Sarah Huck - Campfire cookery: adventuresome recipes & other curiosities for the great outdoors

For Patrick John Wessel, who lived every day of his life with joy and abandon. You will forever be our pendleton gentleman, our flannel flneur, our adventuring companion, and our friend.

Isnt it funny how you can know someone for years and yet never really know them?

Take, for example, my charming assistants and recipe testers Sarah Huck and Jaimee Young. Ive had the pleasure of working closely with these two women for a combined period of eight years. Naturally, in that length of time Ive learned plenty about them. First and foremost, Ive learned that they have excellent palates. If ever I need to determine whether a dish needs a lift of lemon, a pinch of salt, or some other mysterious injection of flavor, I turn to them. I also know their specialtiesJaimee is an expert of flaky piecrust and Sarah has a remarkable way with salads and a special knack for grilling. I know that they are smart, funny, and exceptionally good cooks. Both start each workday with a cup of tea and by afternoon they start rummaging in my cupboards for a nibble of chocolate.

But I have to admit that until recently, Id remained a bit in the dark about their more flamboyant sides. In fact, I have only just discovered them in these pages. Sure, there have been some cluesthe Wilkie Collins novels and Girl Scout Guide peeking out of Sarahs tote bag, Jaimees tipsy midnight Facebook postings, and both of them turning up to work on Monday morning looking a bit bleary and worse for the wear, smelling faintly of campfire smoke. So perhaps I could have guessed that there is more than meets the eye with this pair.

Still, when I read their mention of dining with Sartre or their list of suggestions to prevent nocturnal fairy visitations, I knew they had stepped over the line of reality. That is one of the things I love about this delightfully eccentric cookbookits sense of fun, whimsy, and adventure. For though they may make moon-eyes at a flock of birds (or a gaggle of geese, bouquet of pheasants, pitying of turtledoves, et cetera), compose poems (and cocktails) in honor of fireflies, and jointly insist upon a proper cup of tea for their morning beverage (before telling your fortune from the leaves, of course), rest assured it is all said and done with a wink and a smile. I think.

One thing is for certain: These magnificent dishes will tempt even the most citified cook to venture out-of-doors and create a sumptuous meal over the open fire. Truth be told, you wont see me setting up a tent or unfurling a sleeping bag out in the bug- (and bear-) besieged woods anytime soonbut its really not necessary to embark on a wilderness adventure in order to replicate Sarah and Jaimees campy array of fireside goodies. Personally, my idea of a nature walk is a sidewalk stroll to my neighborhood farmers market, but I can still look forward to trying out some of these recipes on my backyard grill. And this book will definitely be taken along on our familys next countryside jaunt, where well be trying out some of the baking techniques in the outdoor firepit. Because I may not always be clued in as to whether or not these two are pulling my legbut I do know honest-to-goodness good food when I see it. Even when its presented through a veil of smoke.

Melissa Clark, New York, 2010

But sometimes lifes greatest adventures are a teensy bit practical and a whole lot fantastic. When asked why he decided to climb Mount Everest, the English expeditionist George Mallory is said to have replied, Because its there. His heroic feat was not time-saving, money-saving, or prudent; it was an act of free-spirited derring-do. It was the stuff of legends. And as all heroes know, creating something legendary is as simple as setting out to do it.

Which is why we knew if we were going to conquer the natural world, wed have to do it with a skillet in our handsbecause were not the sort to go exploring on an empty stomach. Truth be told, our batterie de cuisine may have contained more than one skillet. It may even have contained more than one bottle of French Champagne (but not more than three; we were roughing it, after all). Frankly, weve never understood why outdoor holidays inspire austerity when nature itself is not austerethe panoply of stars, the patchwork of flowering meadows, the abundance of babbling brooks perfect for skinny-dipping. To our palates, this beauty is sheer inspiration for the dinner plate. We can think of no better way to pass our leisure hours than frolicking about the wilderness in pursuit of culinary delights that dazzle, food that is as much fun to prepare as it is extravagant to feast upon.

We hope this book emboldens one to embark on a premiere flight of fancy, where gastronomy and adventure intertwine in a most unexpected setting. For whether a cook makes one dish or one and twenty, this story is a fantastical romp: here is what one can accomplish when the culinary ideals of modern civilization meet the oldest cooking tool known to manthe open flame.

SH & JY, May 2010

IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN THUS, OUR PRIMAL YEARNING FOR A HOT LICK OF FLAME TO SPARK THE BLAZE OF IMAGINATION. From the time of unceasing toil as hunter-gatherers (an era which forever echoes in our collective unconscious), it is the glow of the fire that is the zenith of what it means to be human. It is light, life, the promise of a hot meal and jovial companionship. If it is true that fire was a gift stolen from the gods by crafty Prometheus, then we do owe him a debt of honor. Or, if, as those more scientifically minded among us may believe, our ancestors first discovered open-fire cookery from the happy chance of a lightning bolt raining down upon a freshly killed beast, then we must all take a moment to marvel at our unbelievable luck.

Even today, there is nothing that so tempts the senses as a cooking fire. The sizzle of olive oil as it sputters off into the embers. The heady scent of merguez sausage as it sears over the flames amber tendrils. Even the rat-a-tat-tat of popping corn makes an irresistible call to ones companions, inviting all to join in a ring around the campfire. It is still a beacon offering warmth, sustenance, and protection from the elements, but with a bit of practiced manipulation (and by following the helpful instruction herein), the fire may offer so much more. It may even offer chocolate cake.