Cat Head Biscuits

      I haven't posted in a few days because this week has been a string of dutch oven cooking disasters, brownies that were raw in the middle, sudden downpours and a blackened cake.  Today the Dutch Oven Gods were smiling upon me, I was overjoyed to have made these wonderful Cat Head Biscuits from the PBS cooking show Cook's Country.  They were a smashing success and second only to the Touch of Grace Biscuits as my all time favorite biscuits.  What makes them so spectacular, apart from their huge size, is the addition of cake flour in the dough.  For those of you who aren't lucky enough to find White Lily soft winter wheat flour where you live, mixing cake flour with regular flour makes for a lighter and fluffier biscuit.  If you live in the South, by all means make them with 3 cups of White Lily.  I almost always cut iced cold butter into my biscuit flour but for some reason these are more tender when the butter is softened and mixed in by hand.  Be sure to bake them in your 10 inch dutch oven, they need to be snuggled closely together.  The original recipe calls for making them in a 9 inch round cake pan.  I started them with 10 coals in a ring around the bottom and the lid completely covered with coals.  After 15 minutes I removed the center coals and baked them for 5 minutes more with only one ring of briquettes around the outside of the lid. Be careful when you remove the lid of your oven, these lighter than air biscuits might just float away.

Cat Head Biscuits
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups cake flour
1 Tblsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
8 Tblsp (one stick) butter cut into 1/2 inch pieces and softened
4 Tblsp shortening cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 1/4 cups buttermilk

     Lightly oil or spray 10 inch dutch oven.
     Combine flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
     Rub in butter and shortening with your fingers until mixture resembles coarse meal.
     Add buttermilk, stir until just combined, do not overwork dough.
     Using a 1/2 cup measure or large spoon, transfer 6 heaping portions of dough into prepared dutch oven, placing 5 biscuits around the outside and one in the center.
     Bake at 425 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until puffed and golden.
     Check biscuits after 15 minutes to make sure they aren't browning too quickly.
     Cool in dutch oven for 10 minutes before serving warm.
     Makes 6 large biscuits.

Scoop 6 large portions of dough into well oiled oven

Bake at 425 minutes for 20 minutes or until puffed and golden

Lighter than air biscuits the size of a cat's head

Ice Cream Caramel Cinnamon Rolls

     I wish you could have been with me in my backyard when I made these so you could have tasted one of these indescribably delicious cinnamon rolls.  I have had my eye on this recipe from Tasty Kitchen for a while now but was waiting for a special occasion to make them.  Easter morning seemed like the perfect time to throw the diet out the window and splurge in a big way.  Without a doubt these are one of the most scrumptious things I have ever eaten.  I took the frozen cinnamon rolls out of the freezer at 4:00 in the morning and placed them in my well oiled 12 inch dutch oven.  By the time I got home from church they had doubled in size and were ready for their caramel bath and the hot coals.  They baked in 20 minutes with 12 briquettes in a ring around the bottom and about 28 on the lid.  They did start to brown a bit as the dough was rising so keep a close watch on them.  When I saw the steam pouring out of the oven and was bowled over by the scent of cinnamon and freshly baked dough I knew they were ready.  Be sure to frost them, it really puts them over the top.  If you want to make these away from home, don't worry about the ice cream, just spoon a cupful in a container and keep it in your cooler, it won't make a difference if it's melted.  Follow the directions on the package for thawing the rolls and don't be alarmed by how much caramel you are pouring over the dough, most of it will be absorbed while they are baking.  Oh, and they're still soft and gooey if you eat them when they're cold.

Ice Cream Caramel Cinnamon Rolls
1 bag of 12 Rhode's Frozen Cinnamon Rolls
1 cup vanilla ice cream
1 cup brown sugar
1 stick butter

     Lightly oil or spray dutch oven.
     Place 12 rolls in prepared 12 inch or larger dutch oven.
     Spray a piece of plastic wrap with non-stick cooking spray and place over rolls.
     Allow rolls to thaw and rise at room temperature until doubled in size, about 3-5 hours.
     In a heavy bottomed saucepan, combine ice cream, brown sugar and butter. 
     Heat over medium high heat, stirring constantly until mixture comes to a boil.
     Let caramel mixture boil for 2-3 minutes or until light brown in color.
     Pour all of the hot caramel mixture over the rolls in your dutch oven.
     Bake for 20-25 minutes at 350 degrees or until they are golden brown on top and cooked through.
     Immediately frost with packets provided with the frozen rolls.
     Serve warm, prepare to die and go to heaven.

