We've been busy

Our summer is almost gone. Here's a recap of what we were up to these past few months:

Hawaii

Black Hills

The Tetons

Brooklyn Lake, Wyoming

There wasn't a lot of cooking going on but there was a lot of travelling. Now that I've gotten back into the swing of things I've been back in the kitchen trying some new and old recipes. I even tried out a recipe I'd been saving for about a year on our first camping trip of the summer. I don't have pictures but it isn't a pretty dish anyway but it's so tasty. I've reserved it as a camping only recipe. I went to a camper show in 2008 and saw these comedian's cooking show. They were entertaining but I was there for the food.

Dad's Potaotes by Pat Mac and Mike Faverman (Ultimate Camp Cooking)

Ingredients:

2 Pieces of Tin Foil, about 2 feet long each

1 Stick of Unsalted Butter

Salt and Pepper

Celery Salt

Garlic powder or whatever you choose

3 Cups of Tater Tots

Onions

Peppers

Mushrooms

Zucchini

Directions: This recipe is great for camp cooking. Start with a piece of tin foil because it’s a foil wrap recipe. Take unsalted butter, at room temperature, and wipe it across the tin foil. This allows the butter flavor to melt into the other ingredients. Then season the butter with your favorite seasonings. We suggest salt, pepper, celery salt and garlic powder. Add 3 cups of tater tots on top of your seasoned butter. Spread them evenly across the buttered foil. Then add four fresh vegetables, vegetables of your liking. We suggest onions, peppers, mushrooms and zucchini. Make sure these vegetables are cut up in small chunks about the same size as the tater tots. This will enable all the ingredients to cook evenly and absorb the flavors and seasoning. Take a handful of each vegetable and place it on top of the tater tots. Roll the tin foil like a newspaper. Then take another piece of tin foil to close it up and wrap it tightly to throw either on a grill or into the fire. There are several ways to cook this recipe. We suggest on a Coleman grill to cook each side evenly, on a medium to high heat for 15 minutes on each side.

I tried another recipe of theirs, Drunkin Flank Steak and although the steak was nice and tender the alcohol flavor was so strong. Even the husband, who I had to keep away from the Jack Daniels for the recipe, said it was too potent for him. I don't recall it tasting so strongly at the cooking show and I didn't marinate nearly as long as the recipe says but I'm afraid it isn't one I'd make again. On that note we've discovered flatiron steaks and they've become our new favorite grilling steak!

Drunkin' Flank Steak by Ultimate Camp Cookin

One 1½ - 2 Lbs. Flank Steak
2 Cups of Jack Daniels
½ Cup of Lime Juice
½ Cup Soy Sauce
½ Cup of Chopped Ginger root
1 Tablespoon of Chopped Garlic
2 Tablespoons of Crushed Red Peppers Flakes
¼ Cup of Worchester Sauce
Directions:
Marinade all ingredients in a Zip Lock bag for 20 hours to allow the flavor of the bourbon and spices to saturate the meat. Remove from bag and cook to liking. 15 minutes on both sides with a medium flame works great.