Dutch Oven - Curried Pumpkin Bisque

Normally, I don't really like squash-family vegetables, and I didn't really care for pumpkin-- not even pumpkin pie! However, when we planted our Jack-O-Lanterns this year, the seed company put some "Sweet" pumpkin seeds in the pouch, and a totally different breed popped up and gave us a few sweet pumpkins, so I decided I would put my reservations aside and actually learn how to cook a pumpkin. I had heard good things over on Mark's Black Pot about cooking pumpkins, so I went over there and read his articles on how to prepare the puree and how to make soups. I wanted to make it my own of course, so I changed up the spices a bit and used a curried flavor profile to give it some zing! The curry gave this dish a nice eastern feel and balanced out the sweet from the pumpkin.

Recipe:
12" Deep Dutch oven
450 Degrees
Roasting
30 minutes
6-8 Servings
Ingredients

• 6 cups Pumpkin puree
• 1 tbs curry powder
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp ground black pepper
• 2 cups poultry stock
• 1/2 onion, diced
• olive oil
• toasted pumpkin seeds
• 1/4 cup pecans, crushed
• sour cream
• Cholula Chili Garlic sauce

Begin by preparing pumpkin puree: Slice a small "sweet" pumpkin into chunks about 2-3 inches squared. Pour 1 cup water into a 9x13 baking pan and place pumpkin slices in it, skin side down. Bake at 350 for 1 hour. Remove from oven and let cool. Slice skin from pumpkin using a fillet or boning knife. Place pumpkin chunks in blender with 1/2 cup milk per batch and pulse until finely pureed. Set puree in refrigerator to cool. Save seeds and toast, following directions here, but season only with a dash of kosher salt.Saute onion in dutch oven with olive oil. When onions have sweated, add stock, spices and pumpkin puree. Stir to combine. Raise to boil. If soup is too thin, create a roux by melting 1/2 stick butter in a saucepan and adding 1/4 cup flour cooking until golden brown. Add roux a small amount at a time, whisking to ensure an even blend, until soup is thickened to your liking. Serve with toasted seeds, pecans and a dollop of sour cream. Top with Cholula Chili Garlic for some extra kick!


4 Stars
Bon Appetit! The Outdoors Start at Your Back Porch!

Dutch Oven - Baked Chicken Marsala

There's nothing I love more than a good Marsala. I know this really isn't Marsala, but it comes close. Adding the cream makes it extra, well, creamy. It was pointed out to me by my best friends that we have not actually had Dutch oven with them at all this summer. Looking back, we'd only done Dutch oven once in June. We'd met socially, but no cast iron parties. So I remedied that with this dish. I hope you enjoy it, it was quite fun to make.

12" Dutch oven
375 degrees
Roasting/Baking
60 minutes
8 servings

• 4 large chicken breasts, cut in half
• 1 pint cream
• 1 cup grape juice*
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1 package sliced mushrooms
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 1 package pasta

Saute chicken in butter until browned on the outside. Add mushrooms and saute until sweated. Add stock, grape juice and cream. Mix until blended. Add pasta and ensure all is covered. Bake 30-45 minutes until pasta is tender and chicken is cooked, while the sauce is absorbed into the pasta and thick.



4 Stars
Bon Appetit! The Outdoors Start at Your Back Porch!

*As our religion doesn't permit the consumption of alcohol,  we substituted homemade grape juice for the wine. Your mileage may vary.

Pit Cooking - Fully Loaded Baked Potatoes

The loaded baked potatoes at Outback Steakhouse are extremely good. However, they have a day's worth of calories (3000) in one serving. In spite of the risks of gorging yourself full on a days caloric intake, I still love eating 2 or 3 loaded baked potatoes. By wrapping the potatoes in foil, you can bake them right in the coals of a fire and they will turn out great. Our scout troop went camping this weekend and these potatoes were a real crowd pleaser for dinner.