Place frozen cinnamon rolls in your well oiled dutch oven

Let thaw and rise for 3-5 hours or until doubled in size

When coals are ready, pour hot caramel over rolls

Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes

Pile on the frosting

So good there ought to be a law against these sinfully delicious rolls

Jeanne's Lamb Shanks

     I must be dating myself because I can remember when short ribs and lamb shanks used to be considered cheaper cuts of meat.  Not so anymore, their prices have sky rocketed, at least at Easter time you might be able to find the lamb on sale.  This recipe has been in my family for years, my mother probably found it on a box of Knorr soup in the eighties.  It's another one of those foolproof, easy clean up, guaranteed to be moist and delicious ways of cooking lamb.  Like the corned beef and ribs I have posted on my blog, it's cooked the same way in a packet of aluminum foil inside your dutch oven.  If you can, try to use the Knorr Vegetable Recipe Mix, it is used for soup and dip and has good sized chunks of dehydrated vegetables.  It is perfectly seasoned and a great compliment to the strongly flavored lamb.  Place the lamb shanks on the foil, sprinkle with the soup mix, wrap tightly and bake in your dutch oven for 2 to 2 and 1/4 hours.  I completely replaced the coals halfway during cooking time, in my 12 inch oven they baked with 12 coals in a ring around the bottom and 28 coals on the lid.  If you want to make them in your conventional oven cook them for 3 hours at 300 degrees, they will be fall off the bone tender and if you're making these away from home, don't forget to pack the mint jelly!

Jeanne's Lamb Shanks
2-3 lamb shanks (bone in)
1 package Knorr Vegetable Recipe (soup/dip) Mix
1-2 sheets of wide, heavy duty aluminum foil

     Lightly oil or spray a 12 inch or larger dutch oven.
     Place lamb shanks, side by side, in center of aluminum foil.
     Sprinkle evenly with packet of soup.
     Bring long ends of foil together as if you were wrapping a package and roll securely so packet is tightly sealed.
     Seal short ends of foil packet.
     To ensure an easier clean up, wrap the packet once again in an extra layer of foil.
     Place in center of dutch oven.
     Bake at 350 degrees for 2 to 2 1/4 hours, replenishing coals halfway through cooking time.
     Makes 2-4 servings depending on the size of your lamb shanks.

Sprinkle lamb shanks with vegetable soup mix

Wrap tightly with foil and place in dutch oven

Bake at 350 degrees for 2 to 2 1/4 hours

Serve with rice pilaf and gobs of mint jelly

Pancho Villa Stew

      This recipe for Pancho Villa Stew from stewrecipes.net was originally written to be made in a crock pot.  Since all the ingredients, except for the onion, are already cooked, I thought why not simmer the stew in my dutch oven?  You could saute the onion before adding the rest of the ingredients but I was feeling lazy today and took the easy way out.  All you have to do is combine the ingredients in your dutch oven, stir and let it bubble away.  In my 12 inch dutch oven I cooked the stew with 12 coals in a ring around the bottom, loaded up the lid with 28 briquettes and left it alone for one hour.  For something so easy the flavors are complex, the cocoa really gives it a depth of flavor.  Easy, warming, smokey and a great way to use up that leftover Easter ham, this one is a South of the Border winner.

Pancho Villa Stew
3 cups cooked ham, diced
1 pound smoked sausage, sliced into 1/2 inch pieces
2 14 oz. cans chicken broth
1 14 oz. can diced tomatoes, with juice
1 7 oz. can chopped green chilies, drained
1 medium onion, chopped
2 15 oz. cans pinto OR black beans, drained
1 15 oz. can whole kernel corn, drained
1 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp cocoa
1 tsp salt
1 tsp dried oregano

     Lightly oil or spray 12 inch or larger dutch oven.
     Combine all ingredients in dutch oven; stir well.
     Bring stew to a bubble and simmer for one hour.
     Makes 6 servings.
     Garnish with sour cream and fresh chopped cilantro.
     Serve with buttered flour tortillas.

Combine all ingredients in your dutch oven

Simmer for one hour

A warming smokey stew with lots of flavor

Unstuffed Peppers

     If you love stuffed peppers like I do but aren't in the mood to make them from scratch, this recipe for Unstuffed Peppers from Campbell's gives you all the flavor without the fuss.  Brown your ground beef with the onions over a full compliment of coals.  Move the coals to a ring around the bottom of the oven, add the rest of the ingredients and cover with as many coals on the lid as you'll need to keep it at a strong bubble.  In my 10 inch oven I used 24 coals on the lid and the peppers were ready in 25 minutes.  Such an easy way to enjoy stuffed peppers and tailor made for camp cooking, this recipe is going to be filed straight away in my chuck box.

Unstuffed Peppers
1 Tblsp vegetable oil
1/2 to 1 pound ground beef OR turkey
1 medium onion, chopped (about 1/2 cup)
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 cups V8 Vegetable Juice
1/2 cup uncooked regular long-grain white rice
2 medium green peppers, cut into 1-inch pieces
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

     Lightly oil or spray 10 inch dutch oven.
     Saute onions and beef OR turkey in vegetable oil over a full spread of coals until browned.
     Add basil, garlic powder, salt and pepper.
     Stir in rice, V8 Juice and peppers; mix until well combined.
     Move coals to a ring of 10 around the base of the oven.
     Cover with as many coals as needed to keep liquid at a strong simmer.
     Cook for 25-30 minutes, stirring halfway, or until rice has absorbed liquid and peppers are tender.
     Makes 4 servings.

