Mercy Chefs prepare Thanksgiving meal for Middletown, California

Mercy One, Mercy Chefs' first
mobile kitchen, is ready to
serve 500 Thanksgiving dinners
in Middletown.

Mercy Chefs returned to Middletown, California, to serve Thanksgiving dinner Saturday afternoon. A team of chefs from California, North and South Carolina, Oklahoma and Virginia converged on the town to prepare the holiday meal for over 500 townspeople. Middletown was devastated by the 76,000-acre Valley Fire in late September.

Dozens of volunteer chefs stand ready to deploy at a moment's notice to the scene of wildland fires, floods, tornado and hurricanes throughout the United States. They deploy with a mobile kitchen, ready to deliver quality meals to the victims of a natural or man-made disaster. The meals are offered free of charge to anyone who asks.

"In a disaster area to share that meal with somebody is an incredibly powerful tool just to encourage them," said Gary LeBlanc in a 2013 video. Chef LeBlanc is the president and founder of Mercy Chefs

Chef Lisa presented a wonderful
buffet centerpiece.

Mercy Chefs has a tradition of sharing a chef-prepared holiday meal with those who have lost so much in recent disasters. The chefs provide a hot meal, complete with turkey, ham, stuffing and all the fixin's, along with an encouraging word and prayer, to those as they rebuild their lives. This is Mercy Chefs' way of reminding the victims of such devastation that they are not forgotten.

Thanksgiving dinner for Middletown was served from a colorful buffet table under a large white tent. Unlike disaster feeding, where the meal is served out of the mobile kitchen in to-go containers, this meal gave the chefs to present the same meal as they would have done at a catered holiday event. Diners enjoyed linen tablecloths and a pleasant fall day in the mid-70s.

Chef Peter of South Carolina was the lead chef for the meal. He led a team of four chefs over two days of preparation and panning to prepare the Thanksgiving meal, which was served from the buffet over a period of three hours. The team included chef Lisa from Oklahoma, chef Buddy from North Carolina and chef Steven from California.

The menu is presented as it was planned by chef Peter. Some 480 pounds of whole turkeys and over 60 pounds of ham were used for the meal.

MERCY CHEFS' THANKSGIVING CELEBRATION FOR
THE TOWN OF MIDDLETOWN, CALIFORNIA

SALAD

Mixed baby greens with roasted baby tomatoes, mandarin oranges
& slivered almonds tossed in a  citrus vinaigrette

MAIN COURSE

Roast whole turkey with gravy

Ham with an orange honey glaze

Andouille sausage & apple cornbread stuffing

Sweet & spicy cranberry compote

Roasted acorn squash with raisins & brown sugar

Mashed potatoes with pureed cauliflower & skin-on bliss potatoes with Parmesan

Green beans with mushrooms in a soy sauce balsamic reduction

Whole wheat dinner rolls

DESSERTS

Pumpkin tart with caramel

Apple cobbler with pecans

BEVERAGES

Apple juice

Bottled water

German red cabbage for a (large) crowd

I realize not many readers of 'Round the Chuckbox have need for six-plus gallon batch of German red cabbage. Faced with a 50-pound of cabbage last September on my mission to Middletown, California, with Mercy Chefs, the natural thing to do was to prepare a large batch of German red cabbage. The cabbage was served with barbecues beef strips, roasted red potatoes, tossed green salad with vinaigrette and peach cobbler.

Two volunteers cut the core out of 24 large heads of red cabbage. They then shredded it by hand after discarding the outer leaves.

I prepared this dish in the 15-gallon tilt skillet on the Mercy Chefs' 32-foot mobile kitchen trailer, known as Mercy One. The red cabbage can also be prepared in one or more large stockpots or in a steam jacketed kettle. See my recipe for a family-sized batch.

GERMAN RED CABBAGE FOR A (LARGE) CROWD

This is a vegetarian recipe. Add 4 or 5 pounds of diced cooked bacon to the cabbage if desired.

50 pounds (1 case) red cabbage, cored, outer leaves discarded and shredded
2 cups vegetable oil
3 pounds yellow onions, diced small
1/4-cup kosher salt
2 tablespoons ground black pepper
3 quarts apple juice
2 quarts red wine vinegar
2 pounds brown sugar
2 tablespoons ground cloves

Heat oil over medium heat. Add onions. Cover; sweat for about 10 minutes, being careful not to brown. Add shredded cabbage. Season with salt and pepper. Stir to coat with oil and onions.