Recipe:
Pit Cooking
45 minutes
8 - 12 Servings

Ingredients

• 10 pounds potatoes
• 1-2 cans chili, family size
• 2-3 pounds shredded cheese
• 1-2 packages precooked bacon, chopped
• 1 pound sour cream
• butter
• salt & pepper

Additional toppings to consider:

• chives or green onions, chopped
• olives, sliced
• ham, cubed
• avocado, cubed
• jalepenos
• banana or pepperoncini peppers
• mushrooms, sliced and crushed
• ranch dressing
• bleu cheese crumbles
• grilled onions

Clean potatoes, poke vent holes with a fork and wrap in foil. Place directly on coals or briquettes and cover with coals. Bake 45 minutes, turning occasionally with tongs. Heat chili on a stove until bubbling. Assemble potato according to manufacturer's preferences.

4 Stars

Bon Appetit! The Outdoors Start at Your Back Porch!

Dutch Oven - Broccoli Cheese Soup

Today we had plans to make a beef stew from yesterday's roast, but we didn't have any potatoes, so we made Broccoli Cheese Soup instead. This vegetarian dish goes great on a snowy day like today--I woke up to a foot of snow! Last week we had temperatures in the sixties. I hate Utah's weather. Since it snowed last night, I had some charcoal get soaked so it didn't work very well. Despite that, dinner turned out great.

Recipe:
12" Dutch oven
350 Degrees
Roasting
45 minutes

Servings

1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup oil

2 cups broccoli, chopped
3 cups milk
1 tsp parsley
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp celery salt
1 pinch dry mustard
salt & pepper, to taste
2 cups cheese, shredded

Blend flour and oil in heated Dutch oven and heat to boiling to form a roux. Add all ingredients except cheese and simmer for 30 minutes. Add cheese and stir, blending the cheese. Simmer for 15 minutes. Serve immediately.

4 Stars

Bon Appetit! The Outdoors Start at Your Back Porch!

Dutch Oven - Sunflower Oat Bread, Revisited

Last week's Sunflower Oat Bread was tasty, but it didn't seem to raise, so I wanted to give it another shot. This morning, I donned my new Camp Chef apron (they sent it for participating in their Halloween contest.) and started mixing it up. I activated the yeast in hot tap water, not microwaving it. Dumped the dry ingredients, butter and omitted the syrup and mixed in the water. This dough was very sticky, and I kept adding flour as I kneaded it. And I really kneaded that bread. I smooshed and rolled until it passed the windowpane test, and set it in a greased bowl, covered it and placed it on my heating vent to raise. (Consequently, I also set my heater to 72.) Then we headed off to church. Three hours later, I came home and found a ball of dough exactly as I left it. Rats! No, I don't think rats ate the part that raised, but I'm going to keep trying.

I preheated my Dutch oven and set the dough in. I've been turning the lid and oven in opposite directions every fifteen minutes. I just popped the lid off and it has risen a little, but it is not filling my 12" dutch oven. I hope you don't mind the play by plays, but its easier to keep up with the posts if I write them as soon as I can. Sometimes writing them as I do them is the easiest way to keep up.

I let it bake for 60 minutes, turning the lid and oven every fifteen minutes. It did not fill my Dutch oven, but rose a little bit. In fact, it rose enough to tear the surface of the crust. The crumb was pretty dense, but that wasn't a bad thing. I'm starting to believe that this is just the way this bread crumbles. It's great with jam hot out of the oven, and it may not be a sandwich recipe. I adapted it from a bread machine recipe, so maybe I need to let the machine make it to see how it is supposed to be.

This go round, it climbed the ratings charts with an extra point. I like the density of the crumb, and the crunchiness from the oats and sunflower seeds is great!

