't take up much room, and it's much easier to take them rather than the bigger spice jars you have in your kitchen.
I've found that those large plastic tubs that you can buy almost anywhere are perfect for your dry goods. Those tubs all have a locking top and can be easily moved around.
While camping in a tent, any food items should be put in your locked car. I always freeze the meat that we take camping before we go, that way it will stay cold longer. Remember, you'll need to replenish your ice while tenting and keep frozen foods and perishables in a good cooler with plenty of ice.
When camping, the old stand-by hamburgers, hotdogs and chicken gets a little tiresome after a while. Try something different. We have a couple of those sandwich makers that have long handles that you hold over the campfire to cook any number of things. My kids liked to use the sandwich maker with bread, pizza sauce, pepperoni and cheese to make their own personal little calzone.
You can also use bread and a ready-made pie filling for some great little pies. Be creative with those sandwich makers. Some other suggestions are toasted cheese sandwiches, pre-cooked sloppy joes inside bread or even a breakfast sandwich with cooked eggs and pre-cooked bacon with some cheese.
Don't forget dessert. Many campgrounds offer some sort of instructional programs for adults about cooking on a campfire. I can remember going to the pavilion and learning how to make little cakes in orange halves and other tips for camp cooking. The staff at the NYS Parks and NYS DEC campgrounds are well trained in cooking over a campfire and will even help you learn how to make a campfire.
So, if you'll be camping this summer or just going to a cookout, try some of my recipes and ideas. Let the kids help. They'll bring home some great memories of cooking and baking over a campfire and reaping the benefits of some great tasting treats. Remember, the heart of the home is the kitchen.
Karen Luziani, who lives in Union Springs, is a self-taught pastry chef who specializes in cookies and decorating cakes.
She can be reached at underwood50@hotmail.com
Quick Pineapple Biscuits
Use disposable muffin pans.
1 can pop-up style buttermilk biscuits
1 small can crushed pineapple, drained
1/4 cup butter
1/3 cup brown sugar
Maraschino cherries
Place about 1 teaspoon of butter in the bottom of the
muffin pans. On top of the butter, place 1 maraschino
cherry, about 1 tablespoon of brown sugar and some of
the crushed pineapple. Place a biscuit on top of the mixture. At this point, you can either place an empty muffin pan upside down over the biscuits or use some tented foil. Place on the grate over a campfire. After 10 minutes, carefully check the biscuits to make sure they are done. Remove the cover from the biscuits. Take the biscuits from the campfire and immediately turn upside on a large plate. Let them sit there for a few minutes so all the juices run over the biscuits. Serve immediately.
Barbecue Turkey Thighs and Beans
2 turkey thighs, skinned
2 16-ounce cans baked beans
1 1/2 cups chopped onions
1 cup bottled barbecue sauce
1 tablespoon yellow mustard
1 teaspoon ground cumin
4 hamburger buns, split and toasted
Mix all ingredients except rolls in a large Dutch oven. Cover and place the Dutch oven over the coals for
several hours until the turkey is fork-tender. Remove
the turkey from the pan and, by using two forks, pull
the meat into shreds. Discard the bones. Return the
meat to the Dutch oven, stirring to mix. Spoon 1 cup
on each toasted roll and enjoy.
Baked Bacon and Eggs
Use disposable muffin pans
6 eggs
6 slices bacon
6 English muffins
Take the bacon and place each strip around the inside of the disposable muffin cups. Place an egg into each cup - in the middle of the bacon ring. Place an empty muffin tin upside down over the bacon and eggs and secure with foil. (You may cover the bacon and eggs with foil alone if you don't have an extra muffin pan). Place the muffin pan on the grate of your campfire and let bake for 20 minutes or until the bacon is cooked and the eggs are set. They should remove easily from the pan. While the bacon and eggs are cooking, split and toast English muffins. Just before serving, place a piece of cheese on the English muffin and then place the bacon and egg over the cheese. Sit down by the campfire and enjoy.
Cakes baked in Orange Halves
1 small box yellow cake mix (with ingredients needed to make the cake)
4 to 6 oranges
Cut the oranges in half. Scoop out 1/2 of each orange leaving the other 1/2 full. Mix the cake mix together according to package directions. Pour a small amount of the batter in the hollowed out orange and place the other 1/2 orange on top of it. CAREFULLY wrap the orange in heavy duty aluminum foil. Be careful not to tip the orange or the cake will not stay in the hollowed out orange. Place near hot coals. Check after 15 minutes to see if the cake is done. If done, remove from the coals and let cool slightly. The cake will have a nice orange flavor and frosting is not necessary.
Tara's Banana Mallow Boats
1 unpeeled, ripe banana
1/4 chocolate chips
1/4 miniature marshmallows
Take the unpeeled banana and place curved side down on a good sized piece of heavy duty aluminum foil. Starting about 1 inch from the end, slice the banana through the first peel (don't go through the entire banana) and go all the way down the banana to within 1 inch from the other end. Carefully push the peel open and sprinkle the banana with the chocolate chips and mini marshmallows. Press down into the banana. Close the peel the best you can and wrap tightly in the foil. Place the foil covered banana into or near the hot coals, turning occasionally. After a few minutes, open the foil to make sure the chocolate and marshmallows have melted. Let cool slightly and enjoy.
This year, the kids will be going up there for a few days with their husbands and children and some friends and their kids. They will make many memories.
Today I'd like to share some great cooking ideas and recipes to take camping. I've found that the most important thing to do is to start by making menus. Make a list of the meals you would like to serve and then another list of ingredients that you'll need.
