La Piccina Cucina: Camping Edition #2

Every two years or so, Joef and I grab a few innocent and unsuspecting souls and drag them out to the Boundary Waters between Minnesota and Canada. This summer was my third trip and Joef's fifth, and it did not disappoint. It's some of the most beautiful, pristine wilderness I've ever seen, and I'll go back again and again. I mean, what's not to love about canoeing 20 miles a day with portages in between?

Last trip out, I posted about our handpicked blueberry compote. We were a little too early in the season this year for berries, but we did make a point of getting creative with cooking this time around. 

There was the usual fresh-caught fish (bass), fried:

But we also got experimental, with things like modified hummus (chickpeas, garlic, olive oil, sesame seeds, lemon, salt, and zatar are all easy to pack): 

 

Enjoy them with tortilla chips (cut tortillas into triangles and fry them up):

And we even made pasta, with pesto (paste) and sundried tomatoes:

The coup de grâce was cake baked in an orange peel. Now, it should be noted that the final outcome, taste-wise, could probably, er, be improved upon. But the concept is sound! Next time, we'd only fill the oranges halfway, and would either put them on top of the grill, or further from the fire. There was a bit of an ashtray effect. But we MADE CAKE IN THE WILDERNESS! With sparkly frosting!

Choose a batter that doesn't require eggs. Slice just the top off an orange, and scoop out the insides. Mix your batter, and spoon it into the orange.

Secure the top of the orange with toothpicks.

Place the batter-filled orange(s) near the fire. Rotate now and then to heat all sides. Cook for...um...20 minutes? Eyeball it.

Remove the oranges from the fire. Allow to cool, then remove the tops.

Spoon out the cake and dab with frosting!

It was an amazing trip with amazing people. Plus, no injuries! Here we are, just after getting off the water:

Salmon with Asian Pesto

 (from Williams-Sonoma's Fish for Dinner)

I love fish and seafood. It's delicious and somehow, I feel great when I eat it. In spite of that, however, I cook very little fish. Maybe some seafood. But very little fish. This is because I have no idea how to cook it. I don't know what kinds of fish are which, I don't know how to pick it out, and I'm afraid I'm going to kill myself or, at a minimum, make myself violently ill if I cook it incorrectly. Because my wonderful husband knows all this about me, he bought me the perfect cookbook, Fish for Dinner, which not only contains all kinds of delicious recipes, but also walks you through all of these things I've been trying to figure out. I mean, the first page is titled, "Understanding Fish", so this cookbook and I were kind of meant for one another.

The next barrier to overcome was having enough presence of mind to actually plan out a meal involving fish - you know, going to the grocery store, having a recipe in mind, buying the right ingredients, and following through on actually making the meal that night. It's much less challenging with, say, chicken - if you decide you're too lazy to make it that night, you just throw the chicken in the freezer. With fish, you want it fresh. So, you know, it's a big commitment in the cooking department.

ANYWAY. As you can see, I finally was able to pull myself together and see that commitment through. And I'm so glad I did. This was delicious, different, nourishing - all that good stuff. Also, turns out salmon is really easy to cook, at least like this. I mean, really easy.

The original recipe, which I've provided below, makes four servings (four salmon filets). I made one salmon filet, cooking for just myself, and halved the rest of the recipe for the sauce. Next time, I would probably reduce the amount of fish sauce. That stuff is really salty. It definitely provides the unique flavor the recipe calls for, but wow, that stuff is powerful. Let's just say Pancake got a little too excited about the smell it made while it was cooking, which, knowing dogs, is not always a good thing.

On that appetizing note...this is a delicious recipe. And it looks fancy, too.

For four:

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1 jalapeno chile, chopped

3 green onions, chopped

3 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro

3 tbsp chopped fresh basil

3 tbsp peanut oil

2 tbsp Asian fish sauce (again, you could probably halve this)

Juice of 1/2 a lime (plus slivers for garnish)

1 tsp sugar
4 salmon filets, about 6 oz each

Salt and pepper

Combine the garlic, chile, green onions, cilantro, basil, and 1 tbsp water (I actually added an equal part of peanut oil) to a food processor blender and blend to make a paste.

In a small frying pan over medium heat, warm 2 tbsp peanut oil. Add the herb paste and saute for about 1-2 minutes. Stir in the fish sauce, 2 tbsp water, lime juice, and sugar. Cook, stirring, until the sugar has dissolved, about 2 minutes.

