Penne rigate with poblano cream sauce in camp

All of our meals last week were prepared over the campfire. With a mix of hard and soft wood supplied by my brother-in-law, the campfire burned most of the day, from six in the morning to late in the evening. Rain clouds, distant thunderstorms and cool breeze off Upper Blue Lake made the fire a welcoming feature of our camp. Its comforting flames provided warmth throughout the day.

I prepared our first campfire meal Thursday evening. Penne pasta with poblano cream sauce and chicken sausages filled the crew after an ambitious afternoon of setting up camp. I'll post the recipe for the poblano cream sauce soon. Please enjoy the photographs in the meantime.

I began the meal by placing a large pot of salted water over the fire. Once the water boiled, two 13.25-ounce packages of whole wheat penne rigate were cooked al dente. In the meantime, I combined around 3 cups poblano chili base with 1 pint of heavy cream in a saucepot. The sauce simmered over medium heat to blend flavors and reduce.

The chili base was prepared at home and transported to camp in the cooler. It consisted of roasted poblano chilies, chicken stock, garlic, cilantro and lime juice, pureed in the blender.

With pasta cooking in the stockpot and sauce simmering next to it, I sautéed onions and sweet peppers in my Lodge No. 12 skillet (hidden from view). Here, I'm adding a dozen roasted red pepper and asiago chicken sausages to the skillet.

A close up of the sausages as they brown in the Lodge No. 12 skillet.