3/11/10
The Cooks are Raring to go
By Keith Fisher
"Are you ready to Rumble?" This question asked at many Jazz basketball games, Ought to be asked next week. The annual IDOS World Championship Dutch Oven Cook off is slated for March 18, 19, and 20. It will be part of the ISE Outdoor Expo in Sandy Utah.
2010 will mark the silver anniversary of this event. It started in 1985, on the USU campus in Logan, Utah and has been the jewel in the crown of many a Dutch oven cook.
Sorry, though, because of heatlth department and contractual reasons, the cooks can't provide samples. but you can hob nob with the best and learn their secrets. Also, there are classes coinciding with the cook off to help anyone learn how to have fun with Dutch ovens.
Keep an eye on this blog for more information, news, interviews and prize giveaways. until then, there is more info on the IDOS website
1/12/10
The Wheels of Progress-or Were they?
By Keith Fisher
Back in the late seventies and early eighties, I heard a lot of rhetoric about Provo Canyon, and the North Fork subsidiary. South Fork was already mostly, in private hands. Traffic, and auto accidents was discussed, and the need for a wider road. Also discussed, was the state of North Fork under the direction of a rich guy.
Can I take you on a journey through my memory? In my childhood, before population grew, there were many magical places. Places like the old Geneva Resort, Saratoga park (With rides), and Provo canyon. None of which exist today.
Provo canyon was a narrow two-lane road with quaint picnic grounds strung out through the canyon. In those days, if you traveled up the road in the late afternoon, you could see campers lighting fires and experience the smell of fresh caught fish, frying in the open air. But there’s more.
I took a drive, to recharge my brain the other day. I drove up the canyon searching for unfiltered sunshine. I needed to get out of the haze caused by an inversion in the valley. It took fifteen minutes to get to Deer creek dam on a four-lane highway. I continued to midway, turned around and came home.
During that night, I remembered things I miss. Things my daughter will never see. What ever happened to the Chalet? To the claim jumper, (Although it wasn’t all that quaint) to Nunns power plant, Rotary Park, and the Bridal Veil Falls Tram? There were old places and wide spots in the road. A river, that flowed past cottonwoods and pines. Bringing back the Heber Creeper (Heber valley Railroad) was a great idea, but even that, changed the canyon.
I lament the loss of The Chalet Café. It was an old roadhouse, with the character that went along with that image. My parents never stopped there, I’m sure, because people drank beer in the place, but when I got older, I stopped in, and found the remnants of an old lodge with wood paneling, uneven floors and antique furnishings. The food was terrific, like mother used to make. Whether I stopped, or not, sometimes depended on where I was going, and how fast I needed to get there. I took comfort in seeing that place at the branch of South Fork.
When I was a kid, Wildwood and Spring city were places for rich people with summer homes. I couldn’t go there, but they were landmarks too. North Fork and the Alpine Loop were completely wild above Aspen grove before a movie star began to buy the mountain. Then, Timp Haven turned into Sundance, but you could still camp at Stewart falls via backpack trip.
The rhetoric I heard spewed by lawyers, talking about preserving the character of the canyons and keeping our wild places, wild, didn’t hold much value. I hardly ever go up North Fork anymore, because they’ve turned it into a rich man’s vision of nature. I feel like I’m a poor relative, treading in places I’m not welcome.
There was a time, in my childhood, when my family picnicked in the canyon. We laid out blankets on the orchard grass. Sometimes we’d get a picnic table. One time, on a hot day, we sat in the river and used a big flat, rock to set our food on. There were trailer parks and campgrounds, place markers and water fountains. I had a fond memory associated for almost every spot on the road.
In the eighties, we were promised, the new road would not detract from the atmosphere and views in the canyon. Now there is little left of the place I knew. The improved road allows a driver to go to Heber faster, and there are things to see, but who can look up from driving, to see them. There are, a couple of view area parking lots, but the views are not the same. The county took out the power plant at Nunnes and built a picnic area and campground. The reservation lists are long everywhere.
Yes, there is a bike, and jogging trail and I applaud the effort. There are spots of old road too, here and there. Hopefully they will keep them open for posterity, but the highway is far removed from the river and it hampers the view of the canyon from those places.
