Dutch Oven Broth Bread

This bread started out as a query, as me wondering, “What if...?”  I had been planning and baking for my breads party/photoshoot for several days, and my mind was locked in bread mode.  I was thinking, living, breathing nothing but breads.

I wondered, “What would happen if I used some chicken broth instead of water in a bread?”  I started to ponder that thought for a while, then I went to that font of all knowledge and wisdom, the Internet.  Sadly, what I had originally believed was a fresh and unique idea was, in fact, pretty common.  I found a number of descriptions and recipes.

In the end, I went back through my own recipes and decided just to try to substitute it part for part.  But then, I thought about it, and realized that there would be salt in the broth, and some oil as well, so I lessened or eliminated those ingredients.   I wasn’t sure if the broth would be too heavy or too damp.  But I thought I’d give it a try!

I wasn’t sure what to call it.  I thought about “Chicken Bread”, but that sounded too corny.  My wife came to my rescue, and dubbed it “Broth Bread”!  Here it is:

Dutch Oven Broth Bread


12” Dutch Ovens
12-14 coals below
18-22 coals above


2 Cups poultry broth (110 degrees)
1 1/2 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp Yeast
1 tsp salt
4-5 Cups fresh bread flour

The broth was from our Christmas turkey, and was frozen in 2-cup baggies.  I put one in a measuring cup and turned on the tap, running hot water over it.  It took a while to melt, and then to come up to a nice warm 110° or so.  I wasn’t in a hurry.  Microwaving it might have gotten it there sooner, but...

Once it was ready, I mixed in the sugar and the yeast.  I set that aside for another ten minutes or so, and let it foam up.  I was a bit concerned about any salt in the broth reacting with the yeast, but it turned out OK.

Then I sifted in the flour and added the table salt.  Remember that I usually start with a little less flour. I stirred it all up, then dumped it out onto the liberally floured countertop.  From here on out, I treated it pretty much like any other bread.  I kneaded until it developed a good gluten windowpane, then stretched the surface into a tight ball, and set it aside to rise.

It rose for an hour or two, getting doubled, and then I lit up some coals.  While those were turning white, I kneaded just a little more (two or three pushes, at the most) and restretched and reshaped it into a boule (ball) again.  I put this into the proofing basket.

Soon, the coals were all lit, and so I oiled the inside of the dutch oven, and set it out on the proper amount of coals, both below and above.  I let that preheat for an additional 15 minutes, then I brought out the bread.  I tipped it into the Dutch oven, then sliced the top.  Unfortunately, my knife wasn’t very sharp (always use razor blades) so it ended up tearing more than slashing.  Quickly, I put the lid on and marked the time.

After 15-20 minutes, I knocked the ash off the coals, rotated the Dutch oven and the lid, and lifted the lid to check on the progress, and to insert the thermometer.

After another 10-15 minutes, I checked, and it was past 200°, ready to come in.  After cooling on a rack, I was able to cut into it and taste it.  I was pleasantly surprised.  The chicken flavor was there,  but not prominent.  Very subtle.  It tasted great as a sandwich bread, and then, later, at the bread party, in the cheese fondue dip!



Mark has discovered a love of Dutch Oven Cooking. Mark also has other sites and blogs, including MarkHansenMusic.com and his MoBoy blog.

Around the World in a Dutch Oven

As many of you know already, I've been very lucky to have been tapped by Cedar Fort publishers to make a series of four (possibly more) Dutch oven cookbooks!  Last Fall, I turned in the manuscript for the third book in the series, called "Around the World in a Dutch Oven".  It will be coming out in early April, but it's already available via pre-order from Amazon (the picture is the affiliate link).

I've been very excited about this, my third Dutch oven cookbook, because it represents some of my best and most challenging culinary work to date.  This one is kind of the opposite of the Black Pot for Beginners, which takes a new chef from ground zero to skilled black pot cook!  This book is for those that want a bit more of a challenge, and want to challenge themselves.

So, a few weeks ago, I did a big, long, day of cooking and the cover designer came out and shot pictures of the food I cooked.  I thought I'd share some of those pictures, along with some comments!

Greek Baklava

I really love baklava, and it's tricky to make in some ways, but it's not complex.  The only tricky part, really, is handling the Filo dough.  That also takes some real patience, because you have to layer it on, and butter each layer up.  That stuff is so thin, it takes time.

The spices are simple, too.  Just some cinnamon, brown sugar, and nuts.  Then some honey syrup over the top at the end.  In a Dutch oven, you do have to be a bit careful of the heat, because you can easily overbake the flaky dough sheets.  But it's great.