Make use of easy convenient food items when camping. Use evaporated milk and some instant cocoa for hot chocolate at night. Be sure to stock up on biscuit mixes, you can make dumplings in a snap. I also have my husband save his 35 mm film canisters to use for spices. You can easily label them and put a tablespoon or so of your favorite spices in them. Those little containers don't take up much room, and it's much easier to take them rather than the bigger spice jars you have in your kitchen.
I've found that those large plastic tubs that you can buy almost anywhere are perfect for your dry goods. Those tubs all have a locking top and can be easily moved around.
While camping in a tent, any food items should be put in your locked car. I always freeze the meat that we take camping before we go, that way it will stay cold longer. Remember, you'll need to replenish your ice while tenting and keep frozen foods and perishables in a good cooler with plenty of ice.
When camping, the old stand-by hamburgers, hotdogs and chicken gets a little tiresome after a while. Try something different. We have a couple of those sandwich makers that have long handles that you hold over the campfire to cook any number of things. My kids liked to use the sandwich maker with bread, pizza sauce, pepperoni and cheese to make their own personal little calzone.
You can also use bread and a ready-made pie filling for some great little pies. Be creative with those sandwich makers. Some other suggestions are toasted cheese sandwiches, pre-cooked sloppy joes inside bread or even a breakfast sandwich with cooked eggs and pre-cooked bacon with some cheese.
Don't forget dessert. Many campgrounds offer some sort of instructional programs for adults about cooking on a campfire. I can remember going to the pavilion and learning how to make little cakes in orange halves and other tips for camp cooking. The staff at the NYS Parks and NYS DEC campgrounds are well trained in cooking over a campfire and will even help you learn how to make a campfire.
So, if you'll be camping this summer or just going to a cookout, try some of my recipes and ideas. Let the kids help. They'll bring home some great memories of cooking and baking over a campfire and reaping the benefits of some great tasting treats. Remember, the heart of the home is the kitchen.
Karen Luziani, who lives in Union Springs, is a self-taught pastry chef who specializes in cookies and decorating cakes.
She can be reached at underwood50@hotmail.com
Quick Pineapple Biscuits
Use disposable muffin pans.
1 can pop-up style buttermilk biscuits
1 small can crushed pineapple, drained
1/4 cup butter
1/3 cup brown sugar
Maraschino cherries
Place about 1 teaspoon of butter in the bottom of the
muffin pans. On top of the butter, place 1 maraschino
cherry, about 1 tablespoon of brown sugar and some of
the crushed pineapple. Place a biscuit on top of the mixture. At this point, you can either place an empty muffin pan upside down over the biscuits or use some tented foil. Place on the grate over a campfire. After 10 minutes, carefully check the biscuits to make sure they are done. Remove the cover from the biscuits. Take the biscuits from the campfire and immediately turn upside on a large plate. Let them sit there for a few minutes so all the juices run over the biscuits. Serve immediately.
Barbecue Turkey Thighs and Beans
2 turkey thighs, skinned
2 16-ounce cans baked beans
1 1/2 cups chopped onions
1 cup bottled barbecue sauce
1 tablespoon yellow mustard
1 teaspoon ground cumin
4 hamburger buns, split and toasted
Mix all ingredients except rolls in a large Dutch oven. Cover and place the Dutch oven over the coals for
several hours until the turkey is fork-tender. Remove
the turkey from the pan and, by using two forks, pull
the meat into shreds. Discard the bones. Return the
meat to the Dutch oven, stirring to mix. Spoon 1 cup
on each toasted roll and enjoy.
Baked Bacon and Eggs
Use disposable muffin pans
6 eggs
6 slices bacon
6 English muffins
Take the bacon and place each strip around the inside of the disposable muffin cups. Place an egg into each cup - in the middle of the bacon ring. Place an empty muffin tin upside down over the bacon and eggs and secure with foil. (You may cover the bacon and eggs with foil alone if you don't have an extra muffin pan). Place the muffin pan on the grate of your campfire and let bake for 20 minutes or until the bacon is cooked and the eggs are set. They should remove easily from the pan. While the bacon and eggs are cooking, split and toast English muffins. Just before serving, place a piece of cheese on the English muffin and then place the bacon and egg over the cheese. Sit down by the campfire and enjoy.
Cakes baked in Orange Halves
1 small box yellow cake mix (with ingredients needed to make the cake)
4 to 6 oranges
Cut the oranges in half. Scoop out 1/2 of each orange leaving the other 1/2 full. Mix the cake mix together according to package directions. Pour a small amount of the batter in the hollowed out orange and place the other 1/2 orange on top of it. CAREFULLY wrap the orange in heavy duty aluminum foil. Be careful not to tip the orange or the cake will not stay in the hollowed out orange. Place near hot coals. Check after 15 minutes to see if the cake is done. If done, remove from the coals and let cool slightly. The cake will have a nice orange flavor and frosting is not necessary.
Tara's Banana Mallow Boats
1 unpeeled, ripe banana
1/4 chocolate chips
1/4 miniature marshmallows
Take the unpeeled banana and place curved side down on a good sized piece of heavy duty aluminum foil. Starting about 1 inch from the end, slice the banana through the first peel (don't go through the entire banana) and go all the way down the banana to within 1 inch from the other end. Carefully push the peel open and sprinkle the banana with the chocolate chips and mini marshmallows. Press down into the banana. Close the peel the best you can and wrap tightly in the foil. Place the foil covered banana into or near the hot coals, turning occasionally. After a few minutes, open the foil to make sure the chocolate and marshmallows have melted. Let cool slightly and enjoy.