The free shooting range is gone, but the DWR claims Provo river is one of the best fisheries in the world. The original Canyon Glen was replaced. Can you remember the playgrounds and snack bar? There was a pay phone in front of Wildwood. It’s all gone. It lives in the memory of some of us, but it will never be seen the way it was. I guess it’s as it should be.
Although, I miss the old days, I’m not really complaining about the changes, I realize population dictated the need. The selfish use of North Fork, however, is another story. The thing that bothers me most, is the way the engineers and politicians lied. How they could sit on their campaign contributions and tell us the atmosphere of the canyon wouldn’t change, is beyond my understanding. It is NOT the same place.
Now, I can get to Deer Creek Dam in record time, but I remember a night when I raced up the canyon with the top down on my convertible. Hurrying up that winding road, trying to get to the dam before sunrise. The starlight above the walls of the canyon made our hearts glad. I parked on the south side of the dam, and stood on the sidewalk watching the sunrise over the water. It was beautiful, and then on the way home, we stopped at the Chalet for breakfast. When I was a child, we’d pause at the mouth of the canyon and get a drink from the water fountain, before driving home.
The wheels of progress keep turning. I suppose every generation laments the things that disappear. If I could offer just one piece of advice to the rising generations however, I would suggest you take lots of pictures and write in your journals. They will help you remember the good times and good places, and they will provide proof of what it used to be like.
Back in the late seventies and early eighties, I heard a lot of rhetoric about Provo Canyon, and the North Fork subsidiary. South Fork was already mostly, in private hands. Traffic, and auto accidents was discussed, and the need for a wider road. Also discussed, was the state of North Fork under the direction of a rich guy.
Can I take you on a journey through my memory? In my childhood, before population grew, there were many magical places. Places like the old Geneva Resort, Saratoga park (With rides), and Provo canyon. None of which exist today.
Provo canyon was a narrow two-lane road with quaint picnic grounds strung out through the canyon. In those days, if you traveled up the road in the late afternoon, you could see campers lighting fires and experience the smell of fresh caught fish, frying in the open air. But there’s more.
I took a drive, to recharge my brain the other day. I drove up the canyon searching for unfiltered sunshine. I needed to get out of the haze caused by an inversion in the valley. It took fifteen minutes to get to Deer creek dam on a four-lane highway. I continued to midway, turned around and came home.
During that night, I remembered things I miss. Things my daughter will never see. What ever happened to the Chalet? To the claim jumper, (Although it wasn’t all that quaint) to Nunns power plant, Rotary Park, and the Bridal Veil Falls Tram? There were old places and wide spots in the road. A river, that flowed past cottonwoods and pines. Bringing back the Heber Creeper (Heber valley Railroad) was a great idea, but even that, changed the canyon.
I lament the loss of The Chalet Café. It was an old roadhouse, with the character that went along with that image. My parents never stopped there, I’m sure, because people drank beer in the place, but when I got older, I stopped in, and found the remnants of an old lodge with wood paneling, uneven floors and antique furnishings. The food was terrific, like mother used to make. Whether I stopped, or not, sometimes depended on where I was going, and how fast I needed to get there. I took comfort in seeing that place at the branch of South Fork.
When I was a kid, Wildwood and Spring city were places for rich people with summer homes. I couldn’t go there, but they were landmarks too. North Fork and the Alpine Loop were completely wild above Aspen grove before a movie star began to buy the mountain. Then, Timp Haven turned into Sundance, but you could still camp at Stewart falls via backpack trip.
The rhetoric I heard spewed by lawyers, talking about preserving the character of the canyons and keeping our wild places, wild, didn’t hold much value. I hardly ever go up North Fork anymore, because they’ve turned it into a rich man’s vision of nature. I feel like I’m a poor relative, treading in places I’m not welcome.
There was a time, in my childhood, when my family picnicked in the canyon. We laid out blankets on the orchard grass. Sometimes we’d get a picnic table. One time, on a hot day, we sat in the river and used a big flat, rock to set our food on. There were trailer parks and campgrounds, place markers and water fountains. I had a fond memory associated for almost every spot on the road.
In the eighties, we were promised, the new road would not detract from the atmosphere and views in the canyon. Now there is little left of the place I knew. The improved road allows a driver to go to Heber faster, and there are things to see, but who can look up from driving, to see them. There are, a couple of view area parking lots, but the views are not the same. The county took out the power plant at Nunnes and built a picnic area and campground. The reservation lists are long everywhere.
