Robin Donovan: Campfire Cuisine

By JULIETTE ROSSANT During the summer, while some are taking easy strolls down boulevards in Nice or taking in sites on the California coast, others are packing their SUVs and heading to a national park to go camping. Maybe camping conjures up for you images of reconstituted freeze- dried mush, Tang, and muesli? Robin Donovan's manual (i.e., hand-size) Campfire Cuisine (Quirk Books 2006) aims to dispel any unpleasant tastes you remember from Scout Camp. Camping is for foodies, proclaims Robin, and of course foodies need a good guide-cum-cookbook: What I've learned is that outdoor cooking doesn't need to be elaborate in order to yield stunning results. As I've discovered, the mantra of many a renowned chef has never been more appropriate: Good food, simply prepared, tastes good.… All you need to add is a well-stocked cooler, a few essential pieces of equipment, and a well-thought out meal plan, and you, too, can create top-notch meals around a compfire. (pp. 10-11) The book starts off with a gear guide that is a handy packing guide. She has helpful questions to ask before choosing a camp stove (no, this isn't only cooking over a blazing fire). She then provides meticulous information about buying, storing and packing food to keep it safe. She explains how to light a fire, how to prepare foil packs, and use a camp stove. Robin starts the recipes with a large number of sauces, dressings, marinades and rubs. There is a good Morroccan Spice Rub (p. 49) for flank steak, and a Spicy Peanut Sauce (p. 56) for dipping skewers of grilled meat. There are also plenty of recipes for compound butters, so real Foodie campers better take along an extra cooler for frozen foods. For breakfast, Robin offers up traditional pancakes, and what she calls Skillet Scones (p. 79), which are an easy variation on biscuits, and various frittata, like Sausage and Polenta Scramble (pp. 74-75) which regrettably calls for ready-made polenta. What about skipping ready-made and serving some good bread? There is a large lunch chapter with all sorts of sandwiches, including many made with Middle Eastern lavash flatbread, which Robin refers to as Aram sandwiches. She has recipes for Roast Beef and Horseradish Aram, Smoked Salmon and Wasabi, and Smoked Turkey Aram (pp. 88-89). There are many recipes for burgers, shrimp, chicken and other meats. Robin has good tips on not drying out burgers, choosing good side dishes and what to make at home before the camping trip starts. If you can't escape to the mountains or lakeside for a camping trip, these recipes are great for backyard or indoor cooking. The fun is planning, and preparing and eating great food wherever you are this summer (fall, winter or spring). (And of course if you are heading out camping, be sure to tend your campfire as carefully as your gourmet meals.) Book details: Publisher Amazon.com Barnes & Noble Previous articles: [Cookbook Reviews - complete] Technorati Tags: superchefblog, Juliette Rossant, super chef, celebrities, chefs, food, restaurants, cooking, branding, cuisine, blogging, food blogging, cookbooks, camping --> back to superchefblog