Posted on 06/08/2016 4:23:46 PM PDT by Jamestown1630
The picture above may look like a sickly amoeba; but it's fish, cooked in a very convenient and mess-free way: in parchment paper, or, en papillote
The very first time we tried this, it turned out perfectly. If you line your baking sheet with foil, there's little clean-up, and if you've never created a parchment packet, there will be a tutorial in Chef John's video below. This is an especially good way to cook fish as it always comes out very moist and tender.
But there are other ways to do 'food in packets', including Hobo Packs, a traditional Boy Scout specialty, which can be done in the oven, on the grill, or in the coals of a campfire. We tried a typical one the other night, and it came out very well, and just involves layering prepared stuffing mix, chicken, broccoli and Ranch dressing on a big foil square, and folding it up into a leak-proof packet (we tend to fold these 'burrito' style):
http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/foil-pack-chicken-broccoli-dinner-75460.aspx
While researching this, I found a neat little site with lots of Boy Scout Recipes
http://www.boyscouttrail.com/content/recipe/show-recipes-bear.asp
Finally, here is the recipe for Chef John's fish 'amoeba', pictured at the beginning:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHl1AAAeKGM
-JT
Dats the best one cuz it crimps the edges like a toasty ravioli and seals
we used to put like mortadella, salami, marinara and provala in them
This is going downhill fast, I can see already.
I quartered one recently, sprayed with EVOO, salted, and grilled along with the brats. Good stuff.
Wish I lived closer, oregano is one that it seems like I’m always running out of. I use a lot of it in spaghetti sauce.
I used a bunch in the sauce for an eggplant Parmesan I did yesterday - and didn’t begin to put a dent in what I have growing.
That’s a neat idea, to make a bunch and freeze them. Better than buying those Microwave processed food Junk - Hubby is always wanting something to just toss in the Microwave.
The first time I had one of these was for Camp Fire Girls, and we stashed them in the fire, and sang songs while we waited for them to cook. I was sooooo hungry by the time we ate, I thought they were one of the most delicious things ever.
Rachel Ray says EVO. LOL
oops. left out the last o up thread. Rachel Ray says EVOO. LOL
Tess Pennington talks about oregano on her Ready Nutrition site. It is nice to have aroundhttp://readynutrition.com/resources/oregano-a-true-herbal-goldmine-for-the-natural-medicine-chest_29052016/.
Not a camper myself but two books that have recipes and wonderful memories of camping are Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings’ “Cross Creek Cookery” and “Our Daily Bread” chapter in “Cross Creek.” She recounts a wonderful meal on a fishing trip deep in the Everglades in which she baked rolls in a spider on the tiny boat. She’s a heavenly writer much forgotten today, it seems.
This is a neat no-sweat trick to cook salmon deliciously succulent.
Bring a saute pan of water, wine, or plain water (or a combo of liquids) to a rolling boil. At the boil, place foil-wrapped salmon into the boiling liquid.
TURN OFF THE HEAT UNDER THE PAN. Now go on your merry way-—just forget about the salmon. Do chores or cook the remainder of your meal.
When you take the salmon out of the liquid, plate it, and serve....you get a perfectly cooked main course.
NOTE: Before foil-wrapping the salmon, you can top it w/ lemon slices, freh herb sprigs, etc. Msybe a sprinkle of G/Mrnier if serving the salmon w/ an orange or mango sauce.
Sounds really nice. I’ll have to try it since I’m interested in various cooking techniques.
Wild salmon is $40 a pound, so I’m forced to buy farmed which is OK but no patch on wild.
Here’s the sandwich I used to make in the Toas-Tite; it’s strange, but oddly very good. I first found it in the book ‘Fit for Life’, back in the 1980s:
http://www.cooks.com/recipe/yp0l58qr/cauliflower-toastie.html
I like farmed salmon....the neutral flavor lends itself to so many different sauces and side dishes.
Once I actually used Haagen Dazs mango sorbet as a sauce for salmon....doctored it up as it melted w/ a dash of lemoncello.
H/D sorbet is almost pure mango.
I think there’s just something about cooking and eating in the outdoors that makes almost anything very good.
Yes, that’s what I meant last night. They threw me with that ‘x’ ;-)
Quattro Formaggio (Four Cheese) Pizza / DELIAONLINE RECIPE
PREP Pre-heat oven to lowest setting; warming flour slightly in the oven 10 min, then turnoff oven.
DOUGH Sift flour, salt, yeast and sugar into a bowl; make a well, then add the olive oil and pour in 4 fl oz (120 ml) hand-hot water. Now mix to a dough, starting off with a wooden spoon and using your hands in the final stages of mixing.
Wipe the bowl clean with the dough, adding a spot more water if there are any dry bits left, and transfer it to a flat work surface (there shouldn't be any need to flour this). Knead 3 min til it develops a sheen and blisters under the surface (it should also be springy and elastic). You can now either leave the dough on the surface covered by the upturned bowl or transfer the dough to a clean bowl and cover it with clingfilm that has been lightly oiled on the side facing the dough.
Leave it until it looks as though it has doubled; about an hour at room temp.
Tip dough onto work surface sprinkled generously with polenta (cornmeal). Knock all the air out of the dough and knead it for a couple of seconds to begin shaping it into a ball. Then dust your rolling pin with polenta and roll the dough out to a circle that is approximately 10 inches (25.5 cm) in diameter.
Then finish stretching it out with your hands, working from the centre and using the flat of your fingers to push the dough out; it doesn't need to be a perfect round, but you want it to be a fairly thin-based pizza, with slightly raised edges. Then, using a thick oven glove, very carefully lift the pr-heated baking sheet or pizza stone out of the oven and sprinkle it with a little polenta (cornmeal).
FINAL Now carefully lift the pizza dough on to the stone or baking sheet and quickly arrange teaspoonfuls of ricotta here and there; scatter Mozzarella and Gorgonzola pieces in between then scatter w/ Parm.
Bake on a high shelf 450 deg 10-12 min; crust is golden brown; cheese is bubbling; underneath is crisp and brown. Carefully remove to counter.
SERVE on hot plates straight away.
Here is the Oatmeal Hamburger recipe:(makes 8 to 12 hamburgers, but the recipe is easy to cut in half. Also, I’m not above using dried garlic and onion in a pinch.)
OATMEAL HAMBURGERS
1½ to 3 C walnut pieces
2 C rolled oats
½ C bread crumbs, dry
3 or 4 eggs, slightly beaten
½ C skim milk
1 large onion, chopped fine
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp sage
1 tsp salt
Ground black pepper to taste
Oil for browning
3 C vegetable stock
Grind walnuts in blender
Mix with other ingredients
Form into patties
Brown in oil both sides
Add stock and simmer, covered, for 25 minutes
Serve on hamburger buns with all the regular fixings.
A note on chopping onions, I use an apple slicer/corer on the onion, then go from there. It’s faster and gets rid of the core.
I introduced my daughter to the en papillote method, for several reasons.
1. It’s super versatile, tons of recipes, using different proteins
2. She likes to entertain, but has two toddlers, so prep time is always a challenge, best if she can do it when they’re napping
3. This allows her to fix in advance, then put them in the oven right before dinner, so she’s not stuck in the kitchen cooking when company is there
4. Super easy clean up, did I mention the two toddlers?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.