Here it is on a plate.  That mint leaf really sets it off, and adds some rich color to the display, I think.  It contrasts nicely against the white and brown.  I wish I knew more about plating and food photography.  Still, if you just cook it right, you're over half-way there, I think.  Food that's appetizing in the first place is going to photograph much better.  Although, as you'll see, a good photograph can even save some of the more messy of dishes.

Sushi

I actually made the rice the night before.  You can't really see it in this particular picture, but I was really proud of the rice.  I've done it where it's turned out too moist and damp, and it almost ends up as a paste.  If you get the water absorbed just right, and then the vinegar sugar sauce as well, it will stick nicely together, but the individual grains of rice will still be separate and unique.

Brendon actually did the rolling and the slicing of these, while I was still doing the cooking, finishing up some other dishes.  He did this just as the photographers arrived, so that the rolls and pieces would look their freshest.  I think he did a pretty good job!  It tasted great, after the photographs, too!

Coulibiac

This one proved to be quite a challenge.  I think it looks pretty good, but the crust wasn't as smooth and browned as the first time I did this years ago.

A coulibiac is a delicious salmon, rice, and tomato filling wrapped up in a pie crust exterior.  When it's done right, it really looks impressive!  I don't think this one was particularly BAD, I just wish it had turned out smoother.  The taste was amazing, though.  The crust was light and flaky, and the filling had the tang of tomato and lemon intermingled with the sweet flakes of the salmon.  I really like this dish.

Lasagne

This picture makes me laugh.  The lasagne itself finished cooking too early, and there was still quite a bit of time before the crew was set to arrive and shoot pictures.  So, I just put a few coals on the lid to keep it warm.  It was a kind of chilly winter day, and I didn't want it to cool off.

Well, by the time they got there and started shooting pictures, the top crust of cheese was just overdone.  It was so brown and wrinkly, it was really tough to look at.  I was embarrassed to show it, but they took pictures anyway.  When I served it up, it was dry and hard to eat.  But, the photographer still managed to get some very complimentary photos.

Well, those are some of the cover shots for the next Dutch oven cookbook, "Around the World in the Dutch Oven"!  Check it out!


Mark has discovered a love of Dutch Oven Cooking. Mark also has other sites and blogs, including MarkHansenMusic.com and his MoBoy blog.

Announcements, Announcements, Announcements!

Today, I have two very exciting bits of news:

1 - My next book, the second in the “Black Pot Series”, titled “Black Pot for Beginners” is now available for pre-release orders at Amazon.com!  This one is not just a compilation of recipes and stories, however.  It’s a step-by-step, lesson-by-lesson guide to learning how to cook in a Dutch oven.  It’s very clear, detailed, and in-depth.  If you were to start at step one, and cook through to step 9, you’d get to the end as a quite accomplished Dutch oven chef!  Here are the chapters:

Lesson 1 - Instant Success - Your first surefire Dutch oven dish: Chicken and Potatoes
Lesson 2 - the Dutch Oven and the Gear - Learn about your equipment, and make a peach cobbler
Lesson 3 - Basic Cheffery - Make a delicious chilli and learn to use your knife along the way!
Lesson 4 - More Soups, Stews, and Cuts - Sauteing, browning, and simmering, along with more knife cuts
Lesson 5 - Heat and Meat - Managing the heat over a long roasting time can be challenging.  This lesson makes it simple
Lesson 6 - Herbs, Spices, and Flavorings - How to make your dishes leap off the plate!
Lesson 7 - Flour, Soda, and Heat, Part 1 - Quick bread and biscuits, with baking soda!
Lesson 8 - Flour, Soda, and Heat, Part 2 - Cakes and desserts
Lesson 9 - Putting it all Together - Planning and cooking a whole meal

It’s a great book, and anyone who wants to learn how to cook in a Dutch oven, even as an absolute beginner, can learn from it.

2 - This saturday, I’ll be demoing some recipes from the first book at Sportsman’s Warehouse in Midvale, UT.  It’s at 165 W. 7200 S. Midvale, UT


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I’ll be there from 11:00 in the morning through about 3:00 or 4:00 in the afternoon.  I’ll be cooking up some chili and some other as of yet undecided dishes.    If you live in the Salt Lake Metro area, come on out and I’ll be happy to sign your books!  It’s really important to me to have a good turnout, so if it’s at all possible, come out and taste some great food!





