How to Boil Water

Posted on January 18, 2015 by Texas Iron Chef

I have heard of people who come up with an original idea but I have never met or known such a person as a friend.  Until now.

Meet my friend Dennis, a Dutch oven cook who hangs out with the Prairie Dogs and makes delicious food in big black pots with his sweetie, cook partner, and wife – Robin.  IMG_4000A while back at a Prairie Dog DOG (Dutch Oven Gathering), Dennis showed up with a cylinder shaped device that held a pile of hot charcoals underneath his Dutch oven that was full of boiling water.  I was immediately intrigued at his simple design and asked him why he came up with this idea.IMG_4119

As an engineer, he has a lot of experience in solving problems.  This particular problem was how to get water to boil in a camp Dutch oven without the lid.  A big pile hot charcoal underneath a Dutch oven will slowly die down as it is smothered and lacks oxygen…. no boiling water.  To solve the problem he designed a lightweight and portable cook station that is easy to assemble and effective to make charcoal hot enough to boil water.  I am so inspired!!IMG_4123

Check out this two minute video that shows Dennis putting together his simple and unique cook station.

The pieces of this cook station are affordable, lightweight, portable and do not take up much space when disassembled.  Perfect for any outdoor cook!

Dennis has graciously agreed to share the details of how he constructed this cook station with me, so look for a future post with all the information.

Thank you Dennis for sharing your original idea and inspiring me!

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Banana Bread

Posted on January 17, 2015 by Texas Iron Chef

These old bananas have worn out their welcome in my kitchen and need to find their way into a banana bread, not my compost heap.  IMG_4098-Edit-1Since I have some buttermilk in the refrigerator, I wanted to try a banana bread recipe with it and make these old black things sing, so when I found William-Sonoma’s recipe, I had to give it a try in a camp Dutch oven.  After tasting this easy recipe, I decided it needed a lot more banana flavor, so here’s how I will do it next time!

Ingredients

6 tablespoons butter, at room temperature

1 cup sugar

6 very ripe bananas, mashed with a fork

3 eggs

1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup buttermilk

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups chopped pecans

Prepare a 10-inch deep camp Dutch oven by applying a light coat of vegetable oil  and then sprinkling flour around the oven.  Gently turn over and tap out excess flour.

Set out two bowls.  In one bowl add butter, sugar, bananas, eggs, and vanilla.  Mix together with a large fork until smooth.  Add buttermilk and beat a few more times.

In the other bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, nutmeg, salt, and nuts.

Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and gently fold together until just combined.  The batter will be lumpy.  Do not over mix.

Pour the batter into the prepared camp Dutch oven. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit by placing 14 hot charcoals on the lid and 8 hot coals underneath.  You know it is done when you can smell the bananas, see the bread pulling away from the edge of the Dutch oven, and a toothpick comes out clean.

You will need to replace the charcoals to keep it baking at 350 and you will want to turn the lid and oven in opposite direction to avoid hot spots.  IMG_4100-Edit-1This recipe works perfectly in a 10-inch deep camp Dutch oven.  It needs the depth to keep the top from rising up too close to the top and gives it room to brown nicely.  IMG_4102-Edit-1Easy and delicious!

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