Yes, there is a bike, and jogging trail and I applaud the effort. There are spots of old road too, here and there. Hopefully they will keep them open for posterity, but the highway is far removed from the river and it hampers the view of the canyon from those places.
The free shooting range is gone, but the DWR claims Provo river is one of the best fisheries in the world. The original Canyon Glen was replaced. Can you remember the playgrounds and snack bar? There was a pay phone in front of Wildwood. It’s all gone. It lives in the memory of some of us, but it will never be seen the way it was. I guess it’s as it should be.
Although, I miss the old days, I’m not really complaining about the changes, I realize population dictated the need. The selfish use of North Fork, however, is another story. The thing that bothers me most, is the way the engineers and politicians lied. How they could sit on their campaign contributions and tell us the atmosphere of the canyon wouldn’t change, is beyond my understanding. It is NOT the same place.
Now, I can get to Deer Creek Dam in record time, but I remember a night when I raced up the canyon with the top down on my convertible. Hurrying up that winding road, trying to get to the dam before sunrise. The starlight above the walls of the canyon made our hearts glad. I parked on the south side of the dam, and stood on the sidewalk watching the sunrise over the water. It was beautiful, and then on the way home, we stopped at the Chalet for breakfast. When I was a child, we’d pause at the mouth of the canyon and get a drink from the water fountain, before driving home.
The wheels of progress keep turning. I suppose every generation laments the things that disappear. If I could offer just one piece of advice to the rising generations however, I would suggest you take lots of pictures and write in your journals. They will help you remember the good times and good places, and they will provide proof of what it used to be like.
12/15/09
A missing Ingredient
Wow! It's been a long time since I blogged. Sorry. I hope you had a great Dutch oven Thanksgiving. and you are getting ready for Christmas. I am going to share a couple of great Christmas recipes next week but today, I'm starting a contest.
I have a great chicken recipe that I made for 300 people at a church group a week ago and it was delicious. Well, it would have been if I had the right ingredient. I found a substitute but its just not the same. Every once in a while I get out the food processor and try to duplicate it but I just haven't got it yet. It would be so much easier if I could find a source of the sauce I use. I can't find it in stores here. I will give a way a prize to someone who can find a source. the bottle looks like this:
The Brand is Sagawa and it's called Sweet and Sassy sauce.
Okay get on your marks, Get set, Shop ... I need to know a close source, a distributors address, or website. if your source checks out, I will award a coveted Dutch oven cooking prize. Leave your comments.
untill then, Get your pots ready for Christmas. and lets make it a Dutch oven Christmas.
10/26/09
A Full Pot
By Keith Fisher
Have you ever seen a MACA twenty-two-inch Dutch oven? I compared my three-year-old once. She could’ve taken a bath in it. MACA, a casting company out of Springville, Utah, makes thick, deep, Dutch ovens. They offer many smaller sizes too, but they never made a shallow pot. The size and thickness of the casting is great for even heat, but every one is heavy.
I own several MACA’s. From eleven-inch to fifteen, with an oval thrown in, I don’t need a home gym. I could go outside and get a great workout lifting Dutch ovens. I love using my fifteen, because I can cook large roasts and feed many people, using one pot.
Which brings us to the point. Several years ago, while attending a Dutch oven gathering, I watched a man attempt to roast a large piece of beef. It was about 20 lbs with the bone inside. He placed it in a big MACA oval at five p.m. We waited most of the night for it to cook.
A few years ago, while cooking at girl’s camp, I attempted to make a big pot of spare ribs in my fifteen-inch. Because it was taking so long, I ended up using two smaller pots and transferring them into the big pot, to simmer in the sauce.
The thing that neither of us took into account is mass. Sometimes it’s better to use more, shallow pots, in order to get everything cooked right. Big pots are wonderful, but it’s hard to stir several pounds of spareribs. And the larger the piece of meat, the longer it will take. Even at home on the range.
Every spring, we make beef stew, corn bread, and cobbler for the fourth grade in the school where my wife works. As part of their American history unit, the kids study the nineteenth century migrations and finish up with a day of period games, crafts, and Dutch oven cooking. It’s a great honor for us to be part of it.