Mark has discovered a love of Dutch Oven Cooking. Mark also has other sites and blogs, including MarkHansenMusic.com and his MoBoy blog.

Dutch Oven TV Spots, and other events!

This week has been a fun and busy Dutch oven week!

Last Tuesday, I had a remarkable opportunity!  I was able to do a cooking demo live on TV!  As a part of Channel 2's noontime news show, I got to show how to make Chicken Wrapped Bacon!  Here's a link to the video of the event!

It was lots of fun to do.  I was pretty nervous.  I have done TV interviews before, but never when I was cooking.  Still, I think it came off ok! You be the judge.

Then, on the weekend, I got to go to the West Jordan Stampede and help the Storm Mountain Chapter of IDOS do demos for the passers-by.  I did Chicken and Potatoes, and Pizza, both from the book.  I also got to judge the cookoff, doing the breads.  My friend Andy from backporchgourmet.com was there, also, judging for his first time.  Then, later that evening, his wonderful wife gave birth to his wonderful baby!  Congrats to Andy!

Then, today, I made my version of the Deconstructed Hamburger.  It turned out great, and I'll include that recipe as a separate posting.


Mark has discovered a love of Dutch Oven Cooking. Mark also has other sites and blogs, including MarkHansenMusic.com and his MoBoy blog.

My Strange Dutch Oven Weekend

I did a lot of dutch ovening this weekend, and it was all under kind of unusual circumstances.  The best laid plans of mice and men, etc...  Everything changed up.

On Saturday, our church men’s group (the Elder’s Quorum, for those of you who understand Mo’ Speak) hosted a dutch oven cookout activity in the park.  I was in charge of planning it and pulling it off.  The idea was to have us all gather in the early afternoon, and do some cooking.  I’d be there to show how to do it, if the members were feeling unsure.  Then, at about 5 or 6, we’d all eat what we’d all cooked.

The turnout was terrible.  There were quite a few guys who had told me they were going to show up and cook along with us, but only one came (
That's Richard, in the picture).  Later on, my wife joined us, as did one other guy and his kids.

I was pretty bummed, but I still had a good time cooking.  I did a spicy turkey (a small one) and some no-knead bread.  I added basil, oregano, and cilantro to the dough, and it made for a delicious flavor.  The other Elder that came over and cooked made a chocolate and marshmallow pudding.  Really, great food.  Too bad so few were there to sample it.

Then, on Sunday, I had planned on cooking dinner for my father-in-law.  I’d pretty much decided on doing a dinner-in-a-pumpkin, but he injured his back and was immobile, so he couldn’t come over.  I decided to do it anyway, and it turned out great. 

I’ve been working on an overall outline for a cookbook on yeast breads in a dutch oven, and I’m very excited about it.  I’ve started writing some of the parts, and I’ll be posting them here as they come.  Stay tuned for that!






Mark has discovered a love of Dutch Oven Cooking. Mark also has other sites and blogs, including MarkHansenMusic.com and his MoBoy blog.

Mark's Other Blog Posts: Working on The Third Time, A Big LDS Game, Free Speech?

Brendon Covers the DOG!

Here's the video that Brendon and I made of the Dutch Oven Gathering (DOG) this weekend! He did most of the videography and the narration, and I edited it.



His Baked Ziti was one of the biggest hits of the event! There was a lot of other great food there, too, including the BBQ ribs, and the Jambalalya! I'll have our recipes posted up over the next few days. In the meantime, enjoy the video!


Mark has discovered a love of Dutch Oven Cooking. Mark also has other sites and blogs, including MarkHansenMusic.com and his MoBoy blog.

Dutch Oven Mountain Man Breakfast

A Cry for Help


About a week ago, I got this kindof panicked email. It was from a lady who'd been volunteered to dutch oven some breakfast for her husband and friends. With her permission, I'm including it, and the ensuing conversation, here:

It began:



If you have the time and energy to help me, I would really appreciate it. . .

First, let me say, that I feel so lucky to have found your blog today. I bookmarked it and will be reading it more often.

Second, I am a NOVICE. Please notice the capital letters. I am soooo inexperienced. So far in a Dutch oven, I have made 3 apple crisps (turned out good), 3 cakes (pretty good), seven layer dinner twice (the first time okay – the second time with improvements RAVE reviews) and chicken and rice (never again with rice, I thought it was never going to cook). My cooking experience is with the Girl Scouts, so if I make a mistake, there are always hot dogs and smores.

(Note from Mark: OK, maybe a novice, but from the bits here, not a bare-bones beginner...)

