Camping, Princess Style

[Smithy]

I love oysters.  I love the briny sweetness of a good, fresh, chilled oyster on the half shell, or the richness of Oysters Rockefeller. I have made a few oyster dishes that were a hit with my darling as well, but he is more in the "oysters can be okay" camp than the "oh, boy! oysters!" camp.  I keep trying to persuade him. One year, my best attempt, I scavenged the beach for good oyster shells that had washed up but not eroded too badly yet, cleaned them thoroughly, then used those as dishes for previously-shucked oysters.  I don't remember exactly what I did, but it went along the lines of loading each shell with a small dab of sauce, an oyster or two, a sprinkling of parmesan cheese (and bread crumbs?), and just enough heat to get a cheesy crust.  Cleanup was dead easy: throw the shells back out onto the beach.  This time, the oyster shells were looking too worn but I collected a lot of large clam shells with the same intent.

 

 

For size reference, that's the toe of my tennis shoe.  I do not have small feet.

In the end, I decided against the shells and opted for a recipe from The Commander's Palace New Orleans Cookbook.  

 

Has anyone cooked from it?  I picked it up for a song this summer at our Friends of the Library Book Sale.  It seems appropriate for Gulf Coast cookery. The recipe I chose was Oysters à la Marinière.  It looks easy. There isn't much to go into it: oysters, shallots, wine, butter, flour and seasonings.

 

 

The oyster liquor is supposed to be cooked down slightly and seasoned, then thickened with a buerre manié: butter mashed with flour to make a paste.  One confusing thing about the recipe is that it says, on the one hand, to cook the oysters no more than 30 seconds, and on the other hand appears to have them cooking at least a minute while all the other sauce-thickening is going on.  I should have checked similar recipes elsewhere, but didn't.  I opted to keep the oysters out until everything else was seasoned and thickened. The oysters were warmed, but not cooked through.

 

 

Whether it was my reading of the recipe or the recipe itself I can't say, but the result was a gloppy, floury disappointment that did nothing to convince anyone that oysters can be good. If someone reading this can explain how it should be done (is the flour supposed to be cooked longer to lose that raw taste?) I'd love to hear it.  

 

 

To add insult to injury, my go-to brussels sprouts treatment was entirely too sweet with the Gravenstein apple-infused balsamic vinegar I'd picked up in Florida.  I'll enjoy using that vinegar, but not in the purpose for which I bought it.

 

At least the bread was good.

 

The next morning, my darling allowed as to how he'd had enough seafood adventure for a while, and that night we had comfort food: Polish sausage, potatoes and sauerkraut from home. 

 

[Anna N]

The Polish sausage and sauerkraut I would happily have shared with you. The oysters not so much. I love mussels but could never cotton to oysters or clams although a bowl of clam chowder can sometimes hit the spot hit. The clam chowder recipe from Looney Spoons is one of my favourite soups. It could be because it uses canned clams!

[Smithy]

Gracious, it's been wet.  We left the Bolivar Peninsula ahead of a Texas Norther and let the wind blow us southward, along the coast, and through Galveston.  The Port Bolivar-Galveston Ferry is a lovely 20-minute trip across open water, accompanied by dolphins and seabirds. "Please feed the gulls from the BACK of the ferry!" they specify.

 

 

The seawall road on Galveston Island is heavily developed and trafficky, not conducive to stopping with a large rig.  Someday I may just pay to stay in a hotel along the beach front for a week.  Judging by the restaurants (upscale and down) I think I could eat myself silly for at least that long without duplicating dishes or restaurants.

 

South of the city proper, but still on the island, we stopped at Allex's Seafood Market West.  Their staff is friendly and their small shop is always clean, with a good selection of fresh fish and shellfish.  It isn't all local, but it all seems to be in good condition and we've never left disappointed. As a rule, if I walk into a seafood market and it smells sour, or of strong fishy smells, I walk right back out.  We've never had that problem at Allex's. We stocked up on shrimp (I restrained myself and did not buy more oysters, nor even crab meat) and continued southward.