Because of the number of kids, I’ve learned to appreciate large ovens, but I’ve also learned to make the stew in layers. I start with the onions, when they are done, I add meat chunks. Sometimes I use extra pots because I don’t want to overwhelm the oven. When the meat is done, I set it aside and start cooking the vegetables in the juices from the meat and onions. When the pot comes back up to temperature, I put the meat back, and add spices and make a roux, if needed.
The points are, I try not to let cold ingredients cool off the pot, and I cook in stages. Then, in the final step, the stew simmers for the better part of an hour. (The longer, the better.) The flavors blend just as well as if they had been sitting in the pot together the whole time.
A word of caution, however, If your guest list is small, you might want to cook less food in a smaller pot. That is, of course, unless you want to build up your muscles and have a freezer for the leftovers.
And yet another word, CampChef and lodge make a sixteen-inch, shallow pot, that can fill the need. The capacity is similar, and the area exposed to the heat, allows you to cook several pieces of meat at the same time.
Have you ever seen a MACA twenty-two-inch Dutch oven? I compared my three-year-old once. She could’ve taken a bath in it. MACA, a casting company out of Springville, Utah, makes thick, deep, Dutch ovens. They offer many smaller sizes too, but they never made a shallow pot. The size and thickness of the casting is great for even heat, but every one is heavy.
I own several MACA’s. From eleven-inch to fifteen, with an oval thrown in, I don’t need a home gym. I could go outside and get a great workout lifting Dutch ovens. I love using my fifteen, because I can cook large roasts and feed many people, using one pot.
Which brings us to the point. Several years ago, while attending a Dutch oven gathering, I watched a man attempt to roast a large piece of beef. It was about 20 lbs with the bone inside. He placed it in a big MACA oval at five p.m. We waited most of the night for it to cook.
A few years ago, while cooking at girl’s camp, I attempted to make a big pot of spare ribs in my fifteen-inch. Because it was taking so long, I ended up using two smaller pots and transferring them into the big pot, to simmer in the sauce.
The thing that neither of us took into account is mass. Sometimes it’s better to use more, shallow pots, in order to get everything cooked right. Big pots are wonderful, but it’s hard to stir several pounds of spareribs. And the larger the piece of meat, the longer it will take. Even at home on the range.
Every spring, we make beef stew, corn bread, and cobbler for the fourth grade in the school where my wife works. As part of their American history unit, the kids study the nineteenth century migrations and finish up with a day of period games, crafts, and Dutch oven cooking. It’s a great honor for us to be part of it.
Because of the number of kids, I’ve learned to appreciate large ovens, but I’ve also learned to make the stew in layers. I start with the onions, when they are done, I add meat chunks. Sometimes I use extra pots because I don’t want to overwhelm the oven. When the meat is done, I set it aside and start cooking the vegetables in the juices from the meat and onions. When the pot comes back up to temperature, I put the meat back, and add spices and make a roux, if needed.
The points are, I try not to let cold ingredients cool off the pot, and I cook in stages. Then, in the final step, the stew simmers for the better part of an hour. (The longer, the better.) The flavors blend just as well as if they had been sitting in the pot together the whole time.
A word of caution, however, If your guest list is small, you might want to cook less food in a smaller pot. That is, of course, unless you want to build up your muscles and have a freezer for the leftovers.
And yet another word, CampChef and lodge make a sixteen-inch, shallow pot, that can fill the need. The capacity is similar, and the area exposed to the heat, allows you to cook several pieces of meat at the same time.
10/8/09
Passing It On
By Keith Fisher
Okay I’m back again. I won’t apologize for not keeping up. I did that before, and at this point, you’re probably saying, all talk—no action.
I was working in my weed patch . . . I mean garden, the other day. When I came in after dark, I found a mess in the kitchen. Apparently, my daughter felt inspired to make something. She looked in our collection of Dutch oven recipes and set about making pizza bread from a recipe given to us by one of our friends.
We have a problem with our oven in the house, so I was given the charge of baking the bread in a Dutch oven. It went into the fridge over night, and I waited for her to come home from school. She had fun making it, but I don’t think she had much fun baking it.
