Tex-Mex casserole ala King Ranch

Tex-Mex casserole ala King Ranch led the meal line-up Friday evening at Oakland Camp in Quincy, California. It's based on a recipe that I developed this past winter. The casserole has proved popular every time I have served it.


The only mistake I made this weekend was making too much of the casserole. Of the four (2-inch) hotel pans, we placed two in the walk-in at the end of dinner. Staff have been eating it as leftovers.



Ready for the oven. Send me a Facebook message for a large quantity recipe.



Ingredients

Ingredients for the vegetarian cook at Oakland Camp. Do you know what they are?

Ingredients for the vegetarian cook at Oakland Camp. The meat cooks will use them too!

Product development

At Oakland Camp we try hard to develop new products. Take our latest attempt. When I stepped over to the coffee urn to brew the cook's morning cup of Joe, I found that someone didn't turn the burner off the evening before. The pot slowly evaporated during the night, leaving a mound of dehydrated coffee in the bottom of the carafe. I thought we'd accidentally formulated the perfect just add water coffee carafe. The result? Not good. The coffee burned. Maybe next time!

Volunteer work camp weekend

Working at Oakland Camp has been on of my best experiences in recent years. Campers have received our food with enthusiasm. And the crew is working as a team. They helped each other through long days of the last two weekends. I'm blessed with a great kitchen staff.

The volunteer work weekend came off with "flying colors." While I'm ready to lash a broom to the mast and declare a "clean sweep" of all meals this weekend, we have some challenges ahead. Our summer begins with Adult Art Camp and Family Camp 1 (Science, Space and Sky Week) in just over two weeks. Both camps kick off in the afternoon of Sunday, June 16.

Preparing sufficient food and keeping the buffet lines (meat and vegetarian) stocked during each 60-minute meal period will be my biggest concern as the staff transition from pre-camp to full sessions of 150 to 200 campers each. To this point the largest group we've fed has been 125 campers and staff. I'm confident that the cooks will maintain the high standards that I set when they arrived.

MENU FOR GROUP OF ADULTS AND MIXED-AGED CHILDREN

Friday Evening

Tex-Mex Layered Casserole ala King Ranch

Simmered Pinto Beans

Mexican Corn

Sour Cream / Onions & Cilantro / Salsa Ranchera

Chocolate Brownie with Caramel Icing

Saturday Morning

French Toast

Warm Pancake Syrup / Smart Balance Cups

Cream Cheese & Fruit Topping

Hot Oatmeal / Fresh Fruit / Yogurt

Saturday Afternoon

Tomato Soup

Grilled Cheese Extravaganza

Cilantro Sauce for Sandwiches

French Fried Potatoes with Fry Sauce

Chocolate Pudding

Saturday Evening

Chicken & Broccoli Stir Fry

Vegetable Fried Rice

Chicken Egg Roll with Sweet & Sour Sauce

Fortune Cookie

Peach Cobbler

Sunday Morning

Scrambled Eggs with Cheddar-Jack Cheese

Crisp Bacon Strips

Cottage Fried Red Potatoes

Hot Oatmeal / Fresh Fruit / Yogurt

Sunday Afternoon

Beef Tacos with Shredded Cheddar Jack Cheese

Vegetarian Refried Beans

Sautéed Corn with Green Chiles

Sour Cream / Onions & Cilantro / Salsa Ranchera

Fruit Jello

Sunday Evening

Beef Stew with Rosemary & Fennel

Chimmicuri Drizzle

Roasted Cauliflower

Fresh Rosemary-Garlic Bread

Bread Pudding

Monday Morning

Oat Banana Hot Cakes

Fried Ham Steaks

Pancake Syrup / Smart Balance Cups

Cream of Wheat / Fresh Fruit / Yogurt

Prep for weekend

The cooks prepared for our second large weekend group at camp today. Begining tomorrow afternoon, volunteer supporters of Oakland Feather River Camp arrive for the long Memorial Day weekend. They perform invaluable work for the camp.

I'll share photos of our work later as time is short and I'm typing on my smartphone. In the meantime, you can view photos on our Facebook fan page. We set a 10# dough (flour weight) for Sunday dinner, cubed bread for bread pudding tomorrow evening, mixed Jello for Saturday,  made six gallons of lemonade, baked two sheet pans of brownies, cut three large containers of lettuce and made vegetarian stock. After lunch, we prepared a four-inch hotel pan of fresh salsa for tomorrow.

I'll post the menu next week. More to come ...

First weekend group at Oakland Camp

Sunday breakfast

Oakland Camp hosted a group of school parents. For two nights, over 100 parents and young children filled the rustic camp. Spilled Cheerios, three-foot cookie crunchers and the patter of running feet graced the historic dining hall, affectionately known as The Chow Palace.

The crew and I passed our first test the past weekend. We heard nothing but great reviews. I believe this group is expecting an encore next year!

Beginning with pasta carbanara Friday evening, five cooks labored to set our best on the mobile serving line. We quickly learned that this East Bay group loved the sausages, roasted vegetables and salad bar. Though good, fresh baked dinner rolls, rich pasta and desserts fell by the wayside.

Here's the menu:

MENU FOR GROUP OF ADULTS AND SCHOOL-AGED CHILDREN

Friday Evening

Pasta Carbonara with Peas

Hot and Mild Italian Sausage

Oven Roasted Italian Vegetables

Fresh Dinner Rolls

Spice Cake

Saturday Morning

Scrambled Eggs with Cheddar-Jack Cheese

Salsa Espanola

Cottage Fried Potatoes

Hot Oatmeal / Fresh Fruit / Yogurt

Saturday Afternoon

Chicken Noodle Soup

Tuna Salad with Cucumber & Dill

Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread

Potato & Corn Chips

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Sunday Evening

Chicken Breast Marinated in Rosemary & Garlic

Scalloped Potatoes

Braised German Red Cabbage

Fresh Ciabatta Roll

Lemon Bar

Sunday Morning

Ham & Provolone Bagel

Cilantro Sauce

Sliced Tomatoes / Sliced Onions / Lettuce Leaves

Hot Cream of Wheat / Fresh Fruit / Yogurt

Sunday Afternoon

Muffaletto on Ciabatta Roll

Roasted Red Pepper Tapanede

Creamy Macaroni & Cheese

The Rest of the Chocolate Chip Cookies!

Camp chef

My lovely bride and I have been working out of town for the past 11 days. I'm employed as the chef for Oakland Feather River Camp on Spanish Creek for the summer. In addition to the challenges of opening a kitchen that's dormant nine months of the year, I've been training a new crew, writing the menu and buying food.

I'll try to post recipes and menus throughout the summer as I can. When the blog is slow, please be patient! It's going to be a busy summer. Long hours, slow Internet connections and the need for sleep will restrict my time on 'Round the Chuckbox. In the nmantime, I'll post photos to 'Round the Chuckbox on Facebook a couple times each week.


The cooks came in Thursday and cleaned the kitchen. It's been a busy three days. They completed the kitchen after lunch on Saturday. The next task is to get the dining hall -- called The Chow Palace at Oakland Camp! -- up and running.

Meals for staff began on Friday with breakfast and lunch. Our first test comes next weekend. A large group is coming in to enjoy the camp in wonderful Plumas National Forest.

I'm incorporating training into the summer routine. Yesterday, I gave an impromptu bread baking lesson. After a 48-hour ferment in the refrigerator, we will bake bread boules on Monday for the crew's lunch.