Add juice, vinegar and cloves. Stir to combine. Cover; simmer for 45 to 60 minutes, or until cabbage is tender. Check seasoning. Adjust flavor with additional vinegar and salt, if needed. Makes 200 (1/2-cup) servings.

Barbecued beef shepherd's pie in 14-inch Dutch oven

Crossing Mother Lode Drive at
Mile Post 136.8.

Last Friday, the El Dorado Western Railroad maintenance-of-way crew crossed Mother Lode Drive in Shingle Springs, California, to clear culverts and cut brush along a one-mile section of of the former Southern Pacific rail line. The crew also begin repair of a major washout. The goal is to prevent further washouts on the right-of-way and adjacent trail by ensuring proper drainage.

Since I haven't cooked for the railroad in nearly two years, the crew boss and thought this would be the perfect opportunity to treat the hard-working crew to a Dutch oven lunch. With plenty of room to safely fire charcoal briquettes, I set up my kitchen on the tracks. The first charcoal chimney was fired around 9:30 a.m. The crew enjoyed lunch three hours later.

I wanted to change the lunch entree for this cook date. Over the past 10 years, I have often prepared some form of chili con carne for the railroad crew. For over a week I had been working on a Dutch oven version of shepherd's pie. Instead of a traditional shepherd's pie with lamb, shredded beef chuck road, braised in beer and barbecue sauce formed the protein base. Since the biscuits, cobbler and coffee are crew favorites, I left them on the menu. The menu consisted of:

• Barbecued beef shepherd's pie in 14-inch camp oven
• Cream coleslaw
• Buttermilk biscuits in a 14-inch camp oven
• Mixed berry cobbler in a 12-inch camp oven
• Railroad coffee

We let the rail cars pass first as they were going to be working the area behind the camera. I set up my firepan and chuckbox between the rails to keep a safe distance from the brush.We don't cook with charcoal on the right-of-way in the summer months due to the fire danger.

The first thing I did was to bake buttermilk biscuits. To ease preparation on site, I weighed the dry ingredients and cut in the shortening at home on Thursday. The biscuit mix was stored in the refrigerator to keep the shortening cold. I added the buttermilk and cut large biscuits (3-1/2-inch diameter) once on the railroad.

With the biscuits on heat, I turned to the coleslaw, berry cobbler and shepherd's pie, in order. To prepare the meat for the shepherd's pie, I braised a 3-1/2-pound chuck roast in beer and barbecue sauce on Thursday. After cutting the roast into large pieces, I seared them in bacon fat in a cast iron skillet. The braising liquid consisted of 1-1/2 cups IPA beer, 1-1/2 cups barbecue sauce, 1/4 cup chopped parsley, 2 bay leaves and 1 teaspoon dried thyme. The braising liquid was poured over the meat in the skillet. After covering with aluminum foil, it was placed in a 300-degree oven for about 5 hours. Once the meat tender enough to pull, I placed it in a zipper lock bag and in the refrigerator. The braising liquid was strained and placed in the refrigerator as well.

As the biscuits were baking in a 14-inch camp oven, I cooked 5 pounds red potatoes in the stockpot. Once mashed, the potatoes would be used as the topping for the shepherd's pie.

To prepare the shepherd's pie, I shredded the chuck roast by hand and placed it in the 14-inch camp oven (see picture above with the peas). I then skimmed the fat off of the braising liquid and poured it over the pulled meat, along with 8 ounces frozen peas. Next a thick layer of mashed potatoes was spooned oven the meat and peas. I baked the pie with coals for around 375 degrees until crisp potato peaks had formed and the sauce was buddling, about 45 minutes. I used 1-1/2 rings of charcoal on the lid and 8 coals under the pot.

The finished meal. Lunch was served to 8 crew members around 12:30. I was able to send cobbler, biscuits and shepherd's pie home with several crew members. We could've easily fed 12 to 15 with the 3 pots.

Pasta salad with golden cherry tomatoes & fresh mozzarella

Pasta salad with golden cherry tomatoes and fresh mozzarella twice graced our table during our recent camping trip to Upper Blue Lake in Eldorado National Forest. Early Friday morning, my sister and husband left camp to pick up his aunt. Shortly after their departure, his nephew and wife arrived for the weekend.