 

 

Galveston Island and the Bolivar Peninsula, where we had camped for a few days before the bugs drove us away, were nearly devastated by Hurricane Ike in 2008.  It's been interesting to watch the rebuilding over the years: houses repaired, or replaced, or brand-new houses going up.

 

 

We ate a fair amount of shrimp at our next stop: tempura fried shrimp, squash and onion rings one night - it looked remarkably like the tempura shrimp of a few posts ago - and shrimp and asparagus on rice.  Much of it has already been shown here. There was my own invention, Shrimp Bolivar, although we'd left its namesake behind.

 

 

Finally, I took a cue from kayb and mixed up some curried mayonnaise in which to dip shrimp that I'd stir-fried in the shell, along with asparagus, and allowed to cool before peeling.  It was a finger-food lunch: dip a bit of shrimp into the mayonnaise, and bite.  Dip some asparagus into the mayonnaise, and bite.  I might prefer that treatment to the fried shrimp, though others in this mobile household would disagree. 

 

Somewhere along the way we also had a squash gratin, about which I posted in the eG Cookoff #71: Winter Squash topic.

 

Edited December 3, 2015 by Smithy
Removed redundant photo (log)

[rotuts]

""  if I walk into a seafood market and it smells sour, or of strong fishy smells ""

 

interesting point and a good one.   Im the same

 

ive never been by a supermarket 'fish' section that didn't reek of ammonia   some have lots of fish

 

they must keep the left over they don't sell that day  there for days.

[Smithy]

We left the Gulf Coast and moved inland for Thanksgiving, in pursuit of drier air.  We were not wholly successful, but we had some days when it was merely overcast instead of raining or foggy. 

 

 

We had splurged on a Prime Grade Prime Rib - the smallest we could find, but still plenty dear.  Look at that marbling!

 

 

I was determined to give it the best treatment and accompaniment that I could. I tend to use every speck of counter space when cooking an elaborate (for me) meal, and this year's sink disaster added to the challenge. Our sink repairs haven't made it as solid as it originally was. I'm leery of using the built-in covers  - which sit directly atop the sink and are made of the same dense material as the counter - to increase counter space; one cover makes the sink sag so the counter isn't flush anyway. (We're hoping for a proper fix later this winter.) I plopped a large cutting board over one sink and we kept hitting the corners every time we got too close. 

 

I wanted a rosemary sourdough bread, and by late morning had the loaves rising. I also set up doughs for marbled rolls, with an experimental mix of whole wheat (and white) flour, mesquite flour and a touch of rye flour in half of the loaves. The doughs did their final rises atop the dinette table.  That wasn't all bad; without a table, it was easier to keep our promises to eat only lightly before the main meal.

 

 

We had time for a walk before the oven went on.

 

 

Look: flowers, in late November!

 

 

Counter space wasn't the only thing in short supply; this oven only has 1 rack. I cooked the sourdough loaves before time to cook the roast, but the roast, rolls and smashed potatoes all had to share oven space.  I put the baking stone on the bottom of the oven chamber and used that for the rolls.  Note to self: baking stones do not like that treatment.  Midway through the afternoon there was a CRACK! as the stone broke in two.  Some of the rolls, parked atop the gap, scorched on the bottoms but I rescued most of them.

 

 

I was terrified of overcooking the roast, and pulled it when the internal temperature was 110F.  It was a good move. The ends were done beautifully, the middlemost part of the interior was still a bit too rare even for our rare-meat tastes, but that made it well-suited to reheating for later meals.

 

 

The sides: 

 

smashed potatoes drizzled with meat juice,

 

and green beans with bacon and sundried tomatoes, on the stove top.  No dedicated photo for them, but you can see them on our plates.

 

We feasted, and were thankful for our lives, friends and family (although they were absent) and our good health.

 

 

The next day, we packed up and moved on, fortified by sandwiches.  That prime rib makes pretty good sandwiches.

[Porthos]

I wish the weather were a bit more cooperative for you and your DH. But methinks that prime rib helped balance the scales. I showed great restraint in not trying to lick my screen.

 

Is the west coast part of your plan for this year's journey?

