Enjoy gourmet cooking outdoors “Well organized, clearly presented, and highly recommended.” -- Field & Stream “Sheila Mills's chicken enchiladas were a tasty crowd pleaser. They required a minimum of ingredients and very little work.” -- Cleveland Plain Dealer With this book and a Dutch oven--a readily available cooking pot with legs and a snug-fitting lid--you have the keys to camp cooking as you've never tasted it! Dishes like these are yours on the riverbank or the trail for very little effort: BREAKFAST DISHES Avocado Frittata • Chilaquiles • Eggs Benedict BREADS Parmesan Popovers • Cheddar Cornmeal Scones • Big Bend Banana-Walnut Bread APPETIZERS AND SNACKS Crab-Stuffed Mushrooms • Tortellini Salad • Not-for-the-Fainthearted Nachos MEAT AND MEATLESS MAIN DISHES Coq Au Vin • Pork Chops with Spinach Dumplings • Tomato-Basil-Onion Tart DESSERTS Blackberry Cobbler • Double Chocolate Brownies • Impossibly Possible Dutch-Oven Ice Cream Sheila Mills has served as head chef and co-owner (with her husband, David) of rafting outfitter Rocky Mountain River Tours (www.RockyMountainRiverTours.com) for 30 years. Many of the passengers Sheila and David guide down the Middle Fork of Idaho's Salmon River return year after year, thanks in no small part to Sheila's Dutch oven cooking. The recipes have been featured in the Wall Street Journal , the New York Times , and Every Day with Rachael Ray and have helped establish the company's international reputation. Sheila Mills has served as head chef and co-owner (with her husband, David) of rafting outfitter Rocky Mountain River Tours (www.RockyMountainRiverTours.com) for 30 years. Many of the passengers Sheila and David guide down the Middle Fork of Idaho's Salmon River return year after year, thanks in no small part to Sheila's Dutch oven cooking. The recipes have been featured in the Wall Street Journal , the New York Times , and Every Day with Rachael Ray and have helped establish the company's international reputation. the outdoor DUTCH OVEN cookbook By SHEILA MILLS The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Copyright © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All right reserved. ISBN: 978-0-07-154659-1 Contents Chapter One Dutch Oven Care and Use The Dutch oven is a versatile cooking pot that substitutes for a host of outdoor cooking utensils. With its snug-fitting lid in place, it becomes an oven when heated with charcoal briquettes. Food can be baked, braised, stewed, or roasted. With the lid removed, the oven becomes a kettle for boiling, deep-fat frying, or heating food quickly over a fire. Even the lid doubles in service—it can be converted into a frying pan. A true camp Dutch oven is easily identified by its legs, which extend below the oven and permit it to sit over hot coals, and its flat lid, which has a vertical lip around the outside edge to retain the hot coals that are placed on top. There are several types of Dutch ovens on the market. The camp Dutch oven is not regularly stocked by supermarkets and hardware stores, so you may need to order it directly from the manufacturer or a river supply or outdoor equipment catalog. The important thing to watch for when purchasing a Dutch oven for outdoor use is that it is not simply a flat-bottomed kettle made for kitchen cooking. If you plan to prepare the recipes at home using a conventional oven and stove, a flat-bottomed Dutch oven will suffice. The camp Dutch oven is made specifically for outdoor cooking. It is made of heavy cast- iron or aluminum, and comes in basic sizes from 8 to 24 inches in diameter, and from 4 to 6 inches deep. The cast-iron Dutch oven is heavy, thick, and flat on the bottom, with three short legs. The lid is tight-fitting and has a vertical lip with a handle in the center. There also is a bail for lifting the entire unit. Proper seasoning of a cast-iron camp Dutch oven is essential. If you scour your oven with strong detergents, it will need reseasoning frequently. Rub the oven with unsalted shortening, place it in a 400°F oven until it smokes, and then wipe out the excess fat. If you are camping, just place it on the coals with the lid on until it smokes. Then wipe it out. If you wash it with detergent between uses, it is a good idea to oil it to keep it from rusting. It is best, too, to store a cast-iron Dutch oven upside down and with the lid off. The aluminum Dutch oven is popular with campers because it is lightweight, rustproof, and requires no seasoning. However, cast iron, though it is heavier than aluminum and takes longer to heat, heats evenly and stays hot for a long period of time. It is important that you do not overheat an aluminum oven, because you can damage it permanently. The aluminum Dutch oven is one-third the weight of the cast iron, and thus it is more portable on camping trips. It is the only model that can be backpacked by a hiker. The two types cost about the same. Use charcoal briquettes to heat your Dutch o