With three additional campers, we though a simple buffet lunch would be in order. The menu (pictured above) included a cheese and salami board, pasta salad, salsa ranchera with tortilla chips and clam dip with potato chips. The salsa and clam dip were prepared at home for the trip.

The seven campers only ate around half of the pasta salad. The prospect of taking leftovers home concerned me until I heard the five families in the campground had planned a potluck dinner that evening. I quickly threw the pasta salad in as our contribution, along with my secret barbecue sauce and leftover salsa.

My sister contributed campfire roasted tri-tip. Our neighboring campers contributed cowboy sushi roll, fresh abalone, fresh canteloupe and a big tossed salad, plus a few miscellaneous items. Some 20 campers devoured the food.

I mixed the ingredients for the pasta salad in my 10-inch Griswold cast iron skillet. To expedite preparation in camp, the pasta was precooked at home. I also pre-prepared the sherry vinaigrette with sherry vinegar, Dijon mustard, garlic, dried basil, salt, pepper and olive oil. 

Dishes like the pasta salad are often thrown together on the fly. You can substitute red cherry tomatoes or dice fresh tomatoes for the golden tomatoes in the recipe. If desired, add 8 to 12 ounces diced cooked chicken or cuded salami to the salad.

PASTA SALAD WITH GOLDEN CHERRY TOMATOES & FRESH MOZZARELLA

You my want to cut this recipe in half for a smaller family.

12 ounces penne regate
1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons fresh sliced basil
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
1 (8 ounce) container fresh mozzarella cheese, drained and sliced in half
1 (10-1/2-ounce) container golden cherry tomatoes. sliced in half
1 (4-ounce) jar capers, drained and rinsed (optional)
3/4 to 1 cup vinaigrette or Italian salad dressing
Salt and ground black pepper, to taste.

AT HOME: Cook pasta according to package instructions. Cool under cold running water. Drain and place inside a 1-gallon zipper-lock bag. Prepare or purchase your favorite vinaigrette or Italian dressing. Store in refrigerator until you are ready to pack for the trip.

IN CAMP: Slice the green onions, parsley and basil. Place inside a large bowl. Drain mozzarella cheese. Slice each cheese ball in half. Slice tomatoes in half. Place cheese and tomatoes in bowl with the herbs. Drain and rinse capers. Place in bowl.

Lightly toss pasta, herbs, tomatoes, cheese and capers with the salad dressing. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover. Place in cooler until needed for the meal. Serves 8 to 10.

2015 Christmas dinner menu

Nearly 25 residents, staff and guests enjoyed a festive dinner at work on Christmas Day. Holidays are important to the residents. With half the residents restricted to the house for various reasons, the meal gave them a chance to celebrate.

Staff do their best to make the recovery house a home during the 90-day program. Christmas tree, presents and frequent visits from family help the residents through the holiday season. One could argue that the holiday meal is the most important aspect of the festivities.

Christmas dinner gave me the opportunity to present a meal that's a cut above the normal fare. With a modest daily food allowance, the high cost of beef roast keeps it off of the menu. And it let the residents enjoy a special meal.

Two chuck shoulder clod roasts, averaging six and one-half pounds each, gave a generous portion. Into a hot oven just before noon, the intense heat developed a richly-colored crust. From that point, a 100-degree reduction in oven temperature (from 425 to 250 degrees F.) let the roasts coast to a perfect medium.

Accompanying the roast were scalloped red potatoes with a rosemary cream cheese sauce, roasted broccoli florets and Dutch apple pie. One of the residents, a former professional cook, assisted me on Thursday. He enjoyed the day as much as I did.

The festive Christmas dinner gave the men the opportunity to enjoy a family tradition, one which gave them a brief respite from their struggles with addiction.

2015 CHRISTMAS DINNER

SALADS

Garden Salad with Ranch & Italian Dressings

Seasoned Croutons

Fresh Vegetables Marinated in Balsamic Vinaigrette

MAIN COURSE

Roast Beef

Beef Gravy from Natural Juices

Scalloped Red Potatoes in a Rosemary Cream Cheese Sauce

Broccoli Florets Roasted in Garlic Olive Oil

Freshly Baked Dinner Roll

DESSERT

Dutch Apple Pie

BEVERAGES

French Roast Coffee

Sweet Iced Tea

Thanksgiving spread at work

For the last month and one-half I've been working at a men's residential recovery program in Sacramento, California. My former boss called me in early October looking for a cook. I agreed to work lunch and dinner until I leave town for my summer job.