But, my HUSBAND (you know – the guy I originally bought the Dutch oven for) has GRACIOUSLY volunteered me to cook BREAKFAST in the Dutch oven at tailgating on Saturday morning – for our FRIENDS. (Can you say – dog house?)

SOO, I need a no-fail recipe. I looked at breakfast pizzas, but I’m scared the crescent rolls and eggs won’t cook. Can you help?

Trese



It was pretty easy for me to reply. I immediately thought of the Mountain Man Breakfast. It's easy and quite impressive. It's one of those dutch oven traditions, like doing the dump cake cobblers. Everybody's done one at some point.



I replied:

Ah, your story sounds soooo familiar! It took me a while to figure out how to do rice. The most common problem is not enough liquid for the rice to absorb. If the whole thing is too dry, the rice will never cook.

There really is no such thing as a "no-fail" recipe. There are ones that are difficult to pull off, and ones that are easy to pull off, but I have learned from sad experience that even the simplest ones can fail. I must hang my head in shame and admit that even the simple dump cobblers have kicked my sorry butt from time to time.

As far as breakfast goes, I usually don't do breakfasts. I'm not usually up early enough! :-) However, there are a few cool things you can do. One relatively easy one is called "mountain man breakfast". I've done it a time or two and it's only failed me once (and I know why, and I won't do that again...)

You start by putting some coals (15-20) under your dutch oven and browning some breakfast meat (sausage, bacon, or some combination of that). You could even cook the meat on your home stove the night before. Then, slice or dice some potatoes. Frozen hash browns (shredded or cubed) works well for this, too. The one time I messed this recipe up, I shredded the potatoes too early in the process, and they got all brown, and when they cooked they were an ugly black. Yuck. Cut the potatoes right before you cook them.

You can dice some onions and green peppers, too, if you like. Mushrooms are good, too.

In the bottom of your dutch oven, create layers. Start with the potatoes on the bottom, then the meats, then the veggies. Season it with salt, pepper, and anything else you like. (Note from Mark: One time that I did this, I also cooked some fresh spinach and added that as a layer, to give it a "quiche-ish" taste)

Finally, whip together 6-8 eggs and some milk. Pour that over the whole mixture. It will soak through all the layers.

Put it on some coals (if you've got a 12" oven, put 8-10 coals underneath and 16-18 above (depending on how cold and windy it is outside), and bake it for about 30-45 minutes, or until you can poke a fork in it and have it come out clean. Then, take it off the coals and sprinkle the top with shredded cheddar. Put the lid back on and let the residual heat melt the cheese.

Serve it up!

BTW, I'm also glad you found my blog. If you don't mind, I'd like to put your letter up and respond to it on the blog with a more detailed recipe of this. Would that be OK?

...and I hope the husband gets out of the doghouse soon. Be forgiving. It won't be the last mistake he'll ever make... :-)

Mark



She replied:


I don’t mind if you use this at all. I can send some photos, too, if you would like. I will use this recipe as my husband loves potatoes and we aren’t big egg fans – another reason why I was thinking “Breakfast, really???”. So this will be perfect as it seems the eggs are just sort of binders?? It will be like a breakfast bowl? Add some salsa and we are rockin’ (I hope.)

Thanks, I’ll be in touch to let you know how it goes!

Trese




And a few days later, I got this update:



You will be happy to know that my husband is out of the dog house. If not for him, we would have all been eating frozen mountain man’s breakfast.

Here’s the backstory to the whole thing. . . Just so you don’t think I’m crazy. It was my turn to provide food for tailgating food for our alma mater’s football game and I had said I would make something in the Dutch oven. (I was thinking something I had made before that I knew I could make.) We both graduated from Middle Tennessee State University and are season ticket holders for football. Well, ESPNU decided to televise our game last Saturday against Ole Miss on the condition that we move our game from 4 pm to 11:30 am – which is no big deal, except, I don’t know how to make breakfast in the Dutch oven. (I’m not really confident in my Dutch oven cooking as my chicken and rice experience was a total bust, but I was going to try it – sans rice.) My husband piped right up for me and volunteered a warm breakfast prepared in the Dutch oven. UGGH! Luckily, when I googled Dutch oven recipes, up came your blog.