Recipe:
12" Dutch oven
350 Degrees
Baking
60 minutes
4 Servings

1 1/3 cup water
1 tsp active dry yeast

2 tbs butter, softened
1 1/2 cups bread flour
1 1/3 cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup rolled oats

Warm water and mix with yeast. Set aside to activate. Mix all ingredients and knead until the dough passes the windowpane test. Let raise 3 hours. Bake at 350 for 60 minutes. Let cool before cutting.

4 Stars

Bon Appetit! The Outdoors Start at Your Back Porch!

Dutch Oven - Chuck Wagon Chicken

This is pretty easy--just dump in the ingredients and bake. Since I made bread dough this morning, I wanted something easy for dinner. I think I've hit a Dutch oven equilibrium. I don't always get to cook every weekend, but I still enjoy doing it. Lately, we've been very busy. With Halloween this month, I've had parties the last two weekends, and Dutch oven or grilling wasn't on the menu. I stopped doing the 'Wordless Wednesday' posts, mostly because I figured the readers of this blog would prefer quality over quantity.


Recipe:
10" Dutch oven
350 Degrees
Baking
60 minutes
4 Servings

4-6 small potatoes
2 chicken breasts, cut in half
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 pouch dry onion soup mix
1 cup water

Cut potatoes in quarters and lay in a 10 inch Dutch oven. Add 1/2 the onion soup. Add chicken breasts on top. Sprinkle remaining soup mix on top. Add cream of mushroom soup on top and add water. Bake at 350 degrees for 60 minutes.


4 Stars

Bon Appetit! The Outdoors Start at Your Back Porch!

Grill - Italian Chicken Sandwiches

This is an easy marinade- your acid, sugar and flavor base are already mixed in the salad dressing, so just dump the bottle into the chicken bag and refrigerate overnight.

Recipe:

Grilling
20 Minutes
4 Servings

Chicken breast
Italian Salad Dressing

Bread, toasted
Tomato
Lettuce
Pickles
Sauerkraut
Mayonnaise
Mustard

Marinate chicken breasts in Italian salad dressing and pound flat with a meat tenderizer. Grill on high for 10 minutes on a side. Cut chicken in half and make sandwiches.

4 Stars

Bon Appetit! The Outdoors Start at Your Back Porch!

Stove - Curried Stir Fry with Smoked Pepper

This curried stir fry goes great with the smoked beef we made. It was pretty easy to make, and yielded great results. I'm very comfortable cooking with curry now. I didn't used to be though. One time we cooked a curried dish and it was terrible. Luckily, I wasn't posting my recipes back then, because it was pretty embarrassing.


Recipe:

Stove
Medium Heat
30 minutes

Peppers, red bell
Peppers, green bell
Carrots, sliced
Rice noodles
Coconut milk
Oil
Curry
Ginger powder
Salt & Pepper

Cut peppers in half, remove seeds and smoke for 15 minutes. Slice peppers and saute with carrots. Soak rice noodles according to package directions. Transfer vegetables and noodles to large pot and add coconut milk, curry, ginger and salt and pepper. Put on heat and cook for 10 minutes.

4 Stars

Bon Appetit! The Outdoors Start at Your Back Porch!

Grill - Smoked Chicken Stir Fry

I kinda cheated here. I used my kitchen stove. Sue me. The format of the blog is changing a little, I feel that a full back porch experience should be documented here, so I am including gardening tips in the Twitter feed (twitter.com/dutchoventips) and I've started a "Wordless Wednesday" with gratuitous food shots or cool outdoor shots, and no words. My life has been a little busy with other things- robotics, scouts, and I'm writing a novel. So any time I can log some back porch cooking, I don't care if I use my kitchen; it's attached to the porch.


Recipe:

Grill
Smoking
Low heat

Chicken
Teriyaki sauce
Rice vinegar
Olive oil
Fish sauce
Stir Fry vegetables
Rice noodles

Smoke chicken on low heat until medium rare. Slice into strips. Saute chicken with oil, vinegar and fish sauce. Add teriyaki sauce and vegetables. Saute with softened noodles. To soften noodles, soak in warm water for 30 minutes.