Readers who've been around for several years will remember that I previously worked in a woman's recovery home. I am once again working in the same location in mid-town Sacramento. The woman's facility was closed some 20 months ago. Most staff were laid off and the house was converted into a sober living home.

Little has changed in the house other than the fact that male parolees have replaced the women. While the men eat more than the women, they have the same heartfelt appreciation for the meals that I cook during the week. Six weeks ago I move into the job as if I had never left.

This isn't the first time I've talked about Thanksgiving at work. I last featured my menu and prep list in 2011 on 'Round the Chuckbox. Here's the menu for 2014 Thanksgiving dinner:

Roast turkey breast
Sour cream mashed red potatoes
Candied sweet potatoes
Cornbread dressing
Traditional turkey gravy
Orange cranberry sauce
Seasoned green beans
Tossed green salad with homemade ranch dressing
Hot dinner roll
Pumpkin pie 

I miss working in a commercial kitchen with a steam line. Cold food isn't an issue since 25 residents can be served in 15 minutes. I lay the pans out on the counter and on the range and serve each resident as he passes through the kitchen. 

Serving the residents gives me the opportunity to set a nice looking plate. It also ensures even portion control. I want the last resident to receive the same portion as the first. Note that I forgot to place the cranberry sauce on my sample plate.

Throwback Thursday: Finding inspiration for the camp menu

I originally posted this story in 2006 during the ramp-up to a camp that I worked at for one week each summer. 

I glean menu and recipe ideas from many sources. Professional trade magazines -- Foodservice Director and Food Management among them -- give me ideas that are specially suited for the institutional kitchen. Popular magazines like Sunset also provide inspiration. I can often use an idea and work it until it fits a group setting.

A photograph of an artfully arranged collection of skillets arranged on an outdoor buffet table sparked my cowboy breakfast idea. Twin stacks of blue enamel plates and a lone Dutch oven complete the display -- no fancy garnish for the dudes of the Mountain Sky Guest Ranch, near Emigrant, Montana.

This thousand-word inspiration gave me the impetuous to celebrate our nation's 230th birthday. The crisp, smoky air of the campfire will greet campers next Tuesday. Bright yellow scrambled eggs, airy biscuits smothered in sausage gravy and gallons of cowboy coffee (hot chocolate for campers) will kick off our celebration next week. The meal will be cooked in cast iron that's stood the test of time from the colonial hearth to the Western range to the backyards of today.

In 2004, campers kept saying, "That's what 4 a.m. rolls look like!," as they walked through the cafeteria line. Their response puzzled me all morning until I walked out into the dining area and saw this hand-printed menu.

Inspiration for camp menu ideas come from many sources. Television programs, cookbooks and magazines have helped my over 35-year culinary career. The one thing that's worked best for me since the late 1980s has been a series of culinary notebooks.

I keep the notebook handy. Now that I'm commuting to Sacramento each day, the 200-page composition book rests in my daypack. I record ideas -- often gathered from professional magazines on my desk -- and clippings on my hour-long commute home. My 18-notebook collection is full of ideas.

It doesn't matter if the idea comes from TV or print. Shows like Al Rocker's Rocker on the Road can give wonderful ideas. Take Douglas Coffin's New Haven, Conn.-based Big Green Pizza Truck (the show that aired last January). I may not be able to restore a 1946 International Harvester flat-bed truck. But the pizza menu idea will come in handy one day.

They key is to clip ideas and place them in your culinary scrapbook. Soon your collection of ideas, complete with thousand-word photographs will have you cooking for a herd of hungry campers.

Chicken pozole verde at camp

We served chicken pozole verde for the first time at Oakland Feather River Camp yesterday for lunch. Around three and one-half gallons were used for 80 campers and staff. My only regret is that I didn't have any pumpkin seeds for the soup. Here's a picture of the condiments.

