It's time to start up my blog again...finally. My blog is now linked to my Dutch Oven Baking Facebook page. I want to get 500 "Likes" by March 1st.

Time to start up my blog again...My blog is now linked to the Dutch Oven Baking page...

The cover for the book is done and we finished the pictures for the book last week.
Zac Williams is a genius! The Gibbs-Smith designer is great!

Baked Ross and Angie's Poppy seed cake up at Sourdough last weekend. Since there is a statewide fire restriction, including charcoal, I just did it in the 5th wheel oven. (Cast Iron Careth Not From Whence the Heat Cometh; me, 1996) I knew the oven would be way hot on the bottom so I used my diffusor plate from my Camp Chef Dutch oven cap. Worked great.
Everyone should try that cake, it is worth the effort.

Vickie and I took the train, Amtrak, to Colorado to see the Tracy clan. A train ride was on our bucket list. I took my favorite oven, the 12 inch breadmaker and carried it aboard the train as carry-on baggage in a 25th anniverary bag.Since we were staying at my cousin's B&B in Pine Springs, it seemed the perfect opportunity to cook for small groups while in Colorado. While there, I cooked three dishes; a bacon and cheese egg breakfast, a new bread pudding, and Vickie's famous BBQ chicken.
The guests were quite taken with the versitility of the black pot.
If you're ever near Estes, CO; stop at the Little Elk Meadows Lodge. The rooms are great and reasonably priced and the scenery is amazing. (Plus there are elk everywhere.)

Every Dutch oven cook has a favorite cobbler...Here is an easy topping for almost any cobbler.

Biscuit Topping for Cobblers

1 cup unbleached flour

1/4 cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) melted butter

1/2 cup buttermilk

Whisk the dry ingredients together in a mixing bowl.

Whisk the wet ingredients together in another bowl.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients with a wooden spoon.

Mix just until the dry ingredients are wet; don’t over mix.

Use a big serving spoon to place dollops of dough evenly on the fruit.

Bake for about 25-30 minutes until the biscuit topping is golden brown with 8-9 coals

under and 15-16 coals on the lid.

Cheers,

The Dutch Oven Baker

Buy a quality Dutch Oven

Which Dutch oven to buy? Buy quality…Camp Chef and Lodge are the best, period! My wife Vickie gave me a 12 inch Lodge for Father’s day many years ago. I seasoned it according to the directions that came with the oven and started cooking.

This oven is still my prime baking oven today. I have ovens from each company.

These days Dutch ovens arrive pre-seasoned. But even pre-seasoned ovens need a bit more seasoning.

As you begin your outdoor cooking adventure cook something greasy like a bacon-potato-cheese “something” dish a few times. Also, for the first few times you cook in your oven avoid high acid foods like tomatoes. As you do this your cast iron will begin to build a black carbon coating called the patina. A well seasoned oven can be as non-stick as a Teflon pan.