Recent Posts

Pages: 1 ... 8 9 [10]
91
Stirrin' the Pot / Re: Another successful cook!
« Last post by DeShawn on May 10, 2012, 10:06:16 pm »
And yet another successful cook today.  Our team gained a member on Monday and we had to do a "welcome" lunch today.  Of course, we cooked in Dutch ovens.

Here was the menu:

http://dutchovenchef.com/smf/main-dishes/pot-roast-with-vegetables/
http://dutchovenchef.com/smf/side-dishes/onion-ey-roasted-potatoes/
http://dutchovenchef.com/smf/breads/pillow-soft-dinner-rolls/
http://dutchovenchef.com/smf/desserts/upside-down-strawberry-shortcake/

Everything except for the shortcake was timed perfectly, but we needed to digest for a bit before we were ready for shortcake anyway, so maybe it was timed right too.

We also were able to help another team member learn some dutch oven skills.  He cooked the onion-ey roast potatoes, and they were fantastic.
92
Side Dishes / Onion-ey Roasted Potatoes
« Last post by DeShawn on May 10, 2012, 09:07:26 pm »
We made these for a team lunch today.  MAN were they gone fast!!  Didn't even have time to snap a quick picture!

Ingredients:
  • 6 medium russet potatoes scrubbed and cubed into half-inch cubes
  • 1 box (2 1-oz packages) dry onion soup mix
  • 6 cloves garlic, sliced
  • 1/2 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
  • 1/3 cup olive oil

Preparation:
Combine all of the ingredients in a 12-inch dutch oven.  It should be a fairly shallow layer of potatoes, because they are going to ROAST, not bake.  Mix everything well.  Cover and roast with 15 briquettes bottom heat and 24 briquettes top heat for 35-40 minutes or until potatoes are tender.  Give the potatoes a quick stir after the first 20 minutes of cooking.

Serves 6
93
Main Dishes / Russian Chicken
« Last post by Darren on May 08, 2012, 04:05:37 pm »
Another simple, easy recipe. I got this from my Mother-in-Law, but I believe that there are millions of variations of this everywhere.

Ingredients
  • 4 large chicken breasts, cut into pieces
  • 1 package Onion Soup Mix
  • 1 small (10-12 oz) bottle Russian Dressing
  • 8 oz Apricot Jam

Preparation

Place the chicken breasts in the bottom of a 12 inch dutch oven. Sprinkle the onion soup mix over the chicken, and then pour the russian dressing on top of it. Drop the apricot jam in small spoonfuls over the entire mix.

Bake with 14 briquettes top heat and 10 briquettes bottom heat for 30 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked all the way through.

Serve over rice.
94
Desserts / Banana Bread
« Last post by Darren on May 08, 2012, 03:57:37 pm »
The other day I was preparing to cook in my ovens, and I saw a bunch of overripe bananas. So I decided to whip up some banana bread! It was so simple, and yet was one of my kids' favorite things ever to come out of the ovens.

There was plenty left over, so I took the rest to a Boy Scout Court of Honor.

Side note - there was a rather strong wind that day, so the coals were burning extra hot, and as I did not use fewer coals to compensate for the extra heat generated, the bottom was burned. But the burned "crust" peeled right off, and it was FANTASTIC.

Ingredients:
  • 5 large ripe bananas
  • 4 eggs, well beaten
  • 1 cup shortening
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 4 cups flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preparation

Mash or puree the bananas.

In a large mixing bowl, cream the shortening and sugar. Now combine all ingredients and stir until well mixed.

Butter and flour a 12" dutch oven. Pour in the batter.

Cook using 15 briquettes top heat and 8 briquettes bottom heat for 45 minutes, or until a toothpick or knife inserted into the middle comes out clean.
95
Breads / Pillow Soft Dinner Rolls
« Last post by DeShawn on April 16, 2012, 04:42:42 pm »
Soft and Delicious!

Ingredients:
  • 4 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
  • 1/2 cup warm water (110° to 115° Fahrenheit)
  • 2 cups warm milk (110° to 115° Fahrenheit)
  • 6 Tablespoons shortening
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 7 cups all-purpose flour

Preparation:
In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add the milk, shortening, eggs, sugar, salt and 3 cups flour; beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough.

Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes (dough will be sticky). Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.

Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide into 24 pieces. Shape each into a roll. Place 12 rolls each into two 12-inch Dutch ovens.  Cover and let rise until doubled. Bake with 6-8 briquettes bottom heat and 14-16 briquettes top heat for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown, rotating lids and ovens 90 degrees in opposite directions every 10 minutes.
96
Main Dishes / Baked Chicken Parmesan
« Last post by DeShawn on April 12, 2012, 08:06:01 pm »
Ingredients:
  • 2 Tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (or more if you like it hot)
  • 6 boneless skinless chicken breasts
  • 2 cups marinara sauce
  • 1/4 cup chopped basil
  • 8 oz shredded mozzarella
  • 4 oz grated parmesan (use the real stuff, not the shaker can)
  • 1 5-oz package garlic croutons

Preparation:
Put the olive oil and garlic in the bottom of a 12-inch dutch oven and mix until the bottom of the oven is coated.  Sprinkle in red pepper flakes.  Cut the chicken breasts into bite-sized (or a little larger) chunks and place on top of the red pepper flakes--they should cover the bottom of the oven.  Cover with marinara sauce.  Sprinkle basil leaves over the top of the marinara sauce.  Top with half of the mozzarella and half of the parmesan.  Spread croutons evenly over the cheese.  Then sprinkle with the remaining cheese.

Cover the dutch oven and bake with 10 briquettes bottom heat and 14 briquettes top heat for approximately 45-60 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through.  Add more top heat to cause the top to turn crispy and brown.

Serves 6
97
Stirrin' the Pot / Another successful cook!
« Last post by Darren on March 10, 2012, 02:32:42 am »
DeShawn and I had another work lunch today. No pics, as I had no time between trying to get some work in, but it was a blast!

Smoked chickens, Vera's beans, peach cobbler...what a great way to spend a Friday morning!

-Darren
98
Stirrin' the Pot / Re: It's In the Sharing
« Last post by Darren on February 16, 2012, 09:50:38 pm »
Secret recipes?

No such thing, not to me.

I find that in general, the dutch oven crowd is kind of the open-source of the culinary community. Maybe it's just my experience, but that's what I have seen.

All the fun is in the sharing - the collaborative effort. I find that when someone gives me a recipe, I usually can't leave it alone anyway. I usually do it once as is, and then find tweaks/changes that make it different.

Note that I didn't say better - if the guy with the recipe didn't like it, he'd probably have improved it himself. But since taste is all subjective anyway, I do what makes sense for me.

In the end, I go back to the first two rules of Dutch Oven Cooking anyway, so it's all good.
99
Stirrin' the Pot / It's In the Sharing
« Last post by DeShawn on January 27, 2012, 09:06:47 pm »
I hate secret recipes.

I completely understand why a restaurant needs to keep its recipes secret.  I know that corporations keep some recipes and formulations under lock and key.  That doesn't bother me, because the entity that owns the recipe is relying on that recipe for their continued livelihood.  That makes absolute sense to me.

What I don't like is when someone offers you a home-baked cookie or they bring something delicious to a pot-luck dinner, and when you ask them for the recipe (because you like it so much), they tell you that it's a secret recipe and they don't give it out to anyone.  Usually it's a "family" recipe that their family just doesn't share.

That makes absolutely no sense to me at all.  The joy of cooking, for me, is in the sharing--being able to share the entire experience with someone else. 

I love it when I give someone something that I've cooked and I watch their reaction as they close their eyes to savor the flavor of my concoction.  I love the little sounds of enjoyment that escape, usually involuntarily, as they truly enjoy the bite in their mouth.

I love it even more when I can give the person the knowledge that they need to re-create the delicious bite and, in turn, share it with others.

That's another little piece of why I created the Dutch Oven Chef Forums.  So please, as you create and savor, please post your reactions and thoughts about the recipes on the site.

How do you feel about "secret recipes?"
100
Stirrin' the Pot / Re: Itching to fire up the coals!
« Last post by Darren on January 23, 2012, 04:45:26 pm »
Welcome, Carl!

If you're still asking for a different weekend...

Depends on how much time you have. For a short cook, try the lasagna. http://dutchovenchef.com/smf/main-dishes/dutch-oven-lasagna/

If you have a few hours...

Try the Pot Roast. http://dutchovenchef.com/smf/main-dishes/pot-roast-with-vegetables/

Those would be my choices.

-Darren
Pages: 1 ... 8 9 [10]