4 Stars

Bon Appetit! The Outdoors Start at Your Back Porch!

Dutch Oven Challenge - Fiesta Pork Chops

These turned out pretty good, but not quite the 'fiesta in the mouth' feeling that I am used to. Basically, it is like a floured fried chicken. It was pretty good though, and now I want to try and make my own KFC style chicken. Cleanup was a snap, since the oil was pretty thick. We served these with some homemade salsa fresca with ingredients from our garden. Salsa recipe to follow.

Recipe:

12" Dutch oven
Roasting
350 degrees
30 minutes

Pork chops
Flour
Cumin
Paprika
Salt
Pepper

Mix flour, cumin, paprika, salt and pepper in a zip top bag. Coat pork chops in mixture. Preheat Dutch oven with approx 1/8" of oil in the bottom. Fry 15 minutes on a side turning once. Serve with rice and salsa fresca.

4 Stars

Bon Appetit! The Outdoors Start at Your Back Porch!

Dutch Oven - Herb Stuffed Potatoes

Let's defy convention. Throw normalcy out the window. Shatter our paradigms. You with me still? Ok, so besides the loaded baked potato, does anyone think of the potato as a main dish? Likely not. That's why the phrases "steak and potatoes" and "meat and potatoes" made it into our lexicons. Well, this isn't small potatoes! (Sorry, couldn't help myself!) I decided to make a dish with no big hunk o' meat, and used potatoes as the main dish. In fact, we didn't have any side dishes.

I was trying to figure out how to spruce up a potato, and I thought it would be cool to stuff one with herbs, but I didn't know exactly how to do that to a raw potato. This is what I came up with: cut a cross deep into each potato, gently prying open the cut and stuff with herbs. Worked okay, but next time, I'd cut them in half, take out some flesh with a melon baller, and stuff them, then close them back with toothpicks or aluminum foil.

Recipe:
12" Dutch oven
Baking
350 degrees
45 minutes

Potatoes
Chives
Parsley
Dill
Olive oil
Cream of chicken soup
Cream of mushroom soup
Season salt
Pepper

Stuff potatoes with herbs as detailed above. Coat with olive oil. Sprinkle season salt and pepper on top. Add cream of mushroom and chicken soups. Bake for 45 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Serve with butter and sour cream.

4 Stars

Bon Appetit! The Outdoors Start at Your Back Porch!

Dutch Oven - Sweet Pad Thai

This is part II of yesterday's company potluck. It has a real sweet flavor from the hoisin sauce. This is totally vegetarian. (Possibly vegan, I didn't check the hoisin label.) It wasn't hard to prepare, and it tasted great. I didn't like the angel hair style rice noodles that I bought. They were the only kind at the grocery store. I usually like the flat noodle for pad thai. This serves about 20 people with side dishes.

12" Dutch oven
350 degrees
Roasting
60 minutes

3 pkg rice noodles
1 jar hoisin sauce
1 can coconut milk
onion, chopped
bell peppers, chopped
garlic, chopped
paprika
ginger
cilantro
peanuts

Soak noodles in warm water for 30-60 minutes. Saute vegetables with garlic and spices in oil. Add noodles, hoisin sauce, and coconut milk. Simmer covered 20-30 minutes stirring often. Top with cilantro and peanuts.


4 Stars

Bon Appetit! The Outdoors Start at Your Back Porch!

Dutch Oven - Minestrone Soup

I've been in a bit of a cast iron funk lately. I don't know, maybe it's the fact that I keep cooking the same thing, or that I am doing this every weekend and I need a break. Either way, I decided to cook something different. I've been doing a lot of Asian lately, and I decided to to an Italian soup. I like Minestrone, and I don't really like stewed tomatoes. There is a little cafe near my office that has the best Italian. If you ever get the chance to eat at the CineGrill, make sure you do. The atmosphere is, well, think Italian romantic comedy. The food is awesome. You can' t go wrong. Try everything. And get the 'splash plate'. That's 1/2 the salad (still a lot) and soup. So here is where I drive this segway home... try the Minestrone. It's awesome.