We woke up on Saturday to record breaking cold weather. We actually had to get the hats, gloves and coats out of the coat closet. We live in Tennessee and were not prepared for the cold front that had settled in the night before. We were, however, prepared for the breakfast – thanks to you. You scared me with your story of black potatoes and there was NO WAY I was going to risk that. I used a 1 ½ pound package of frozen O’Brien hashbrowns (with the peppers and onions already included) and had pre-cooked a pound of Sage sausage. I had already scrambled the 8 eggs and a couple teaspoons of water at the house too and I bought 2 cups of shredded cheese. I even lined the Dutch oven with foil and had sprayed it down with Pam before leaving the house.

(Note from Mark: Many dutch oveners don't use foil. If there's a good black coating on your dutch oven, the food doesn't stick much, and then you don't have to worry about getting bits of foil in your food.)

I had read almost every one of your blogs on Friday and took heed from the guest blogger who had mentioned not being able to cook directly on the ground at a recent competition. I don’t really know why that is a rule, but I figured it was for safety purposes, so I used a 16 inch stone paver to cook on in the parking lot.

(Note from Mark: There are two reasons why I don't cook directly on concrete or pavement. One is that it can get very hot and actually damage the concrete or pavement. Another is that a lot of your bottom heat is used up warming up the pavement, rather than heating up your food.)

It was freezing cold and windy and just as I was getting out of the car to start setting up the chairs and the table, it started to mist. Fabulous! I had decided that was should get some coals started and “preheat” the potatoes and sausage that had been in the refrigerator/cooler all night. That plan went “to pot” quickly because I could not for the life of me get my charcoal to start. Finally, my husband saved me. He must have seen the flashing SOS on my forehead because he stepped right in and said, “Let me take care of these coals and you can do something else.” Something else like stand over his back and pray with all my heart? Cuz, that’s exactly what I did. I looked around at my friends and they were saying, “It’s fine. We have time. There’s enough other food here. It’s okay.” I felt like a tailgating ZERO. But my dearest husband got the charcoal started and I was back to the original plan very soon.

I took the first 10 coals out and put them under the pot. I scattered the potatoes and the sausage and let them warm up while the rest of the coals heated. Then I added the 20 coals to the top and let just the potatoes and sausage cook for 10 minutes. Then I added the eggs and let them cook for 20 minutes. Then added the cheese and let it cook for about 5 more minutes. We served with salsa and Texas Pete. (I was going to do it again, I would add more meat – maybe a pound of bacon, too. You can’t ever go wrong with adding bacon.)

I cannot tell you how impressed people were when I opened that oven after 20 minutes and they saw all the steam billowing out of that pot. (I have to say, I felt relief.) My friends had watched me worrying over that chimney and pot for more than an hour. It turned out great – a bit stressful, but definitely tasty. The food was all gone in about 20 minutes. So I went from tailgating zero to HERO in 30 minutes (thanks to you). AND everyone was happy b/c the Dutch oven and the chimney (eventually) provided us all with a heat source. (Did I mention that it was COLD??? And Windy? And Wet?)

Everyone decided that I should definitely be in charge of cooking for tailgating this week. Ummm – not ready for that yet. It’s my turn to bring cookies and drinks for the kids – I’ll stick with that.

So how’s that for making a short story long?

Reader’s Digest version – It turned out great. It was a huge hit and now I owe you those 700 thank you’s! I don’t think I’ll be cooking stuffing in pumpkins anytime soon, but I will be cooking something. And I will be reading your blog. You were a huge help. (BTW – MTSU lost and I’m not even going to talk about the Tennessee Titans.)

I only snapped a couple of pics b/c of the misty rain but I will get them to you soon.

Thanks again!


Trese


So, I was glad to hear that it worked out, and that I could help out in a small way. Congrats to you, Trese! And thanks for allowing us all to hear your story.


A Call for Your Recipes and Stories


So, folks, I'd love to hear some of your dutch oven stories, too. I'd like to start including more of that here in the Black Pot Blog, like the one about Andy and Melissa's cookoff experience. Send me your favorite recipes. I'd love to try them, and then share them here. Of course, I'll credit you, and even link back to your blog or site, if you have one...

The View From the Other Side

So, on Saturday, I had a very interesting experience. I was asked to be a field judge for the Eagle Mountain Pony Express Days Dutch Oven Cookoff.

I wasn't quite sure what to expect. I'd participated in the cookoff the previous two years, and had interacted with field judges each time. Still, interacting doesn't mean the same as doing.

I read over the instructions and the judging criteria the night before. They had all turned in their recipes. Part of what I was supposed to do was to make sure that they cooked their chosen recipes in a safe and correct way.

