Naturally, I love to cook in the outdoors, so camp cooking is exciting to me. Planning, and precooking, when necessary, makes mealtime that much more enjoyable. It always takes me back to my Girl Scout days in Blanco Canyon. And food seems to tastes better prepared outside, particularly after a long day of hiking and fishing.
When it’s just my husband and I, we keep it pretty simple. But if extended family or friends were to come, we like to experiment with Dutch oven cooking.
This last camping trip was just the two of us but I found a cool tool I’ve always wanted to try. I heard about it years ago but never purchased one. The one I have is called a camp cooker. It’s an inexpensive cast iron device on the end of a long double handle that opens up. They come in a single or double version. The one pictured is designed to cook two meals or treats at once, to speed things up. The cast iron is “pre-seasoned” and ready to use.
The equipment is similar to a panini press. It sandwiches together two slices of bread, or in this case, 4, and the fillings of your choice. A friend of mine told me their favorite was to create a “pizza-style” sandwich over the campfire.
Apparently, pie dough, pizza dough, and phyllo dough are easy to use in the press, as well. So of course, I thought of flour tortillas. It all takes some time and experimenting to find what you like, and how much time to cook. The intensity fire and coals will determine how long to cook, as well.
The key points are to butter the sides of the bread, tortilla, or dough that will come into contact with the cast iron, and to trim any portion that overhangs when it is closed. I will also note to use really soft, fresh bread, and do not overfill.
Other than pizza-sandwiches, some of our ideas for using the press consist of ham and cheese, fruit, such as sliced peaches sprinkled with a little cinnamon and sugar on bread, phyllo, or pie dough, and breakfast sandwiches, complete with cooked eggs, bacon, Canadian bacon, or breakfast sausage patties, and a little cheese.
The manufacturer’s booklet has a few other concepts, like an assortment of meat pies, and using leftover casseroles as a filling. They recommend using fully cooked meat in your fillings. And I like the tip they have for dessert-type creations; they suggest sprinkling the buttered side of the bread or dough with sugar to form a crispy, sweet coating.
Enjoy some fresh air, either camping, or right in your own backyard. And enjoy food made fresh!
Camp Cooker Pizza-Sandwiches:
Each sandwich will require:
2 slices soft, fresh bread
2 pats softened butter
1/3 cup grated mozzarella cheese
2 tablespoons tomato sauce
1 teaspoon pesto (or dry Italian seasoning)
6 to 8 slices pepperoni
Butter one side of each piece of bread.
Place half the cheese on the unbuttered side of one slice of bread. Add tomato sauce, pesto or Italian seasoning, pepperoni, and remaining cheese.
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