MENU FOR A GROUP OF ADULTS AND SCHOOL-AGED CHILDREN

Sunday Afternoon

Chicken pozole verde with traditional condiments

(Sliced radishes, chopped onions, shredded cabbage,
diced jalapeno chilies, chopped cilantro, lemon & lime wedges)

Grilled ham & cheese sandwich

Barbecue potato chips

Massaged kale salad

Full salad bar

Chocolate chip cookies

The camp menu

I used a two-week cycle menu last summer at Oakland Feather River Camp. Even though I felt a one-week menu would've worked, the extra week doubled the meals for campers and staff. The added week was a selling point for the cooks and camp staff. It gave the cooks more variety to work with and helped alleviate staff menu burnout. (I often read that summer camp staff quickly tire of eating that same things week and week.)

By the time the camp hired me in early-April, my notebook was filled with ideas for the salad bar, vegetarian meals and the main menu. I quickly sketched the menu out after I arrived at camp in May. Once the cooks arrived (a week after my report date), I trained them how to execute each the menu item. Two weekend sessions in May gave the cooks the opportunity to present the full menu to camps of large numbers.

Menu rotation began in early June with staff training week. The second week was used for the first session of the summer, Adult Art Camp and the first of five week-long family camps. I revised the menu to include kid-approved favorites for Camp Kidd and Camp Sierra, held in late June. The two weeks rotated until the end of camp in mid-August.

This year I plan to begin staff training with the second menu week. Since many families come to the same session each year, flipping the menu will let them experience the other side of the menu when they come to camp.



An early menu draft for the 2014 summer season. I plan to recycle unpopular and high-cost menu items, find ways to add more interest to breakfast and rework some of the side dishes. Kid-friendly dishes will compliment meals, such as the fish dinner on Saturday, that weren't popular with children.

Creativity in the camp kitchen

Stories such as this one about chef Alex Smith of Ontario Pioneer Camp offer encouragement to camp chefs:

"Even though chicken tikka masala with rice and naan bread is not typical camp food, Alex took a risk to prepare this meal for a dining hall full of hungry teenagers," the blog Extraordinary Stories reported. "The results were better than he expected, actually one of the best new recipes he has tried at camp."

Annual camping trip to Blue Lakes

Debbie and I are joining my sister's family for our annual camping trip to Upper Blue Lake in Eldorado National Forest next week. Each year we collaborate on meals at the lake. Elizabeth and I divide responsibility for each breakfast and dinner. Each family prepares their own lunches.

In the past I've prepared a variety of Dutch oven favorites. Sourdough bread stood in for a sweet loaf when I prepared Dutch oven bread pudding three years ago. That year we didn't camp at the lake, but visited them mid-week. I brought the proper bread two years ago. I'm now under orders to replicate the bread pudding each year! (As I write, I realized that I failed to post the recipe last year. Here's Dian Thomas' recipe from 2007.)

Blue Lakes split pea soup with ham shank was ready for dinner two years ago when the family arrived. Midway through our vacation, we moved camp to Upper Blue Lake from South Lake Tahoe. Jim and Elizabeth, a brother and our mother were scheduled to arrive Thursday afternoon. A bowl of hearty soup hit the spot. As one of our mother's favorites, the soup warmed her in the brisk evening air at the 8,000-foot elevation.

Last year my sister "hired" a sous chef for me (a family friend). Ashley, a third-year high school culinary student, chopped and cut her way through the camp kitchen. With impeccable knife skills, she sliced 14 apples for apple crisp in a 14-inch Dutch oven. Ashley then prepared and cut zucchini, yellow squash, red onion and carrot for roasted summer vegetables.

Scrambled eggs with chives and pepper-jack cheese for breakfast, salsa with fire roasted tomatoes for the afternoon snack, and Dutch oven bread in time for dinner filled our Saturday. As a culinary student, I found Ashley hungry for information. Her enthusiasm for cooking and willingness to jump in gave this chef a smile.

Bread pudding for breakfast rounded out the weekend's campground feast. Since the kids (young and old!) enjoyed s'mores Saturday after dinner, we decided bread pudding would fit in our Sunday morning breakfast menu. We essentially had French toast in a pot!

For our 2013 visit to Upper Blue Lake, I'd like to introduce sous chef Ashley to one or two new Dutch oven dishes. We'll also build on the dishes that we prepared last year. Repetition will help solidify the camp cooking skills she learned last year.

I'll have more to say after I finalize the menu.

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

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!

One antique pot, five hearty meals

For more than two years, this Dutch oven languished in the garage. It was a gift from a long-time docent at the El Dorado County Historical Museum. A widow of many years, the Dutch oven was a wedding gift, along with a set of cast iron skillets.