Actually, that's not entirely true. My job was to watch them do it and mark them down if they did it "wrong". It seemed that all of the criteria in the scoring was based on messing up. I thought that was strange. They got 3 points in each of five categories. The highest score was defined as "satisfactory", and the others were things like "Needs Minor Improvement", "Needs Major Improvement", and "Don't Eat Their Food". There were no provisions for someone doing something exceptionally well.

That would have made my job much easier. See, the teams all knew what they were doing, and did a pretty good job of it. So, with a few minor exceptions, they all did "Satisfactory". So, how am I to distinguish?

But it was a lot of fun. I got to know some good dutch oveners, and it was fun.

	Here I am, yours truly, walking out to the judges table from the cooking area. Like I have said before, it's not often that I get a picture here in the Black Pot, and that's probably a good thing! In addition to a fun new experience, I also got to keep the cool embroidered apron!
	These guys were new to competition, so it wasn't a surprise that they didn't place as high, even though their dishes were well done. When you've competed a while, you learn certain touches in presentation and style that really impress judges. I really liked their bread, and I want to try their spicy chicken, too!
	This guy cooked with his 14-year-old daughter. They made a great team. In addition to helping him cook, she did all his dishes. I wonder if I could work out an arrangement like that with Brendon...
	The judges table! The judges were an interesting mix. About half were local celebs, and one was the author of a food storage cookbook, and there were two that actually had some cooking skills. The judging was difficult, too. I was allowed to taste everything, but as a field judge, I didn't vote in the taste testing. In all but a very few cases, it was tough to pick a favorite!
	This one's the winner's main dish. It was wonderful! Ribs with a homemade BBQ sauce. I thought the shrimp on the edge was a nice touch, too.
	This one was incredible, and I want to make it at home sometime. A pork rib roast with a brown sugar and pepper sauce. Man, it was gooooooood.
	The winners! Not only did they win the prize, qualifying for the World Championship Cook Off next spring, but they also won the Mayor's Choice award (second year running!). This couple also competed for the first time with me the first time I did the Eagle Mountain.

The Feast Goes On!

Yesterday was the big day, and I had a blast cooking it this year. For those that are newcomers to the Black Pot, or are finding this post as their first introduction to the blog, here's the story, in a nutshell: Once a year, I cook up a big feast (a full 7 course meal) entirely in my dutch ovens. I start early in the day and cook until it's all done, when the guests arrive. I do it partly to celebrate Mother's Day, and partly to challenge myself and my cooking skills.

This year, I chose to do some pretty tough dishes, I thought, but I was pretty calm. I didn't stress so much as I did last year. It was more fun. Here, up above, you see me kneading the sourdough. This one I made from a yeast strain that I caught here in Eagle Mountain, UT. When I told the guests about that, we all started joking about how one goes about "Catching a wild yeast"! Crikey!

This was the first course, the soup. It was based on a recipe (Chicken Soup with Rice) from a good friend. I added some grilled chicken and shrimp on a skewer just for show. It kinda gave it a unique look, even if they were a little overdone. As a sort of appetizer, though, the soup worked pretty well. Fortunately, there were a lot of leftovers of this course, so I'll eat well for my work lunches for a long time!

I pretty much stuck to my friend's original recipe. I did use some home made chicken stock for the base, and added lemon juice. Other than that it was straight ahead soup.
The salad course, of course, I didn't do in my dutch ovens. The cheese is mozarella, the dressing a kind of twist of italian and pacific Island. The crumbled cheese is feta. I was going for this look that combined a lot of different circular foods, all on the plate at once, over a bed of spinach. It tasted great, and looked really cool as well.

I've been doing a lot of reading about presentation along with the actual cooking. I'm still not very confident in that area, but it's something I'm learning steadily.

These are all my guests. They're mostly friends from our neighborhood, and our ward at church, but also a few others from Salt Lake City. We were laughing pretty hard all through the evening, mostly at the expense of our kids!

We had a few couples that, unfortunately, had to bow out. While I missed them, and it would have been fun to have them there, it worked out. I had originally overbooked the guest list a little, and I wasn't sure if I'd have enough crown roast to go around. So, as Jodi and I talked about it the night before, we decided I should also do a turkey for some extra food. In the end, even though we had enough roast to go around, a lot of the guests had some turkey too, so it really all worked out well.

I did the same citrus turkey that I'd done for Thanksgiving last year.

This is the crown roast. I was really nervous doing this, because I'd never done it before. I didn't know how it was going to turn out. I decided to do veggies around it instead of stuffing, and I put some orange slices and an orange/molasses glaze on it as well.

