Dutching on the Web: Dutch Oven Solar Cooking?

I'm always looking for a new way to cook in a Dutch oven. I was cruising around YouTube tonight and I found this video. I was immediately intrigued by it. He's using a big, square lens to focus the sunlight onto a dutch oven, to cook food in it.

When I saw the video, I was immediately skeptical, but also interested. I'm still not convinced just how effective it really is in cooking, but I can see that it can work for some dishes.

Here's the video:



I think that if I were doing it, I would focus the light mostly on the side of the dutch oven, and I would rotate the oven a quarter turn every ten or fifteen minutes. I also noticed that he used an 8" Dutch oven, which was nice and small. That means less food to heat, and less water to heat up as well. Each time the lid was lifted, it didn't seem like there was boiling going on. Still, it got hot enough to cook the game hen.

It would be very interesting to try. Does anyone else reading this have any experience with solar cooking?

Dutch Oven Chicken Noodle Soup with Handmade Noodles

This weekend, a number of factors played into what I ended up making for our Sunday dinner.  First, my father-in-law was coming over, so I wanted it to be something very yummy.  Second, it’s getting colder, so it would need to be something warm and comforting.  I also was thinking about my upcoming book, “Around the World...”  I was thinking about the handmade pasta recipes, and how hard it is to describe the process.  I thought it would be cool to make a video of the mixing and rolling.

Chicken Noodle Soup!  That would be a perfect dish to satisfy all three requirements!  I hadn’t made noodles by hand in a long time, so I thought it would be fun to do that again.

The Noodles

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp garlic powder
1-2 Tbsp parsley, basil, or oregano (or a combination).
6 eggs

The process was just like I did back in the day: http://www.marksblackpot.com/2008/05/dutch-oven-herb-fettuccini-with-creamy.html  The recipe was a little different, but not much.  I used just eggs instead of eggs and water this time.  Here’s the video.  It makes more sense when you watch it than it does when you just read about it.





The Soup

12” Dutch Oven

20+ coals below

3-4 Boneless, skinless chicken breasts
4-6 cups water (to fill the dutch oven about half-way)

The pasta from step 1

3-4 Carrots
1-2 Medium onions
3-4 stalks celery
1-2 sweet peppers
Salt
Pepper
Juice of 1 lemon

I started by lighting up some coals, and getting those under the Dutch oven (with the lid on) with the chicken and the water.  I just let that boil until the chicken was essentially cooked all the way through.  I wasn’t too concerned, because it would cook more in the soup.  While that was happening, I was chopping up the veggies.

Once it was done, I pulled the chicken breasts out, and refreshed the coals underneath.  I put the lid back on and let the broth come up to a good, energetic boil.  I added in the pasta, and replaced the lid.  After a few minutes, I stirred it gently.  I didn’t want it to cook too much, too quickly.

Then, I added in all the veggies.  I cut the meat into chunks and added that back in.  I added in the flavorings and seasonings, and just let it simmer with the lid on until the veggies were soft.

It was a delicious soup!  A big hit with the family and the father-in-law.  Because there was big chunks of veggies, meat, and lots of noodles, it was a very hearty and filling dish.  The residual flour on the noodles and the starch of the noodles themselves helped to thicken the broth, too.




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

Video: Baking the Cake

Hello, folks!

While I was baking that yummy yellow layer cake last week, I had my good son help me shoot a video of it. I'm kinda new to the video world, but I think we've got some fun footage here!

So, check it out!  Share it!  I would really appreciate it if all of you good kind folks that read my ramblings here would give it a spin and post it up to your facebook pages, or tweet it.  That would help me get some good Google and search reaction to it!

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.

Dutch Oven on the 'Net - Rolls

A nice demonstration of how to make some delicious rolls in a dutch oven.  I wish they'd shown how many coals they used, or how they regulated the heat.  Still, the results look great! I would've also liked to see a spot or two during the rise, just to see how they keep it warm. Maybe the outside temp is warm enough in the summer in Alaska...






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: name post, name post,

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 on the Web: A DOG Video

I just found this video on YouTube about a DOG. For the uninitiated, that stands for Dutch Oven Gathering. I've always wanted to attend one. I think it would be a blast. Unfortunately, they always seem to occur on days where I have family commitments, or some other thing going on. Our local group here is the Storm Mountain Chapter of the International Dutch Oven Society (IDOS). Ranes Carter has been instrumental in setting up a whole bunch of cookoffs and DOGs.