Season the salmon filets with a little salt and pepper.

Heat a large frying pan of high heat until very hot, and then add the rest of the oil (1 tbsp). Add the salmon right to the pan, and cook until golden brown on the underside, about 3 minutes. Flip the filets and do the same on the other side, about three more minutes. (The recipe wants you to keep it a little rare in the center, but I guess I'm still not 100% comfortable with cooking fish, so I just made sure it cooked through - it should get lighter in color and flaky when poked with a fork.).

Transfer the filets to plates and drizzle with the pesto. Serve it up!

Tilapia with Beans and Tomatoes

(adapted from, what else, Loukie Werle's "Italian Country Cooking")

My goodness, it's been a whirlwind of activity around here lately. Not a cooking, whirlwind, clearly - or at least not of new recipes. I finally got the chance today for lunch, which worked out because I 1) had time (although this doesn't take much), and 2) wanted to cook something I knew the husband wouldn't go for (not a tilapia fan). I've had this recipe in mind ever since my dad called raving about it. And he knows what he's talking about.

This is a dinner dish as well, or maybe preferably. In any case, it's easy, fast, and delicious.

3 tbsp olive oil
2 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/4 tsp chili flakes
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
1 cup dry white wine
1 cup cannellini (great northern) beans, drained
1 handful flat-parsley leaves, coarsely chopped - or, in my case, a healthy dash of dried parsley
3 tilapia filets (or other white fish)
Lemon wedges, to serve (grilled bread suggested and highly recommended, if you have it, also to serve)

Heat the oil in a large saute pan over medium (it will need to be large enough to fit the filets next to each other without overlap, and it should have a lid). Add the garlic, chili flakes, tomatoes, and wine and simmer until the tomatoes get soft, about 10 minutes. Add salt partway through if you need it (I did). Add the beans and the parsley and cook another five minutes or so.

Lay the fish on top and season with salt (they can touch, but should not overlap). Cover the pan with a lid and cook on low heat until the fish cooks through and is flaky - about 10-15 minutes. Serve with lemon wedges and, if you're lucky, grilled bread. That's IT!

La Piccina: Camping Edition

This year's trip to the Boundary Waters was quite the culinary adventure, mostly thanks to my fellow campers/portagers. We had fresh-caught bass and northern pike, steak, bacon, fresh raspberry and blueberry pancakes, and - blueberry compote (or, in camping terms, blueberry "sauce"). Of course, we had our fair share of pastaroni and grilled summer sausage (delicious, actually), too. But considering it's a pack-in, pack-out kind of deal, we did pretty well. Well enough to deserve a special camping edition post.

Dinner: Steaks with Carrots, Potatoes, and Onions
Pat had the brilliant idea to bring some fresh foods in for the first night. He devised a freezer system using a brown box, ice, and plastic garbage bags to keep the steaks and bacon cold. We sauteed - or directly grilled - the steaks over the fire, then ate them with a side of potatoes and carrots sauteed with onions and a little cajun seasoning. A perfect way to round out a day of canoeing!

Breakfast: Bacon
There's not really anything unique about bacon, and there's certainly no recipe. But there are no WORDS for how delicious bacon is when you're camping.

Breakfast: Pancakes
We could've had pancakes every day if we hadn't run out of Hungry Jack and Krusteaz towards the end of the trip. The best part was picking fresh raspberries and fresh blueberries to put in the batter (all you need is water to make a great pancake). And of course we packed syrup. Innovation of the trip: summer sausage cooked INTO a pancake.









Breakfast: Blueberry Compote


But we didn't need syrup when Justin and Joef figured out we could make our own from fresh blueberries, sugar, and water. Proportions are about 1:1 for the blueberries and water, then add sugar to taste. Wash the spider eggs off the blueberries, then combine all ingredients in a pot over the fire and bring it to a boil. Boil it down, occasionally mashing the blueberries against the side of the pot. Add a splash of whiskey with a couple minutes left to boil if you're feeling adventurous.


Lunch and Dinner: Fried Fish
Catch a fish, gut it, bread it in Shore Lunch, and drop it in extra-hot oil and you're done. On the last night, we used the oil we fried the fish in to make crispy tortillas (just drop the tortilla in the oil, watch it puff up, flip it, then put it directly on the grill for a couple minutes). Tony divided his up into wedges and actually made tortilla chips.




