Saute beef and onions over a full spread of coals

Add seasoning, peppers, V8 juice and rice

Simmer for 25-30 minutes or until peppers and rice are tender

All the great flavor of a stuffed pepper without the hassle

Pan de Campo Part II

     My first attempt at making Pan de Campo produced a lighter, thinner more crispy version of the camp bread.  This recipe from Dishes From the Wild Horse Desert by Melissa Guerra is more substantial and a lot like a flaky biscuit bread.  This time around I preheated my 12 inch dutch oven with 12 coals around the bottom of the oven and the lid completely covered with briquettes.  I used a pastry cutter to blend the shortening and oil with the flour.  After kneading the dough I let it rest for 15 minutes while I waited for my coals to light.  I rolled the dough on a piece of parchment paper, laid it in my hot, preheated oven, then pierced it with a fork to allow the steam to escape.  In a blazing hot oven it took between 20 and 25 minutes to bake.  When the steam was pouring out of my oven I knew it was ready.  The more I research this cowboy bread the more I realize there are endless combinations of ways to make it.  If you take a look at this video you will see the bread being baked in dutch ovens over hot mesquite coals.  They do turn the bread to prevent it from burning but if you bake it with a ring of coals around the base of your oven I don't really think it's necessary.  Also, I used a little over a cup and a half of buttermilk for this recipe, the dough should be on the wet side but not too sticky.  A connection to the past, whether fried in a cast iron skillet over an open fire or baked in a dutch with coals, this warm and filling bread will keep you riding in the saddle all day. 

Pan de Campo
4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more as needed
4 Tblsp sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 Tblsp salt
1/4 cup vegetable shortening
1/4 cup vegetable oil
About 2 cups of milk.

     Lightly oil or spray 12 inch or larger dutch oven.
     Sift the dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl.
     Stir in the shortening and oil, work the dough with your hands until it resembles coarse meal.
     Add 1 1/2 cups of the milk, and stir; the dough should be sticky but workable.
     If the dough is too stiff, add more milk; if the dough is too thin, add more flour.
     Turn the dough out onto a counter dusted with flour and knead it hard for 1 minute, but don't overwork it.
     Pat it out or gently roll into a 10-inch circle that is 1/2 inch thick on parchment paper.
     Preheat dutch oven to 450 degrees for 10 minutes.
     Transfer dough to heated dutch oven; prick with fork to allow steam to escape.
     Bake for 20-25 minutes or until bread is golden brown.
     Makes 4-6 servings.

Roll out your dough on parchment paper

Preheat your dutch oven for 10 minutes

Transfer the dough using parchment paper then prick surface with fork

Bake at 450 degrees for 20-25 minutes

A warm slice of history and the official bread of the state of Texas

Pan de Campo Part I

     Pan de Campo or camp bread is the official state bread of Texas.  It is also known as cowboy bread and has been cooked over mesquite fires, feeding hungry ranch hands on the trail for hundreds of years.  In Texas they even have Pan de Campo cookoffs and like biscuit recipes, each cook has their own tried and true version of this primitive camp bread.  It's easy to see why it has become a chuck wagon staple, the basic ingredients are flour, salt, baking powder, water and lard.  The ingredients were easy to store and readily available.  Modern versions vary with the addition of milk, oil, and butter flavored shortenings.  The bread can be fried on a cast iron skillet or baked in your dutch oven.  I tried this recipe from Texas Highways, this prize winning recipe comes from chef Ruben Hinojosa of South Texas.  It seemed like a good place to start, the dough came together quickly and was easy to roll, you could even pat it into a circle in your dutch oven.  I did not preheat my oven as the recipe said to do, maybe that was why my bread broke apart when I flipped it over with a spatula.  You could probably bake the bread without turning it over and it would come out perfectly browned.   I baked the bread with 12 coals in a ring around the base of the oven and 24 briquettes on the lid.  The consistency of the bread is more like a crumbly biscuit than a typical flatbread.   It was light, crispy and served with a little butter and honey, a real delicacy.

Pan de Campo
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
3/8 cup cooking oil
1/2 cup cold milk

     Lightly oil or spray 12 inch or larger dutch oven.
     Mix all ingredients but don't knead the dough too much.
     If dough feels dry, add a few drops of milk.
     Roll dough into a circle about 1/2 inch thick (thinner if you want a crisper loaf).
     Place into well-oiled, preheated dutch oven; poke holes in dough with a fork to allow steam to escape.
     Bake at 400 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes, turning dough over halfway through cooking time.
     Cut into wedges and serve while still warm.

Roll dough to 1/2 inch thickness and place in well oiled dutch oven

Should have cooked the bread a bit longer before turning it over

Still warm and delicious in spite of it breaking apart