Last night we had Eric & Heather over for dinner, it was a long overdue engagement. They were going through Johnson withdrawals, so we finally were able to get "you, your friends and your Johnson" together. (Inside joke, but Link)

If you leave out the meat and beef stock (totally acceptable) the dish is vegetarian.


Recipe:

12" Dutch oven
350 degrees
Roasting
60 minutes

sausage
garlic, chopped
2 cans stewed tomatoes, diced
2 cans red or kidney beans
1 cup macaroni
parsley, fresh chopped
chives, chopped
mushrooms
bell pepper, diced
green onion, sliced
carrot, sliced
onion, diced
celery, chopped
beef stock/bullion
water

Brown sausage, onions and garlic. Add tomatoes, beans, spices, and vegetables. Add water, beef stock and macaroni. Consistency should be a wet soup. (As opposed to a dry stew.) Simmer until macaroni is tender. Serve with salad and Parmesan cheese.

4 Stars

Bon Appetit! The Outdoors Start at Your Back Porch!

Grill - Garden Lemon Chicken

This chicken has a subtle lemon flavor, with a spicy kick from the steak rub. I've really enjoyed the steak rub. I put it on EVERYTHING now. It is so easy, I just can't wait to grow some more this year.

Marinade:
Lemon Juice
Oil
Water
Lemon Pepper Seasoning

Chicken
Spicy Garden Steak Rub

Marinate chicken for 8 hours in marinade and grill, sprinkling with spices. Grill 10 minutes on each side for thick chicken.

4 Stars
Bon Appetit! The Outdoors Start at Your Back Porch!

Dutch Oven - Chicken Bean Soup

I sit in my warm house as the storm brews around me. Thunder crashes, frightening my children bursting loudly every few seconds. An hour ago, I was enjoying dinner with my family. Two hours ago I sat in the sunshine, a waft of soup hitting my senses every few minutes, but now I am huddled safe in my home, safe from the rain coming down in droves. Where is my time machine, my past? It is now gone, left to be replaced by the chaos outside. Yet, I am safe, dry and warm. I am protected.

Last night I soaked some beans, hoping that I wouldn't have an epic failure like last time. Everything turned out great, and the soup was very tasty. Now to do something about this weather...


350 degrees
12" Dutch oven
Roasting
1 hour

Recipe:
pinto beans
great northern beans
chicken, cubed
spicy garden steak rub
garlic, chopped
mushrooms, chopped
chicken bullion
celery, chopped
radishes, sliced
cilantro, chopped
pepper
water

Soak beans overnight. Drain and rinse. Saute chicken and garlic in spices. Add mushroom, celery and radish. Saute for 5 minutes. Add water, beans, bullion, cilantro and spices to taste. Simmer for 1 hour. Serve with cornbread.

4 Stars
Bon Appetit! The Outdoors Start at Your Back Porch!

Dutch Oven - Mushrooms Bellagio

This is a flashback recipe that I used to compete last year in the City Weekly Dutch Oven Cookoff. I didn't win, but I had a lot of fun. These are very tasty, and great for parties. We made a stencil with the sponsors' logos and sprinkled parsley through the holes. Nice gimmick, but I don't know that it helped. I didn't take home a single leftover mushroom! The public gave rave reviews, and I didn't hear any feedback from the judges.