[Smithy]

I wish the weather were a bit more cooperative for you and your DH. But methinks that prime rib helped balance the scales. I showed great restraint in not trying to lick my screen.

Is the west coast part of your plan for this year's journey?

Thanks for the compliment, Porthos!

Yes, we're headed west. I still have family and friends in California, so we plan to be there soon. Where exactly and how long depends on the weather, but the general plan is to be with family for Christmas.

[Thanks for the Crepes]

Smithy,

 

Sorry about your pizza stone. May it rest in peace.

 

That prime prime rib is a thing of beauty that I am guilty of coveting. I think you did it justice with your sides. That is the kind of meal where one is in jeopardy of hurting oneself from the deliciousness.   "...Pretty good sandwiches..."? I would give a lot to have one on your homemade bread right now!

 

Do you happen to know what those birds in your amazing stop-action photo are?

 

Thanks for sharing your adventures with us, and I hope you are having a great time in spite of sometimes uncooperative weather.

[IowaDee]

I'm going to go take a stab at that and say the birds are black vultures.  Looks like the dog disturbed them at the dinner table.

Pretty sure I see some leftover road kill in the shot

[Smithy]

IowaDee nailed it.

This isn't the first pizza stone I've broken, and I fear it won't be the last, but I think I set a record for short life for one; I bought this late in October.

Here's a teaser from our next stop:

Any guesses about it?

[rotuts]

nectarine torte ?

[Shelby]

Seems we were both feasting on prime rib around the same time 

 

I've broken a pizza stone or two, also.  Didn't want you to feel alone lol.

 

Now you've inspired me to get off my butt and make some bread.  Plain white.  Not as beautiful as yours, but at least it's bread.

 

It probably is a nectarine but my first thought is that it looked like apple slices......

[blue_dolphin]

Puff pastry apple rosette?

[Wayne]

.

This isn't the first pizza stone I've broken, and I fear it won't be the last, but I think I set a record for short life for one; I bought this late in October.

I gave up on pizza stones after going through 3 cracking (once explosively). I picked up a box of 9 5.5 in. x 3.5 in. x 1.5 in. fire bricks (the ones used for lining the firebox of a woodstove) for appr. $25 Cdn. and use them in the gas BBQ and in the conventional oven. 3 years and counting and not a mishap.

 

Edited to give the proper dimensions: 9 in. x4.5 in. x 1.25 in.

http://www.homehardware.ca/en/rec/index.htm/Building-Supplies/Building-Materials/Masonry-Products/Fireplaces-Chimneys/Fireplace-Bricks/9-x-4-1-2-x-1-1-4-Full-Fire-Brick/_/N-nthvr/R-I2728603

Edited December 4, 2015 by Wayne (log)

[FauxPas]

Rose-shaped eggplant parmigiana? 

 

Edited to add this link to images:

 

https://www.google.com/search?q=rose+shaped+eggplant+recipes&espv=2&biw=1403&bih=896&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiB_72xq8PJAhUS1GMKHSQKDJUQsAQIJQ&dpr=1

Edited December 4, 2015 by FauxPas (log)

[ElsieD]

.

This isn't the first pizza stone I've broken, and I fear it won't be the last, but I think I set a record for short life for one; I bought this late in October.

I gave up on pizza stones after going through 3 cracking (once explosively). I picked up a box of 9 5.5 in. x 3.5 in. x 1.5 in. fire bricks (the ones used for lining the firebox of a woodstove) for appr. $25 Cdn. and use them in the gas BBQ and in the conventional oven. 3 years and counting and not a mishap.

 

Edited to give the proper dimensions: 9 in. x4.5 in. x 1.25 in.

http://www.homehardware.ca/en/rec/index.htm/Building-Supplies/Building-Materials/Masonry-Products/Fireplaces-Chimneys/Fireplace-Bricks/9-x-4-1-2-x-1-1-4-Full-Fire-Brick/_/N-nthvr/R-I2728603

Pardon the probably stupid question but where do you buy them?

[Smithy]

 

.

This isn't the first pizza stone I've broken, and I fear it won't be the last, but I think I set a record for short life for one; I bought this late in October.