As I had worked out the dinner in advance, I'd hit on this idea of doing it all with a sort of citrus theme all the way through. There was lemon juice in the soup, there were lemons, oranges, and grapefruit on the turkey, and oranges and the orange glaze on the pork.

The bread had the orange theme, as well, as I put an orange and brown sugar/cinnamon glaze on it as well. And... We drank Sprite mixed with orange juice.

I was really pleased with the way the bread turned out. I've learned a lot about making bread over the last year, and it really came together that night. I did it with a braided pattern, in a circle, intead of just hearth loaf. That made it more full in the dutch oven, as well as a little fancier. Half the point of this dinner is to have great food, and half the point is to just make it look more amazing.

The dessert was also great. I made this big circular banana bread, with almond slivers and chocolate chunks. Then, when we served it up, we smothered it in a bunch of sauces. One I made was a butter, sugar, and cinnamon sauce, then we also layered on chocolate and caramel sauces. Finally, a tip of whipped cream!

The food part of the evening was great, and I was proud of it, but that wasn't the best part, even. It was just a lot of fun to have a lot of good friends over and just kick back and laugh with them all.

And today, I could hardly move. But it was still all worth it!

Recipes and detailed stories to come!

The Mother's Day Feast, 2009

Last year, starting in about January, I started to get this wild notion that I could really cook up something fancy. I wanted to make a full, elaborate meal, completely in my dutch ovens, and serve it up to a group of friends. I decided to do it in conjunction with Mother's Day, as something special for Jodi.

I know, it's also about me trying to show off...

But I do appreciate everything that Jodi does, and I do enjoy cooking up this special meal for her and for our friends.

Here are the links to the pages in the blog that describe last year's feast.

So, I've been thinking a lot about it this year as well. It's coming up this Saturday! I've been contemplating the recipes I could cook, and the things I could do. In some ways, I've gotten a lot better at this stuff, and in some ways, I still feel like a novice. This year, however, I'm going to try some new things.

This year, unless the stress simply kills me off, I'm going to make it a full seven-course meal. My friend, Steve, who came with me to Taste of Dutch a month or so ago, has said that he might come over and help, if he gets his homework done in time. I hope so. I'm thinkin' I'm going to need some help!

Here's the menu for Mother's Day 2009

• Appetizer - Cheese, crackers, and veggies with dip. Simple stuff. Simple is good, because fancy is comin' up...
  
• Soup - Steve's Chicken Soup. I'm going to do it basically as he did, but I had this idea to dress it up with Chicken and Shrimp grilled on skewers and set across the bowl! It's hard to describe, but I can see it in my head.
  
• Salad - Spinach, Mozarella, and Tomato Salad. Another one that if I can pull it off, will look really cool!
  
• Bread - Braided Bread w/orange glaze. The same as what I tried last year, but fumbled.
  
• Main Dish - Crown Roast. I swear, in all the world of meats, there isn't anything that can compare with a crown roast for sheer "Wow" factor. I don't know if I'll do a stuffing or not.
  
• Vegetable - potatoes and asparagus. I did this one a while back. Remember, when I found I had grown up enough to actually like asparagus?
  
• Drink - sprite with orange foam. I hope I can pull this one off. My friend over at Mormon Foodieintroduced me to this one. You blend orange juice with soy lecithin, and that makes it foam up. Then you spoon it over Sprite.
  
• Dessert - Banana Bread w/chocolate and cinnamon butter sauces. And whipped cream, as if that weren't enough.

So, there you have it. I've worked out an hour-by-hour plan, just like I did last year, breaking each dish down into steps. I'll be taking lots of pictures, and if I remember, I'll be twittering all along the way, too!

Follow along and watch me triumph or crash and burn! Care to take any bets?

Dutch Oven Chicken Recipes, Part II

Dutch Oven Chicken Soup, with Rice

OK, it's been a while, but here I am finally posting this recipe. This is what Steve, my friend, cooked at the Taste of Dutch a weekend or two ago. It was really delicious. The way he did it was a "dump meal", so this also qualifies as a great "Basic Dutching" recipe. It's very simple.

Dutch Oven Chicken Soup, with Rice

12" Dutch Oven
15-20 coals below

• 3 potatoes, cubed
• 2 carrots, sliced
• 2 celery stalks, sliced
• 1 c. cubed chicken, cooked
• 1 can tomatoes with liquid
• ¼ c. rice 1
• Tbsp. salt
• ½ tsp thyme
• ¼ tsp. Basil
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/8 tsp. Pepper
• 8 c. water

Put it all in the pot. Put it on the coals and bring it to boil. This will take a while, and it will be easier covered. Then, you'll pull off some coals, just enough to keep it simmering for 45 min. With all those veggies, and 8 cups of water, you could serve a lot of people with this dutch oven chicken soup.

