Great American Dutch Oven Cook-off

What an exhilarating day!  3 Brand new recipes, new partner (not that there was any problems with the other ones) and a Blue Ribbon. Wow.

We met some really neat people at the Utah State Fair. Some who were just starting out in Dutch Oven Cooking, Some that their only ability in the kitchen is making Mac & Cheese. I am so grateful to be able to share my passion for cooking and hope that it sparks someone else’s love of cooking. 

I am grateful for my Mom, she taught me that it doesn’t take a fortune to make great food. Mom could take just about anything and make it taste like a million bucks. I am comforted to know that when my children move out that they can prepare meals that will sustain them and they are not afraid to try new things.

‘Nough said here are the recipes that won us the Blue Ribbon yesterday at the Utah Farm Bureau’s Great American Dutch Oven Cook-off at the Utah State Fair.

 

Crab-stuffed Beef Tenderloin

8 bacon strips (Miller Brother’s)

1 beef tenderloin roast (3 pounds)

3 pouches (6 ounces each) lump crabmeat

1 cup water, divided

1/2 cup beef broth

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoons minced green onion

1 tablespoon butter (Meadow Gold)

1 tablespoon steak sauce

1 teaspoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon sugar (Augason)

1/2 teaspoon dried parsley flakes

Make a lengthwise slit down the center of tenderloin to within 1/2 in. of bottom. Open meat so it lies flat. Mound crab over the center. Close tenderloin; tie at 2-in. intervals with kitchen string.

Wrap bacon around meat and brown in a Dutch Oven. Combine 1/2 cup water, broth and lemon juice; pour over beef.

Bake in a 12” Dutch Oven (or Oven size to match the length of the roast), at 425° for 45-60 minutes or until meat reaches desired doneness (for medium-rare, a meat thermometer should read 140°; medium, 160°; well-done, 170°). Remove meat to a serving platter. Cover and let stand for 10 minutes.

Pour pan drippings and loosened brown bits into a saucepan. Skim fat. Stir in the onion, butter, steak sauce, soy sauce, sugar and remaining water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Stir in parsley. Serve with sauce. 

Rosemary Potatoes

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp paprika

3/4 tsp crushed rosemary

½ tsp minced garlic

½ tsp salt         

¼ tsp ground pepper

1 lb potatoes quartered

Mix spices into olive oil, add potatoes, and toss till well coated. Place in 10” D/O that has been coated with small amount of olive oil to prevent sticking. Roast @ 425° for 30 minutes or till potatoes are tender.

Munster Bread

2 packages (1/4 ounce each) active dry yeast

1 cup warm milk (110° to 115°)(Meadow Gold)

1/2 cup butter, softened (Meadow Gold)

2 tablespoons sugar (Augason)

1 teaspoon salt (Redmond Real)

3-1/4 to 3-3/4 cups all-purpose flour (Deseret Mills)

1 egg plus 1 egg yolk (Oakdell)

4 cups (1 pound) shredded Muenster cheese (Gossner’s)

1 egg white, beaten (Oakdell)

Mrs. Dash for dusting

In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in milk. Add the butter, sugar, salt and 2 cups flour; beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough.

Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.

In a large bowl, beat egg and yolk; stir in cheese. Punch down dough; roll into a 16-in. circle.

Place in a parchment lined 10” Dutch Oven, letting dough drape over the edges. Spoon the cheese mixture into center of dough. Gather dough up over filling in 1-1/2-in. pleats. Gently squeeze pleats together at top and twist to make a top knot. Allow to rise 10-15 minutes.

Brush loaf with egg white sprinkle with a little bit of Mrs. Dash. Bake at 375° for 40-45 minutes. Cool on a wire rack for 20 minutes. Serve warm. 

Delicate Pear Cake with Caramel Sauce

Cake

1(15-oz.) can pear halves in light syrup

1(18.25-oz.) pkg. Pillsbury® Moist Supreme® White Cake Mix

1/3 cup oil

3 egg whites (Oakdell)

Sauce

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

½ cup butter (Meadow Gold)

1cup whipping cream (Meadow Gold)

Frosting

1cup whipping cream (Meadow Gold)

2tablespoons sugar (Augason)

1 teaspoon vanilla (Dutch Mills)

1(15-oz.) can pear halves in light syrup, well drained

1/2cup finely chopped hazelnuts (filberts) or walnuts, toasted*

DIRECTIONS:

Line a 10” Dutch Oven with Parchment paper. Drain 1 can pear halves, reserving 1/3 cup liquid. Place pear halves in food processor bowl with metal blade or blender container; cover and process until smooth.

 In large bowl, combine cake mix, pureed pears, reserved 1/3 cup pear liquid, oil and egg whites; mix until moistened. Pour into parchment lined Dutch Oven.

 Bake at 350°F. for 40 to 45 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool cake upright in pan 15 minutes. Invert Dutch Oven Lid. Cool 1 1/2 hours or until completely cooled.

 Meanwhile, in a Dutch Oven, combine all sauce ingredients; mix well. Bring to a boil. Boil over medium heat 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat; cool to room temperature.

 In small bowl, beat 1 cup whipping cream and sugar until stiff peaks form. Fold in vanilla. Frost cooled cake with whipped cream. Cut drained pear halves lengthwise into about 32 slices. Arrange on top of cake, slightly overlapping slices. Press nuts into sides of cake. Drizzle 2 tablespoons sauce over pear slices.

 To serve, spoon about 2 tablespoons sauce onto each individual dessert plate. Top each with slice of cake.

Modified from Pillsbury.com Jacqueline McComas   Frazer, Pennsylvania 

Because this cook-off was sponsored by the Utah Farm Bureau and Utah’s Own the parenthesis note the products that are produced right here in Utah.

Pull out your Dutch Oven's (clean them up if necessary) and cook some thing in them today. :o)

Thank you all that came out to the fair. I hope you will give these recipes a try and….

Have fun cookin’

Cyndi

Yummy Chicken

 How many of us have bags of chips in the pantry that no one wants to eat for fear that they have gone stale?

With the way the economy is recently it's been hard for me to spend money on "convenience" foods. It is also hard for me to see food go to waste. The other day I was looking through my pantry and noticed I had 4-5 half eaten bags of chips, different flavors, potato chips, corn chips, flavored chips... again I hate to see these go to waste and I didn't feel like tossing them out to feed the ducks so  I got a wild idea Chicken strips and Potato Logs.

Chicken
I zapped the chips in a food processor, to make powder, pour in a bowl in a separate bowl mix a couple (2) eggs and 1/2 C milk.  Slice 4 Chicken Breasts into strips, dip them in the egg mixture then into the chip crumbs. Put a small amount (1tbsp) of oil in the bottom of a frying pan, and cook till golden brown. I did mine in batches because they don't all fit in the pan at the same time - I heated the oven to 350 and kept them in the oven to keep them warm. Note that the chips have some oil in them so sticking was not a problem. I'm also sure if you didn't want to fry them you could bake them @ 350 till golden brown. 

Potato Logs

Chop up the potatoes(small ones) into small logs, rinse, drain, put chopped potatoes into the crushed chips and toss. Bake @ 350 till potatoes are done. I sprinkled them with a little mozzarella and melted it. Then served it with some sour cream. 

I have a family of 6 and this fed us with plenty of leftovers for lunch the next day - much cheaper than going to McDonald's for chicken nuggets and fries - they warm up nicely. Also a great replacement for Shake n bake. 

Easy and re-purposed. 

Have fun Cookin' 

Cyndi