Too small to feed large groups, the Dutch oven joined my modest collection of small cast iron pieces in the corner of the garage, near the roll-up door. Dust collected on its domed lid. And a light patina of rust covered the bottom of the five-quart kitchen Dutch oven.

While I moved two of the small skillets into the house, most of my Dutch oven cooking in the house had been with a covered fry skillet that I acquired from my mother. Among the skillets was a nine-inch grill pan that I’ve used a number of times to give nice grills marks to chicken breasts and pork chops.

Our recent vacation in Ocean Shores, Washington, was the perfect opportunity to recover the Dutch oven from the garage and put it to use in our resort kitchen. As I planned for the trip, I was looking for a small Dutch oven to use in the kitchen of the time-share condominium. Though each unit featured a fully furnished kitchen, I knew that I would need a heavy pot for soups and stews.

I considered taking a 10- or 12-inch camp Dutch oven. But the weather forecast called for a week of rain. We would take all our meals indoors. With the family confined to the condominium, I settled on packing my 12-inch Griswold skillet. It would handle most of the frying, sautéing and grilling. Its domed lid extended its usefulness.

As I searched my garage-bound collection of cast iron pieces, the Dutch oven looked like the perfect vessel for a wide range of dishes. My large kitchen Lodge Dutch ovens carried too much capacity for the family at nine- and 12-quarts each. The Dutch oven, a Revere Ware brand oven, seemed like the perfect match for our meals.

The Griswold skillet and Revere Ware Dutch oven proved useful over the week. The three main cooks of the trips each used both implements a number of times. I led the week on Monday by roasting red bell peppers in the oven for the soup. Sautéed asparagus on the skillet accompany a pot of spaghetti on Tuesday. Candie used it to steam her dish of Mexican rice for taco on Wednesday. (We missed taco Tuesday!)

The Revere Ware pot proved to be the star of the week. With a five-quart capacity, it was large enough to feed seven and eight adults (eight Debbie’s brother arrived on Wednesday). Mike and I prepared a wonderful pot of albondigas soup for Monday dinner. Tuesday dinner was a big pot of Spaghetti with Italian sausage. Ground beef tacos kept the family going on Wednesday.

The up received double duty on Thursday. Candie simmered a wonderful pot of cheesy potato soup for lunch on Thursday. Then after I cleaned the pot, I seared two chuck roasts for Yankee pot roast. A late dinner of pot roast, roasted vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower and carrots) and gravy filled us.

One pot gave us five great meals this week. The cuisine prepared out of the Griswold and Revere Ware pieces of cast iron provided a week of comfort food for the family. Now safely tucked away in the truck for the trip home, the Dutch oven is ready for our next adventure.

Gobble 'Till You Wobble menu

Ron Clanton shared the menu for Gobble 'Till You Wobble this evening. While 10 menu items being cooking in cast iron Dutch ovens is a lot of work, I'm confident Ron and his crew will do a great job. I've asked Ron to report back next week on the success of the event.

Gobble 'Till You Wobble Menu

Dutch Oven Roasted Turkey

Corn Bread Dressing (Century Old Recipe)

Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Cranberry Sauce with Marsala and Rosemary

Root Beer Glazed Yams

Carrots with Raisin-Fennel Vinaigrette

Pumpkin-Parmesan Biscuits

Dessert Menu

Retro Apple Cobbler

Almost Pumpkin Pie

Gingerbread

Gobble 'Till You Wobble looking for cooks

Goggle 'Till You Wobble Harvest Feast is looking for cooks on Saturday, November 10, 2012. Featured will be a five to six course Thanksgiving dinner prepared in Dutch ovens at the Butte Creek Mill, Eagle Point, Oregon.

You can cook, "help serve, or just move pots around for us and learn to cook in the Dutch oven," said Ron Clanton on the Rogue Dutch Oven Cookers blog. "We have tons of fun, and a little hard work, all worth it."

The Cookers will start cooking around 9 a.m.and serve dinner around 12:30 to 1 p.m. Turkey, dressing, cranberries and dessert are on the menu. Dinner rolls and a "few other things" may be added . The cooking is being done by the members of Rogue Dutch Oven Cookers for the third year. The Cookers are a chapter of International Dutch Oven Society.

The event is free to the public.Thanksgiving meal will be served until the food runs out. Mill owners Bob and Debbie Russell are sponsoring the dinner.