Now, this is the recipe that he brought with him. It really tasted great. Here's a few suggestions for variations:

• Add a sliced up jalapeno. With this much stuff in the soup, one pepper will give it some zing without burning. To keep it tame, seed and core the jalapeno before you slice it.
• Lemon juice would give it a delicious Mediterranean flavor! If I were to do this, I'd give it as much as 1/4 to 1/2 cup, given the amount of water in this recipe.
• And, I, myself, would probably up the amount of chicken, just 'cause I like more and more chicken in my chicken soup.

Thanks, Steve, for coming along and for having a great time with us!

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A Fun Dutch Oven Demo!

Tonight, Brendon and I did a demo for our ward's Relief Society Enrichment Night. If you don't know what that is, then you're probably not Mormon and it doesn't really matter. Suffice it to say it's the women's organization of the church. And they asked me to come demonstrate Dutch Oven cooking. I did my old standby of chicken, onions, and potatoes.

I asked if Brendon could come along, and he did. So, we did a short 20 minute demo where we poured all the ingredients into a 12" deep dutch oven while we joked back and forth, and then while the ladies went to some other classes, we put it on the coals to cook. After the evening was done, they all came back and sampled.

I prepared a handout with the recipe and instructions, which I just thought I'd include here:

Dutch Oven Potatoes and Chicken

This is one of the most flexible meals you could ever cook. The ingredients can adjust to whatever you have on hand, and that can include the spices and flavorings. You can prepare it in stages or you can do it as a “dump meal”, where you just dump everything in the dutch oven and cook it. It's kinda like a good jazz tune. It comes out different every time I cook it.

Today, we're going herbal, and we're going to make it simple. The recipe here is made for about 4-6 people, and can be done in a standard 12” dutch Oven

Basic Meats and Veggies:

• A few tablespoons of olive oil
• 2-3 medium to large onions, sliced
• 3-4 boneless chicken breasts, cubed
• 3-4 potatoes, quartered and sliced
• 2-3 carrots, sliced
• 3-4 stalks of celery, sliced
• 2-3 sweet peppers, sliced
• About a half pound of bacon, cooked crispy

Flavorings (herbal-style):

• 1 heaping tablespoon minced garlic
• Liberal shakes of:
• Parsley
• Rosemary
• Oregano
• A few shakes (about a teaspoon or so) balsamic vinegar.
• And, of course, salt and pepper

Process:

Start by lighting about 25-30 coals. While those are getting glowing and hot, you can slice up your ingredients. Put everything into the dutch oven, and put on the lid. Make a ring of about 8-10 coals and set the dutch oven on top. Put about 16-18 coals on top. Leave a few coals aside. After about 10-15 minutes, put about ten or so fresh coals on those. They'll get lit, and by the time the coals on the dutch oven have burned down, they'll be ready to be replenished. Cook for about 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes or so, until the chicken and the veggies are done.

Here are a few other suggestions for flavoring combinations:

Some Like it Hot

• 1 heaping tablespoon minced garlic
• 1-2 jalapeno peppers, sliced. If you don't like it really hot, you can seed and core them first, or use less
• A few shakes of cayenne pepper, chili powder, or Louisiana-style hot sauce (tabasco)
• A few shakes of paprika
• About ½ of fresh chopped cilantro
• Juice of 1-2 limes
• And, of course, salt and pepper

Or, just pour in your favorite salsa

Springtime Lemon

• 1 heaping tablespoon minced garlic
• ½ cup fresh chopped parsley
• Zest of 1 lemon
• Juice of 1-2 lemons
• And, of course, salt and pepper

Kick it Up a Notch

Some suggestions: Cook the bacon in the dutch oven over 15-20 coals, then remove most of the grease. Sauté the onions and garlic first in the bacon grease, until they're translucent and sweet. Then add the remaining ingredients, and cook as above.

After you take the dutch oven off the coals, but a few minutes before serving, coat the food with a layer of appropriate shredded cheese. Let the dutch oven's residual heat melt it. For the herbal flavorings, I'd choose a mozarella. For the hot version, cheddar or colby jack. With the lemon style, I'd crumble up a handful of feta onto the plate as it's being served.