325 degrees
12" Dutch oven
Baking
45 minutes

6 pounds White Mushroom (stems removed)
6 cups Bread Crumbs
1 pound Asiago Cheese
1 pound Mozzarella Cheese
1 bunch Green Onions (chopped)
1 jar Alfredo Sauce
1/2 pound Bacon Crumbles
Olive Oil
Dash Parsley
Dash Sage
Dash Dried Garlic
Salt
Pepper
Dash Basil

Remove stems of mushrooms. Mix 1/2 of the following: bread crumbs, asiago, mozzarella, green onions, bacon and all spices. Stuff mushrooms with mixture and place crown down in 12" Dutch oven. Layer mushrooms on top of each other until gone. Bake at 300-325 degrees for 45 minutes until mushrooms are tender. Add alfredo sauce and cook until simmering. Add remaining ingredients on top in the following order: bread crumbs, bacon, chesses. Add more heat to the top of the oven and cook the cheese to a golden brown. Serve immediately. Serves 6-8.

4 Stars
Bon Appetit! The Outdoors Start at Your Back Porch!

Stove - 4 Can Chili

It can't get any easier than this. If you don't know how to open a can, you can't cook this. This chili recipe only requires 4 ingredients, but I added a fifth for a little kick.

1 can ground beef
1 can enchilada sauce
2 cans beans, various
Optional:
1 pouch chili season
1-2 cans vienna sausages or hot dogs

Open all packages. Dump all ingredients into a medium sauce pan. Warm over medium heat until chili is warm. Eat. Enjoy.


4 Stars

Bon Appetit! The Outdoors Start at Your Back Porch!

Dutch Oven - Southwest Chicken Alfredo

Oil
Garlic
Chicken breasts, cubed
Fajita seasoning
Salt
Pepper
Paprika
Tomato Sauce
Cheddar Cheese Sauce
Egg noodles
Water

Saute garlic and chicken in oil, mixing in some of the fajita season, salt, pepper and paprika. Add tomato sauce, cheese, noodles and enough water to cook noodles. You will want to look at the package directions, and then estimate how much liquid is already in the pot. Bake until noodles are al dente. Serve with sour cream.


4 Stars
Bon Appetit! The Outdoors Start at Your Back Porch!

Dutch Oven - Mushroom Quiche

I told my coworkers on Friday that I was going to wake up and cook Dutch oven breakfast. They didn't believe me. I told my family that I was going to wake up on Saturday and cook Dutch oven breakfast. They didn't believe me either. So, I fooled them all and cooked breakfast anyway. Take that!

This is super simple, and can be made with what is in your fridge and freezer. In fact, it was made with what I had already. It's really tasty and the rich mushroom flavor is very savory.

Recipe:
12" Dutch oven
350 degrees
Baking

Eggs
Hash browns
Cream of Mushroom soup
Mushrooms, fresh
Salt
Pepper
Parsley
Cheese, shredded

Mix all ingredients except cheese in oiled Dutch oven. Grate cheese on top about an inch thick. Bake for 20-30 minutes until cooked through. Serve with salsa and ketchup, if desired.

4 Stars

Bon Appetit!
The Outdoors Start at Your Back Porch!

Pit Cooking - Foil Dinners

I broke in my new fire pit, which is actually still under construction. It is basically a hole in my yard surrounded by castle stone. I will write up a full how to as soon as I install it. I started a fire with some small sticks, but unfortunately they didn't put out enough heat to cook the meal all the way through. So I heated up some coals and put them on top.

This is really easy to do, and great for camping. If you have a fire pit in your back yard, this makes a great dinner, with easy cleanup - you can eat right out of the foil and then throw it away!

Recipe:
Serves 4
1 pound ground beef
1 onion, quartered
2 potatoes, chopped
baby carrots
season salt
garlic powder

Divide ground beef into fourths. Lay out a sheet of aluminum foil. Form meat into patty, placing on the foil. Add onion, potatoes, carrots and seasonings. Wrap foil tightly and wrap with second piece of foil. Place foil packets in coals for 10-15 minutes per side. Serve with ketchup or steak sauce.

4 Stars

Bon Appetit!
The Outdoors Start at Your Back Porch!