I gave up on pizza stones after going through 3 cracking (once explosively). I picked up a box of 9 5.5 in. x 3.5 in. x 1.5 in. fire bricks (the ones used for lining the firebox of a woodstove) for appr. $25 Cdn. and use them in the gas BBQ and in the conventional oven. 3 years and counting and not a mishap.

 

Edited to give the proper dimensions: 9 in. x4.5 in. x 1.25 in.

http://www.homehardware.ca/en/rec/index.htm/Building-Supplies/Building-Materials/Masonry-Products/Fireplaces-Chimneys/Fireplace-Bricks/9-x-4-1-2-x-1-1-4-Full-Fire-Brick/_/N-nthvr/R-I2728603

 

 

Thanks for the suggestion, Wayne.  I'll keep that in mind. Firebrick *has* to be sturdier than a pizza stone.  :-)

 

... where do you buy them?

 

ElsieD, I've seen them in hardware stores, although I've never thought of using them in my oven before now.  Wayne's link (to what looks like the Canadian equivalent of our Home Depot) may be a help.

[Smithy]

There were some great guesses for the dessert I showed earlier!  I never would have thought of eggplant parmigiana rosettes, but now I think that would be an elegant party food: well worth trying. I'll tell you about the rosettes at the end of this post.

 

We arrived at Davis Mountains State Park, near Fort Davis, Texas, the day after Thanksgiving.  One good thing about the rain and cold is that a lot of people left early or cancelled their park reservations, and that made room for us to visit.

 

We drove through rain (what else?) but were delighted to see actual trees with fall color.

 

 

That night we probably had leftover prime rib, but maybe we chose a more sensible set of leftovers for dinner.  Whatever it was didn't seem photo-worthy.  I'm not the one doing all the driving, but all the riding in the rain wipes me out anyway.  The next morning we awoke to a winter fairyland:  

 

 

This is the sort of thing I miss when we leave for the winter and that he leaves in the winter to miss.

 

 

This is also, incidentally, the reason we wanted to move to somewhere with electricity.

 

It was a good day to mess around in the kitchen, and I chose to work on spaghetti squash.  I cooked a huge squash, split it into two batches, and served the first batch with a tomato/vodka sauce from Stonewall Kitchens for dinner that night.

 

 

The details, aside from the burnt toast, are in the eG Cook-Off #71:Winter Squash topic.

 

The next day brought more rain, but not of the freezing variety; instead, we awoke to water in the nearby creek.  We've never seen water there before.

 

 

We have noticed that the streams in the Davis Mountains have flood gauges sticking well above the normal bank level.  When we arrived we'd asked about flash flooding and been assured that it wasn't predicted during this storm although it can happen; last fall a small trailer was moved a couple of campsites' worth.  We weren't worried, but we enjoyed the spectacle. We forded the stream ...

 

 

...and went to breakfast at the Indian Lodge, up at the high end of the park.

 

 

I wrote about this place earlier this year.  It's been rebuilt in its original style, true to its 1930's Civilian Conservation Corp depression-era roots.  The interior is lovely rustic wood, with a mural depicting the history of the area. Our favorite waitress has retired, but the food is still good.  If one can call it a rut with annual or semi-annual visits, I'd say we're in a rut: once again I had their massive breakfast burrito,

 

 

and he had their very-generous plate of sausage, eggs and potatoes.

 

 

Later in the day it cleared enough that the local wildlife came out from wherever they shelter.

 

The park javelinas are entirely too bold, and make it mandatory that campers be careful with their food.  Most other parks have signs warning that there's no such thing as a raccoon-proof cooler. This park's notice boards have photos of a full-grown javelina prying its way into an ice chest while the ice chest is on a picnic table.  One would not say "Awww!" in that situation.  

 

 

Nonetheless, when I saw these babies (the rangers said probably a couple of weeks old) I said, "Awww!" And kept my distance.  And kept my food safe.

 

Remember the rosette I showed you? Or had you forgotten?