As Dutch oven Cook off competitors, We used to look to the next generation for new competition. We had a desire to see the skills, we’d learned, passed on. It’s always gratifying to see a team of young people enter a cook off. We watch them, hoping to see them win the World Championship some day.
When my daughter was two, she often watched while I cooked, in my Dutch ovens. The little, gray things under the pots fascinated her. I warned her against touching them. I told her they would burn, and she knew what the word burn meant. It became a ritual, with me keeping an eye out, so she didn’t touch the coals.
One day, she was in the house. I went into the garden to get an onion. When I came back to my pots, she’d come outside and she touched a coal with the tip of her finger. She learned a lesson and she never touched the coals again. It broke my heart to see my little girl cry, but I also worried she would avoid Dutch oven cooking because of that one bad experience.
When the Lodge Manufacturing Company stopped making their original 5-inch Dutch ovens, and they became valuable, I put mine in my office to protect against theft. My daughter kept telling me it was hers, probably because it was her size.
Later, while attending a Dutch oven event, My daughter won the door prize and took home a brand new CampChef Dutch oven cast especially for a national retailer. Hers is one of the first ones. I use that oven but she reminds me it’s hers, and I know I’ll have to relinquish it when she grows up and moves away.
But one day, right after she received it, I convinced her she had to cook in the oven. We made Easy Baked Beans. She was proud to serve those beans to our guests and I thought she was hooked. Since then, however, she hasn’t shown much interest in it. I suppose because her old man is always cooking, why would she?
When she made bread the other day, my hope was renewed. When she went in to do her homework and left me to bake the bread, I went back to wondering.
I know that she knows how to cook, but I’m not sure she will ever compete. Her interest will come, around a campfire, while cooking for her family, and remembering her dad. In that day, we will be able to renew our connection and share a love of the old cast iron.
I’ve often joked that I’ll have my enemies serve as pallbearers . . . and I want to be buried with my extensive Dutch oven collection. Really though, I’ll leave them to my daughter with the instruction that if she doesn’t use them I’ll come back to haunt her. I kind of look forward to the time when I can look down and watch her use skills she didn’t know she had. Skills, she learned while watching me.
Okay I’m back again. I won’t apologize for not keeping up. I did that before, and at this point, you’re probably saying, all talk—no action.
I was working in my weed patch . . . I mean garden, the other day. When I came in after dark, I found a mess in the kitchen. Apparently, my daughter felt inspired to make something. She looked in our collection of Dutch oven recipes and set about making pizza bread from a recipe given to us by one of our friends.
We have a problem with our oven in the house, so I was given the charge of baking the bread in a Dutch oven. It went into the fridge over night, and I waited for her to come home from school. She had fun making it, but I don’t think she had much fun baking it.
As Dutch oven Cook off competitors, We used to look to the next generation for new competition. We had a desire to see the skills, we’d learned, passed on. It’s always gratifying to see a team of young people enter a cook off. We watch them, hoping to see them win the World Championship some day.
When my daughter was two, she often watched while I cooked, in my Dutch ovens. The little, gray things under the pots fascinated her. I warned her against touching them. I told her they would burn, and she knew what the word burn meant. It became a ritual, with me keeping an eye out, so she didn’t touch the coals.
One day, she was in the house. I went into the garden to get an onion. When I came back to my pots, she’d come outside and she touched a coal with the tip of her finger. She learned a lesson and she never touched the coals again. It broke my heart to see my little girl cry, but I also worried she would avoid Dutch oven cooking because of that one bad experience.
When the Lodge Manufacturing Company stopped making their original 5-inch Dutch ovens, and they became valuable, I put mine in my office to protect against theft. My daughter kept telling me it was hers, probably because it was her size.
Later, while attending a Dutch oven event, My daughter won the door prize and took home a brand new CampChef Dutch oven cast especially for a national retailer. Hers is one of the first ones. I use that oven but she reminds me it’s hers, and I know I’ll have to relinquish it when she grows up and moves away.
But one day, right after she received it, I convinced her she had to cook in the oven. We made Easy Baked Beans. She was proud to serve those beans to our guests and I thought she was hooked. Since then, however, she hasn’t shown much interest in it. I suppose because her old man is always cooking, why would she?
When she made bread the other day, my hope was renewed. When she went in to do her homework and left me to bake the bread, I went back to wondering.