Email Ron if you can cook or assist. The Butte Creek Mill is located at 402 Royal Ave. N., Eagle Point, OR, 97524.

Meanwhile, enjoy these pictures from the 2010 event at the mill.

Lora Lee of the Rogue Dutch Oven Cooker surveys the serving table. The Cookers prepared a 50-pound Turdocken, two (20-pound) turkeys, fresh cranberry sauce, cornbread dressing (Ron's grandmother's recipe) and all the timings. "They ate it all," said Ron on the Cooker's blog. "About 200 people came out to see us cook, or just to eat (I don't know)."

Charles Lee begins work at the 2010 feast. The Cookers used all of the Dutch ovens in the picture "and then some." "I was beat from all the cast iron I pumped that day," said Ron. "But it's always worth it."

Dave Herzog, Medford, Oregon, "pumps iron" at the 2010 Gobble 'Till You Wobble Harvest Feast. Dave roasted the 50-pound Turducken in his 22-inch MACA Dutch oven (pictured at his feet).

Simple camp meal prepared cast iron skillet and grill

Tonight's dinner began as a way to use some Farmer's Market produce, the country sausage that I prepared last week and a container of crushed tomatoes in the refrigerator. Since the forecast called for temperatures in the 100s in the California Mother Lode, cooking the meal outdoors save us from overheating the house. Except for the pasta, I used my Griswold #10 skillet and Camp Chef Sport Grill to cook the meal.

Here's the menu:

• Spaghetti with country sausage tomato sauce and garnished with toasted bread crumbs and grated Parmesan cheese
• Grilled summer squash marinated in a balsamic reduction
• Sliced cucumbers with sherry vinegar and extra virgin olive oil

To prepare the tomato sauce, I sauteed about 1 pound of country sausage with 1/2 chopped onion until the sausage was cooked. I then poured a 1/2 cup of Madeira wine over the sausage and cooked it until most of the wine had evaporated. About 2 cups of crushed tomatoes and 6 tablespoons of half and half were then stirred into the skillet. The sauce simmered over low heat for about 30 minutes. Since I let the sausage season the tomato sauce, no additional seasoning was needed.

I served the sauce over a plate of cooked spaghetti and garnished it with toasted bread crumbs and grated Parmesan cheese. The bread crumbs added an interesting contrast in texture to the pasta dish.

To prepare the balsamic reduction, I simmered 1 cup balsamic vinegar, 2 tablespoons honey, 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard and 4 fat cloves of minced garlic in a saucepan until reduced by half. I then stirred in 2 tablespoons of chopped parsley and 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil. Two sliced summer squashes were then marinated for several hours in the refrigerator.

I grilled the squash until browned and tender on a Camp Chef grill box. While the grill box doesn't give food traditional grill marks, it does give food great flavor.

Memorial Day menu

On Monday, the residents partake in their normal activities as American honor its fallen veterans. Since treatment groups and counseling sessions occupy their time, I've put a Memorial Day menu together so they can celebrate. Even though families aren't able to join the ladies, they'll enjoy a holiday cookout on the patio.

MEMORIAL DAY MENU

Chef Steven's Triple 'B' Burger

All-beef patty grilled on BBQ, garnished with 2 bacon strips & bleu cheese crumbles

Swiss or American cheese for non-bleu cheese eaters

Corn on the cob

Grilled to perfection with chili butter

Roast potato and asparagus salad

Red potatoes and asparagus roasted in oven until golden

Tossed with sweet rosemary balsamic vinaigrette

All the fixin's

Sliced tomatoes, sliced red onion, Romain lettuce leaves

Ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise

Bowl of strawberries

Sliced fresh California strawberries, tossed in lemon juice, mint & vanilla

Dutch oven meal at conference

I hosted dinner tonight at the Christian Chefs International annual conference. The meal was prepared in four 14-inch Dutch ovens and one 17-inch skillet. Fitting for the rustic meal, we served it on the fireplace hearth in the main dining room of Canby Grove Camp, Oregon.

The menu featured:

Pozole verde
Grilled chicken marinated in guajillo sauce
Mexican rice pilaf
Sauteed green beans with garlic
Spring salad with balsamic vinaigrette
Avocado yogurt sauce
Salsa ranchera de arbol
Dutch oven bread
Oregon mixed berry cobbler

Lodge Cast Iron contest on Facebook

Lodge Cast Iron is running an interesting contest through Monday morning. I generally don't play along in mystery basket contests. You know the genre. Shows like Food Network's Chopped ask cooks to produce a five-star meal from odd, mismatched ingredients in the basket.

