#2 – Top Ten Reasons to Attend the National Dutch Oven Gathering (NDOG) – Redux

Recipes!

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As Dutch oven friends make plans to attend the 2013 National Dutch Oven Gathering (NDOG) at DeGray Lake Resort in Arkansas, a fun task on the list of things to do will include selecting recipes to prepare for the big group meals, generally breakfast and dinner.

RecipesLast year in Canton, I learned that many folks bring extra copies of their recipes so they can share recipes designed to be cooked in a camp Dutch oven.  This is a great idea!  Most cooks pin a card with the name of the dish, key ingredients, notice for those with allergies, and the name of the cook who prepared the dish.  If you taste something wonderful, make a note of the cook’s name and search for that special person.  If all goes well, that cook will be pleased to hear you enjoyed his or her dish and will be proud to share the recipe!

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Another idea for collecting recipes that are tried and true and also a bit challenging is to visit with the teams who are competing in the “fun” cook offs and the 3-Pot Cook Off.  All teams in the 3-Pot will have printed copies of each of their recipes and may have extras available.  During the cook off, you can visit with the team to hear how they are preparing each dish.  If they are making something you want to try, ask them if they would share the recipe.  Even if they don’t have an extra copy or won’t share, you can still be inspired by their entries and begin to make note of what you may want to try in your black pots.

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Check out the 20 dessert entries in the 2012 National DOG 3-Pot Cook Off!

Have fun selecting your recipes and be prepared to share them with new and old Dutch oven friends at DeGray Lake Resort!!

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Preparing to Bake Bread – An Introduction

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Last week my better-half and I competed in a 3-Pot Cook Off in Harper, Texas as a part of their 150 Year Celebration.   Check out the parade that went by our kitchen!  The day started out with  rain, which made life difficult as we set up our outdoor cooking, but nothing to slow us down.  (Given the serious drought, this rain was a precious blessing!)  We had all day to make a four-layer Spiked Up Carrot Cake, Four-Braid Challah, and Beef Wellington.  We met our goal to put all three out on time and baked according to the recipe!

After posting photos of our bread on Facebook to our local Dutch Oven Group, several folks asked for help about baking bread in a camp Dutch oven. What a compliment!

So, we decided to offer a “hands on” bread baking class this coming weekend at a Dutch Oven Gathering (DOG). I sent an email out to the group and posted a note on Facebook to let Dutch oven friends know about the plan and what equipment and ingredients to bring to the class.

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The recipe is adapted from America’s Test Kitchen’s amazing cookbook The New Best Recipe (pp 752-753).  Our primary adaptation focuses on how to shape the bread and bake it in a  camp Dutch oven.  Managing the heat is the main challenge to any baking project.  I will share how we carefully monitor the charcoal to avoid burning the top and the bottom and how we use our Thermapen instant read theremometer to help determine when the bread is done.
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We served this Challah (baked in a 16″ camp Dutch oven) with freshly made strawberry jam and sweet compound butter.  Yes ma’am!  It was delicious!

In preparation for the hands-on class, I decided to do a trial run today to work out the details.  I’ll post details and would appreciate your feedback in the comments section.  In the next post I will list the ingredients and show how I prepared the bread.  I will end this mini series with a final post showing how I shaped and baked the bread and lessons learned.

What is the biggest challenge you face when you bake bread in your camp Dutch oven??

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