I know that she knows how to cook, but I’m not sure she will ever compete. Her interest will come, around a campfire, while cooking for her family, and remembering her dad. In that day, we will be able to renew our connection and share a love of the old cast iron.
I’ve often joked that I’ll have my enemies serve as pallbearers . . . and I want to be buried with my extensive Dutch oven collection. Really though, I’ll leave them to my daughter with the instruction that if she doesn’t use them I’ll come back to haunt her. I kind of look forward to the time when I can look down and watch her use skills she didn’t know she had. Skills, she learned while watching me.
8/24/09
What's For Dinner
By Keith Fisher
The weather is cooling. Not many days of summer left. Some folks are planning their last big camping trip, or they’re thinking of having the in-laws over for dinner on the holiday. Just because it’s Labor Day doesn’t mean you have to labor.
I’ve been cooking in camp since I was little, and I’d used Dutch ovens many times before. Outdoor cooking at home, however, consisted of the propane barbecue, until one Saturday when my wife had to work. I wanted to make dinner for her, but I didn’t want to give up my gardening time.
I pulled a venison roast out the freezer, put it in the microwave to thaw, and retrieved our Dutch oven form the camping stuff. I set it in a wheelbarrow, and started the roast cooking. I dug some onions from the garden and added them. I dug some potatoes and added them. I dug some carrots and added them. I finished it off by picking corn on the cob, breaking them in half, and adding them to the top of the pot.
When it was done, there was way too much food for the two of us. I called my brother and my dad, and we had an impromptu party. We had loved entertaining in our backyard, but I found that when I invited people to a barbecue, some of them would come. When the invitation was for Dutch oven cooking, I rarely had anyone cancel.
It was all down hill after that. We got involved in competition, and ended up winning the World Championship in 2005.
The point here, is entertaining doesn’t have to be a big production. Put food in a Dutch oven and let it cook. Now, before you ask, “what do I cook”, I will tell you a basic secret. Many of my recipes start with two things. Onions and bell peppers. Dice them, and add them first. You may need a dab of olive oil to get started, but only a dab.
These vegetables contain water that cooks out, leaving moisture in the pot so the meat doesn’t burn, and they add flavor.
Here is a simple recipe.
1 white onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
6 chicken breasts cut in half
1 can cream of chicken soup
Dried rosemary to taste
With bottom heat only, (No coals in the center), sauté vegetables until translucent. Add chicken breasts and stir with the vegetables. Cover the pot, and let the meat cook. Stir occasionally. In 45 minutes, change the coals to fresh, hot ones. This is the time you add the soup. (You might want to use a second can.) Add rosemary and let simmer 45-minutes.
You will be amazed that you can eat the meat with a plastic fork. It will be a bit dry, but so tender. Spoon the sauce on the meat and the baked potatoes.
Next week I’ll tell you how to do potatoes.
8/9/09
What an Honor
By Keith Fisher
One of the ladies in my writer’s critique group got married yesterday. It was a joyous event for the bride and groom, and for all of us close enough to know how happy she is. Our good friend Kim Thompson is now Kimberly Job. She will be writing under her new, last, biblical name, and I think that’s great.
As part of the wedding, My wife and I were asked to cook a wedding dinner for the bride and groom and their guests. It was an honor. We cooked Pineapple glazed ham, Cheesy potatoes, Baked beans, Corn on the cob (in a water cooler), and Homemade Rootbeer. We planned to make cobblers, but the couple bought a cake and we didn’t want to compete with that.
Here is a taste treat:
Here is a taste treat:
Sauté’ d Mushrooms
Fill a 12-inch Dutch oven with large whole mushrooms. ¼ cup water, salt and pepper to taste. Then slice two cubes of butter into pats and place on top of the mushrooms, in the oven.
Place pot on twelve coals in a ring, (nothing in the center). Cook until tender, about 20 minutes.
Serve with steak, beef, and any meat. Or serve on the plate alone. Try leaving in the pot as appetizers and give your guests a toothpick.
Place pot on twelve coals in a ring, (nothing in the center). Cook until tender, about 20 minutes.
Serve with steak, beef, and any meat. Or serve on the plate alone. Try leaving in the pot as appetizers and give your guests a toothpick.
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