And finally - well, this isn't exactly a recipe, but...Joef made a sauna. Yes, a sauna. Using downed tree limbs gathered from a neighboring island, tarp, twine, some tape, and large granite rocks heated for two hours in the fire. Just pour water over the rocks and you're good to go.

Guest Recipe: Buridda

(adapted from Biba Caggiano's "Trattoria Cooking")

Well, it's been a heckuva long time, hasn't it? Where did last week go? One minute I was making lentil soup, then I was having a disastrous experience making homemade gnocchi (still haven't decided whether or not to post that one...there was promise in it, I tell you!), and then it was the next weekend and my parents were in town which means...I still didn't cook! However, it also means that the blog gets the benefit of another delicious guest recipe from my father via Biba Caggiano. (By the way, happy Father's Day to my wonderful pa!)

Ooh, and it's a good recipe, too. Like the baked cod, it's one of those impressive-looking, impressive-tasting dishes that can serve a group with little hassle or mess. The hardest part was cleaning the shrimp, and heck, you could even buy them pre-cleaned and skip that step. So, definitely put this one on the list.

Here's how it goes:
2-3 white onions, sliced
Olive oil, black pepper, salt
7 or so ounces whole peeled tomatoes from a can (San Marzano preferred), chopped up a bit
3 filets mahi-mahi (or halibut, sea bass, haddock, or similar fish)
1/2 pound bay scallops
1/2 pound shrimp
Anchovy paste (or real anchovies)
2-3 cloves garlic, chopped/minced
Fresh parsley as garnish
Crusty bread, warmed

Preheat the oven to 375.

Pool a little olive oil in a frying pan. Slice your onions into the olive-oiled pan and turn the heat to medium. Add a little ground pepper and a pinch of salt, then turn heat down a bit and cover the onions to caramelize. (Stir them occasionally until they turn soft and golden brown, about 20 minutes.) About 5 minutes before they're done, add garlic and a few squeezes of anchovy paste and cook those in as well.

Prepare a casserole dish by drizzling the bottom with olive oil, then adding about 1/3 the tomatoes. Layer on about 1/3 the onions. Next, place the fish filets on top of the onions, then arrange the scallops and the shrimp to either side of the filets. Layer all of this again with the remaining tomato and then the remaining onion, covering all the fish and seafood. Add a pinch of ground pepper.

Pop in the over and cook until the mahi-mahi is white and flaky, about 30+ minutes.

Garnish with a little fresh parsley, and serve with crusty bread for dipping.

Guest Recipe: Baked Cod with Potatoes and Rosemary

You (and I) have my dad, Steve, to thank for this fantastic, easy, delicious recipe. What's extra-great about it is that it's simple enough to make on a weeknight or a whim, and fancy enough to make for guests. Definitely being added to the repertoire.

Even better, we went to the Dane County Farmers' Market yesterday morning, where we bought both purple potatoes (for this recipe) and fresh rhubarb (for the pie), and delicious maple syrup for the waffles this morning.

Here's all you need to serve four:

Olive oil
6-8 cloves garlic, chopped
Several sprigs fresh rosemary
2 lbs cod fillets (or similar fish)
Purple (or other) potatoes, thinly sliced
Fresh ground black pepper
Salt
Breadcrumbs (plain)
Lemon

Preheat oven to 350/375. Prepare two casserole dishes by drizzling them with olive oil and sprinkling 3-4 cloves of chopped garlic into each dish. Add a generous amount of rosemary leaves.

Cut the cod roughly in halves, or so you can fit two-three pieces in each dish (they should touch, but not overlap). Rub the fillets around in the oil in the dish so that both sides pick up the oil/garlic/rosemary. Add more rosemary leaves as needed. Next, arrange the sliced potatoes around the fillets so the bottom of the dish is covered. Do the same with the potatoes as you've done with the fish so they're coated in the sauce. Grind fresh black pepper on top to taste and add just a little salt. Place in the oven.

Cook until the flesh of the fish becomes white and begins to flake, about 15-20 minutes. When the fish is flaking, sprinkle breadcrumbs over the fish and potatoes in the oven. Then, turn on your oven's broiler and let it cook until the breadcrumbs begin to brown, about 5-6 minutes. Serve with lemon or without, and maybe with the obligatory arugula salad on the side.