Cooking Pictures

[Delmonico]

Ok, I now have a scanner and I am sorting through ild film pictures.  Also I am cooking this weekend and have all day to do one meal for about 60 so I should have some time to take some digital pictures.

This first picture is supper for about 70 in 2001 at Rock Creek Station State Historical park.  The four ovens in the back are stacked 2 deep, so that makes a total of 13.  The large one in front has lamb and rice, The other 4 single stacked are plain white yeast bread, the four on the bottom are corned beef and cabbage, the four on top are two peach and two apple cobblers.

Feel free to add any you have.

[Delmonico]

This second one is at the same park about 25 yards south of the other picture in 1999.  I had a lot less cook gear then.  In the first one all the gear is not in the picture, in the second all of it is there or at least in the saddle bags.

[Silver Creek Slim]

Good pictures, Del.

Slim

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[Marshal Will Wingam]

Great pics, pard. Makes me hungry to think about what's in those pots. Thanks for sharing them.

[Delmonico]

Ok same place, but 2003, the camp fire is in the background, folks linin' up and fillin' their plates.  Our poor 1880's minester was barely done sayin' grace when the jumped in.  Yes that is what he does in real life.

[Trinity]

Mmmm, Boy!  I wan't some too.

I've got some pictures of a chuckwagon demonstration somewhere.  If I find them I'll scan them and post them.

[Delmonico]

Ok, I grabbed my book that has some pictures from work, it is the one I use to show folks interested in dutch ovens what you can do.

This picture is cinnamon rolls, the oven is a 12 inch deep, so you can get an idea of the size of them.

These were made right in the oven, not in a seperate pan with a trivet.  They have enough real butter and brown sugar to be real gooey on the bottom.  On wants to use a lot less coals on the bottom when making these than normal breads.  Maybe 1/4-1/5 as much on the bottom as the top.

[Ozark Tracker]

woo wee that sure makes me hungry looking at those cinnamon rolls, they look good

[Delmonico]

One of my specalties is yeast bread, I sometimes make it as a loaf in a deep oven, either a 10 or a 12.  This of course has to be sliced.  Often it is easier to make it up as dinner rolls in a shallow oven.  All you have to do is cut out the first one and then every one can just pull one out.  I also often make them different sizes so folks can have a piece the size they want.

The first picture is white bread dough risen and ready to bake.  The day was really bright and it is not really as clear as I wanted it to be.

The second picture is the same oven when done baking.  This is a 14 inch shallow, so these are fairly good sized rolls.  This was in deer camp, not at a Living Histor demostration so I made trhem big because I was feeding 4-5 hungry hunters in cold weather.  I can by using a few coals on the oven make it raise outside on a 30 degree day.  But there was no onlookers to impress that day so I just let it raise in the trailer house that has a furnace.

[Ozark Tracker]

Del,  Those look like they would be really good when cooked up with about a pound of butter on the side. I've watched some of the shows on TV where they are cooking in the dutch ovens but I've never tried it myself.

[Delmonico]

They are not hard if one has some basic cooking skills.  I recomend a pot roast for the begainner.  One can learn to get an oven hot and sear the meat, add enough water to almost cover the meat and add the vetables desired.  One can cook it all afternoon and as long as it don't go dry it will be fine.  One can tell by opening it from time to time how much heat you are putting in.

One neat little trick you can do to impress your friends is simple, the first picture is a pot roast, or accually sirloin steak cooked that way.  (My wife had bought a bunch on sale and I swiped it for a hunting trip.)  This one just has potatoes and onions, I decide to cook the steak that way and had the potatoes, but was to lazy to drive to town for more.

The first picture is the roast hot and steaming and the meat and the potatoes are done, but the potatoes are kind of a bland white.

After I took this picture I move the oven a bit and did not put any coals on the bottom, I did sweep off the lid and then piled on as many firey red coals out of my fire as the lid would hold.  I then got my gear ready to go out for sunset and watch for a deer.  When I was ready I snapped the picture of the browned potatoes covered it, reduced the coals on the lid and went to hunt.  When I got back supper was warm and ready, a freind stopped by and we ate this.

[Goatlips]

   Drool...... an' me on another diet..... good pitchers Del!

Goatlips

[Delmonico]

Ok, here's one my Pard Gopher Grease whipped up on Sunday afternoon at Rock Creek Station, I think 2002.  It is Chili Verde, Green Chili's and Pork.  We were lazy by the 3rd day and just boiled some rice to serve it over instead of making tortillas.

[Silver Creek Slim]

If ya think it looks good pards, ya should taste it. Come to the GAF Muster in Ackley, IA the 1st weekend of Oct. Del will be cookin. He can put ya ta work as a Hoodlum. 

Slim

[Marshal Will Wingam]

You're doing some stuff with those dutch ovens that I never dreamt could work out so good. I guess I'll have to give it a try one of these days. We have a couple brothers here that work their magic like you do when we go to big matches. Outstanding stuff. They always have huge meals ready for anyone who wants some.

[Delmonico]

As Gopher Grease and I tell folks, the only thing that limits you in most cases as to what you can cook in a dutch oven compared to what you can cook in a kitchen is the fact you can not control the climate outside like you can at home.  Yeast don't work worth a durn at -10 and try making a pie crust with out a refrigerator when it is 105.   Yes I have done meals at both extremes. 

[Delmonico]

Here is one, a molasses spice cake from an 1880's recipe that is so sweet you would not believe it.  I'll post the recipe when I get it dug out.  It is one we found out does not work well in high humidity.  Gopher Grease made it one time when the humidity was high.  He checked it with a knife in three places, nothing stuck, it was done.  During the time it cooled the hydroscopic nature of the sugar drew in so much moisture the cake turned to mush.

The first picture is a finished cake.  We bake these in a seperate pan with a trivet holding it off the bottom.

The second picture is a finished cake with the lemon glaze and camelized currants put on top before the glaze has hardened.

[Camille Eonich]

Dang and I just ate lunch.  I LOVE yeast bread.  I think that I could live on it.  Lately everytime I go somewhere that they have dutch ovens I get to eyeballing them.  I guess one of these days I'll break down and buy me a couple.

[Trinity]

My cooking skills:

1. Preheat oven; remove pizza from box and wrapper; place pizza in oven and set timer

-or-

2. Remove frozen entree from box; cut slit in top of wrapper; place in microwave and heat for 3.5 minutes


 

[Ozark Tracker]

well I'm nearly sure, Justin Wilson, started out just that same way.  I guar  own  tee