 

 

When we checked out, the Ranger on duty had evidently been doing a lot of holiday baking.  I ogled a tray of beautiful hand-sized rosettes.  "Did you make those?" I asked.  "I did!" she beamed.  "There's coffee cake and coffee over on the table, too!" They do know how to make you welcome in Texas.  "Are those apples?" I asked.  "Yes," she said, and she looked a little sheepish.  "They're supposed to look like little roses, but I didn't do them very well."  I assured her that she'd done very well indeed, and took one for us to share. She said she'd found the recipe on YouTube.  Based on her description, I think it was this one (caution, there's an advert first):

 

Rose Shaped Apple Baked Dessert, by Cooking with Manuela

 

I shared, but only with difficulty.

[blue_dolphin]

Wow, like the weather is scary and beautiful, those javelinas are scary and cute at the same time.  Until a couple of years ago, I actually thought they were some sort of mythical beast!

A friend served us those same apple rosettes at a dinner party a couple of weeks ago.  She mentioned the same YouTube video that you linked.  They looked pretty and warm from the oven, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, they were quite tasty!  

I like the idea of the eggplant parm rosettes, too.  Or I could try a version with squash and maybe some Boursin cheese instead of the apricot jam in the puff pastry......

[Wayne]

Pardon the probably stupid question but where do you buy them?

The link I provided is for Home Hardware. My local store had to order them in which took 2 days. My local Home Depot could not.

Wood stove and fireplace retailers can also procure them however their quoted price was 50% higher.

When using them in a conventional over I arrange them on a 3/4 sheet pan and place on a lower middle rack. The nice thing is

they can withstand misting (which is how I cracked 2 of my pizza stones).

[Shelby]

Isn't the ice pretty?  Sure is a pain in the ass, though.  Glad it wasn't too thick for you guys.  I imagine getting the camper door open was a challenge?

 

Beautiful apple creation.  There is no way I would have the patience to do that.  I admire those that do.

 

Awwwwww, those little javelinas are SO cute.  Maybe you should sneak one into the camper.     Name it Shelby.

 

Ohhh and that breakfast.  I immediately remembered the place from your last stop when I saw the picture of it.  I could inhale that guacamole right now.

[Smithy]

Shelby, the ice wasn't bad enough to freeze the door shut.  The problem came with stepping out onto the icy metal steps. We managed, carefully: I went gingerly down, and he gave me helpful advice about what I needed to do outside.  

 

Fort Davis, TX is a town of slightly more than 1000 souls.  It is also the county seat, and despite its diminutive size it seems to have a vitality that many similarly-sized towns have lost in this country.  In a very small area one can find a decent supermarket, a number of hotels and RV parks (at which we've never stayed), a couple of very good hardware stores, and several historical sites.  One also can find the Stone Village Market. 

 

 

Even given the disproportionate vitality of the town, this place seems unlikely to succeed.  Yet it has succeeded, as far as we can tell, for at least 6 years.  Maybe it's their quirky nature.

 

 

Maybe it's their offering of organic foods and whole grains,

 

 

or their deli case with cheeses and meats not to be found anywhere else within 100 miles,

 

 

or their extensive selection of coffees from the Big Bend Coffee Roasters:

 

 

I think it's a bit of all those, but I also think it's their deli menu and staff.

 

 

We were stopped in town for tire repairs, and I had time to stroll through town, visit, shop and order sandwiches. The gentlemen working the place were delighted to chat, answer questions and have photos taken. Over the years I've seen shopkeeper attitudes range from 'no photos - can't control what you post' to the Hollywood attitude that 'there is no such thing as bad publicity'.  These gents were in the latter camp, and I'm grateful to them.

 

 

 

The breads could be selected from half a dozen different loaves of commercially-packaged sliced bread, or from housemade bread rolls.  I selected a 7-grain roll and a sourdough roll, and let fly with a combination of chicken, pastrami, roast beef and salami - I forget in what order - along with cheese, lettuce, tomato, condiments and (on one) green olives.  While the sandwiches were being made, I perused the rest of the store and selected packages of coffee.  If I had needed any grains or flour I could have bought them here, but I'm still backlogged.

 

Our sandwiches were works of art.