On one recent episode, the two surviving chefs were challenged to produce a dessert with fresh pasta sheets, plum tomatoes, basil and white chocolate (dessert round in "Redemption Competition" of Season 10). While I enjoy each of the components for the Chopped dessert, I wouldn't prepare a dessert with them. Yet, this is one of Chopped's tamer mystery baskets. I'd probably prepare a layered sweet dessert of some sort.

Lodge's contest is grounded in reality, not like the so-called reality shows. The premise is simple: You must prepare six meals from a list of 15 ingredients. Since you're snowed in, you can't run out to the market. And unlike Chopped, where common pantry items help the cook, Lodge limits you to listed ingredients.

Here are the details their Facebook page:

New recipe contest: Pretend you're snowed in for the weekend and only have eggs, vegetable oil, corned beef, chicken, bacon, onions, flour, lettuce, celery, carrots, salt, pepper, garlic, raisins and canned peaches available to prepare six meals. Water and ice are available.

The only pieces of cookware are a Lodge 12-inch Skillet and a 5-quart Lodge Dutch Oven. What are your six recipes?

Winning entry will be sent a copy of the Cornbread Festival Cookbook and a Lodge Wedge Pan.

The contest begins now and ends at 8 a.m. CST Monday morning.

The mire poix (diced onion, celery and carrot) jumped right out at me. With chicken and garlic, I figured that I prepare a rich stock. Other than salt, the list leaves little to season a stock. Being snowed in, I'd make due.

I was hoping they'd allow some old spices. Every cabin has a ready supply of outdated spices and leavening agents. I asked. The answer was no. The good news: I can participate as a chef. We'll see if my status helps or not.

The lack of leavening agents made the list suspiciously cleaver. This is where it'd be good to have MacGyver as a neighbor. He could make baking soda out of fireplace ash or paint chips or whatever.

Yet we do have eggs. Whipped egg whites provide leavening when gently folded into a batter. I initially thought to work up a sourdough started, but ruled it out. It'd take too long to let nature yeast and bacteria do their thing in a cold environment. Plus, two days wouldn't give me enough time.

The list gives me enough ingredients to prepare flatbread for breakfast, spaetzle at dinner and egg noodles in a rich chicken broth. Other dishes are certainly possible. Among them popovers and soufflés -- all leavened with eggs and steam.

Once I lined out the bread and bakery items for the six meal meals, filling in the remainder of menu was as simple as filling in the blanks. Being snowed in would yield a lot of time. One presumes television, satellite and cell connections are among the first casualties in a blizzard.

With two (or more) days devoted to cooking, survival could be fun. Why not go all out and prepare a series of snowbound feasts. The way I look at it, you can make anything taste good with salt, pepper and garlic.

CHEF STEVEN’S CABIN MENU

Breakfast: Eggs & bacon strips with flatbread & raisin jam; bacon first cooked in 12-inch skillet, flatbread browned second & eggs third; raisins cooked down in 5-quart Dutch oven for jam.

Meanwhile, bone chicken & set meat in ice; place bones & mire poix (diced onion, carrot & celery) in Dutch oven; brown chicken & vegetables; add water; simmer for several hours to form stock for soup & sauces.

Lunch: Chicken noodle soup with fresh handmade pasta in 5-quart oven; garnish soup with shreds of carrot & celery; save some stock for dinner.

Dinner: Corned beef cutlet served over spaetzle; cutlet floured & lightly browned in skillet; spaetzle cooked in boiling water in Dutch oven; quick garlic sauce made in skillet from chicken stock.

Breakfast: Bacon pancake (leavened with egg whites) cooked in skillet; peachy syrup made from peach juice & raisins in Dutch oven.

Lunch: Savory peach & corned beef soufflé cooked in Dutch oven.

Dinner: Chicken roulade stuffed with caramelized onion-carrot mixture, roasted garlic cloves & lettuce; chicken is browned in skillet & finished in Dutch oven; while chicken rests, prepare peach cobbler in Dutch oven from last of peaches.

Enjoy the menu. I've already posted my menu to the Lodge Cast Iron Facebook fan page. You have a day and a half to name your six meals. Have fun.