Hanel Marnie - The campout cookbook: inspired recipes for cooking around the fire and under the stars

Inspired Recipes for Cooking Around the Fire and Under the Stars MARNIE HANEL & JEN STEVENSON Illustrations by Emily Isabella Artisan | New York For survivalists with standards Contents Preface Who hasnt gazed around a campfire and been keenly aware of how happy they are? Rendered rosy by the fire glow (or possibly the flask cocktails), full of a comforting supper, with a night of stargazing, chin-wagging, and smores-roasting ahead, one cant help but triumph in the joy of leaving everything behind, aside from food and fellowship. Its a bliss weve chased since childhood. We arrived at The Campout Cookbook from different trails. For Jen, camping connotes memories of family trips during which shed innocently circle the campground on her Huffy bicycle, scouting the tip-top site and pouncing at the first sign of other campers imminent departure. Only then would her family set up their rustic residence, a well-considered wonderland complete with a proprietary kitchen, living room, and, most important, camp shower. Theyd roast franks over the fire, see national parks through a sizeable tent flap, and swat mosquitoes en masse.

For Marnie, camping brings back memories of out-of-her-depth adventures away: summer-camp canoe trips in the Canadian Boundary Waters complete with foibles and foil packets, a weeklong kayak trip tracing the path of Peter Puget through the San Juan Islands, and a monthlong rafting trip through the Southwest. She really had to paddle (and portage) for her pancakes. Our stories converge in Portland, Oregon, where camping is, to our mutual delight, de rigueur but not necessarily rigorous. Portlanders think nothing of bringing into the woods a cutting board piled high with charcuterie, a twelve-component salad for every guest present, and a bounty of grillables. Its a function of both culture and geography; when you live in a food town where the farmers market and natural wonders are equally accessible, theres no need to sacrifice on either front. (And, goodness knows, we love those. (And, goodness knows, we love those.

So much so that we wrote a book, The Picnic: Recipes and Inspiration from Basket to Blanket, on the subject.) Campsites top picnic sites with one thrilling amenity: the fire pit. Although its quite literally the oldest trick in the cookbook, fire-cooking feels fresh and exciting. Weve become so accustomed to the precision and reliability of the home kitchen that its freeing to see how successful you can be when cooking off the (buffalo-checked) cuff. The campfire cooking recipes in this book all include an ideal cooking temperature and instructions on how to approximate that in a fire pit (see .) And when your efforts are less successful, we highly recommend you break off the bottom of those charred biscuits, spread a little jam on the pleasantly flaky tops, and congratulate yourself on not settling for a rehydrated meal. To be clear: You will burn some of the food in this book. Thats okay! Youre camping.

Camp food doesnt need to turn out perfectly to be absolutely perfect. (The fact that you cooked it outside gives you a lot of leeway.) But if youre not willing to leave your perfectionism at the ranger station, you can always eschew the campfire in favor of old faithful, the camp stove. We hope youll plan your provisions with an eye to mixing and matching camp-cooking styles, and upping your fire game over time. Since campers vary in their desire to cook actively at the campground, weve written the recipes keeping in mind what can be prepped at home. Several recipes, such as the trail snacks, stews, and braises, can be made entirely in your kitchen ahead of the campout. (As you get more comfortable with fire-cooking, youre welcome to attempt many of these on-site, swapping the stovetop for the campfire and the convection oven for the Dutch oven; just be sure to pack a lot of lump charcoal.) Other recipes are designed to be prepared on the fly; if youve caught an impressive trout, or purchased an impressive rib-eye, well tell you what to do with it.

But most of these recipes split your brave efforts between the home and camp kitchens, honoring our early camping motto, Be prepared, and our current one, Prepare to be impressed. To achieve both, be sure to check the In the Backpack packing lists that follow some recipes so youll have all the equipment youll need. Camping and nostalgia form something of a buddy system, so weve tried not to leave any classic (particularly the kitschiest) behind. From bug juice to beans to banana boats, tinfoil dinners and pudgie pies, gorp and the almighty smore, its all here, with updates for todays fresh ingredients and way of eating. And weve tried to give you enough variations to keep your campers intrigued for a lifetime of overnights in the backcountry. Of each. Of each.

This book is designed for car campers, as you might suspect if youve ever tried to hike with a 12-inch cast-iron Dutch oven. If youre an avid backpacker, pursue success and avoid sciatica by sticking to the lightweight recipes (long live jerky and trail mix) and save the plein air pizza night for a backyard shindig with an outdoor fire pit, or even your kitchen table. The recipes work equally well in the great indoors. Our aim is to make camp cooking clever and fun, with the none-too-subtle intention of convincing everyone to do it more often. Our campouts aspire to be the greatest parties youve ever attended, getaways where the details feel thoughtful but not laborious, where everyone pitches tents and pitches in, and where the memories of what you ate help you hold on to the details of where you went and what hilarity ensued, because we love to laugh as much as we love to cook. Now lets get camping! And be sure to show off your feasts in the forest as you do.

Join us on Instagram at #thecampoutbook. xo, Marnie and Jen Chapter 1 From Backpack to Bonfire Whether you venture into the great outdoors weekly, annually, or centennially, its imperative to hit the trail with a spirit of adventure, the proper fire-making and -cooking tools, and enough enamelware to host an entire Scout troop. (You never know.) This camping compendium will guide you in selecting the perfect campsite and means of shelter, setting up the consummate camp kitchen, mastering the many quirks of cast-iron cooking, and using your trusty thermos to its full potential. Perhaps most important, never again forget the matches or the telescoping marshmallow-roasting sticks, thanks to the handy packing checklist at the end of the chapter. Camping Compendium While theres much admiration to be had for those spontaneous souls who can toss a rucksack in the Jeep and hit the hinterlands on a whim, a bit of planning can elevate an otherwise routine camping excursion into a real forest fte. Follow these camp commandments to craft a cozy and comfortable glampout to remember.