 

The checkout clerk and I chatted about the town while he was ringing up my purchases and I was finding other things to buy. (Chatting is a good way to keep the customer shopping, isn't it?)  We talked about what a nice town Fort Davis seems to be.  "It is," he said.  "I moved here from Dallas and suddenly found myself part of a community instead of a bunch of strangers living together."  I paid for my purchases. He walked to a magazine rack, came back and slipped a small magazine into my shopping bag.  "Here's how it starts," he said. "Find yourself a little piece of land that you like, put some money down, and come stay a while.  That's how I found myself here."  I enjoyed looking through the Real Estate ads during our next drive.

 

[Smithy]

I returned to the service station and wandered into the office.  On the counter were large, heavy (my scale says almost 4 pounds) plastic bags full of local pecans in the shell.  They looked beautiful: well-cleaned, no dust, good size.  The price: $10.  What a deal!  When the shop owner came in from working on our tire, I asked to buy a bag.  "Cool!" he said, "this is *my* money" (instead of the shop's).  These pecans came from my tree!  I almost bought 2 bags, just for that smile. 

 

 

Now, what shall I do with all these pecans, once I shell them? I have some favorite uses, but I'll bet I can get new ideas here.

 

 

[Smithy]

We finally found weather nice enough to make cooking outside pleasant, and set up the camp stove for the event.  Way back in Alabama, an excellent grocery store meat clerk convinced us that - despite our small shopping list and still-full refrigerator - we needed to check out some of the local products.  We had come away with 2 types of sausage, both made within 50 miles of our location, and a bottle of "Southern Seasoning" that she assured us carried the flavor of true Alabama-style barbecue.  

 

 

I can't say we've been excited about the seasoning blend, but the sausage has been good.  The DeRamus sausage is long gone.  Now we opened the Conecuh to make hash out on the camp stove. There isn't anything elegant about this meal, but it's good camping comfort food.

 

 

 

By the light of the lantern we sipped our beer, enjoyed the clear skies, and gave the pan contents an occasional turn:

 

 

Those of you who followed along last year may remember that DH never thought the potatoes crisp enough; the eGullet consensus here seemed to be that the pan was too crowded to get proper crisping.  We've had a running disagreement since then about how many potatoes and onions to cook for two people: he wants the pan filled to capacity, to maximize leftovers; I want enough space to be able to spread and turn the contents.  I won this time.

 

 

He complained that there wasn't enough, but the texture was just right.

 

 

[Smithy]

We found a new market in Tucson! We spotted this place on E. Fort Lowell Road:

 

 

Hmm, we should investigate.  We walked around to the front:

 

 

and wandered in.  The interior is neat, clean and nicely stocked with basic groceries and Mexican specialties.  

 

 

Mariachi music was playing on the radio - loud enough to be heard, not loud enough to be intrusive.  It drives me crazy to go into a market where you have to talk loudly to be heard over the music, and major grocery stores are frequent offenders.

 

We wandered over to the meat counter.

 

 

 

"May I help you?" asked the young man.  Well no, we weren't really looking to buy anything, but he was happy to answer questions about what he had.  "Have you ever had chicharrón?" he asked.  "Would you like to try some?"

 

 

Oh, my.  These trimmings from their meat cuttings are nicely spiced, cooked, salty-but-not-too-salty, with a pleasant blend of fat, crunch and meat.  I swooned but forgot to ask how much it costs.  We bought flap meat and a ribeye steak instead.

 

 

As I paid for our purchase, I asked the young woman at the counter about the market, and the meat-counter man came to help with the conversation.  The market has been open for 9 months now.  I think this is their first commercial venture as a couple, and I hope they make a success of it.

 

We walked out with our meat, then I walked back inside and told them about eGullet and this series of posts.  "May I take photos and post about your place on the web?"  They were happy to let me do so - right until I pointed the phone at them.  "Oh, no!" they laughed, and turned camera-shy.  Photos of the interior were fine, but not of them.  

 

This purchase of a rib-eye steak and the flap meat cost us all of $12.

 

 

Later that day the flap meat became part of our dinner burritos.  I didn't bother with photos.