7.03.2012

Glamping: The Rest of the Story (with recipes for Chocolate-Orange Campfire Cupcakes and Garlic-Scape Pesto)

We teased you with a quick look at our weekend "glamping" (glamour camping) adventure the other day, but today we'll give you the rest of the story, including two recipes. Amy's idea of camping is staying in a 2-star instead of a 3-star hotel. So when good friends T and J came over for a glass or two of wine a few weeks ago, and the subject of camping came up, Amy and J (girly-girls to the end) decided we'd do it as long as it was glamping. Bug-proof tents, blow-up mattresses, hot showers, flush toilets, and most of all, foodie food.

J and T prep our first glamping dinner

We met T years ago when he was working at Williams-Sonoma, so we knew the foodie food was going to happen. He assured us that he had everything we could ever need to create all types of dishes at a campsite. That promise, and Chris's two-burner propane set-up, was hard to resist. Next thing we knew, we found ourselves, with two cars filled to the brim with "gear," at the Barton Cove Recreation and Camping Area in Gill, Massachusetts. Since it was all about the food, we had decided beforehand which couple would take which meals, and now glamping was a go.

Glamping Meal #1 - Iberian Mussels

For our first glamping meal, T and J created an "Iberian Mussels" dish, served over brown rice, spiced with smoked paprika and chorizo sausage. Dessert was "Glamping S'Mores" - a tortilla stuffed with mini-marshmallows and dark chocolate, wrapped in foil and heated in the campfire. How brilliant is that? Let's just say, it was an incredibly tasty start to the weekend.

Leftovers frittata in a makeshift "oven"

In the morning, Chris made a frittata using the leftovers from the night before. When Amy saw T's camping toaster, she had to giggle. This was some serious stuff! After cleaning up the site, we got a call from (Chef) Lise who had plans the night before but was joining us for the rest of the weekend. While she set up, the two couples set off on a two-hour kayaking tour. Amy and J went in a two-person kayak while the boys set off on their own. Turns out Amy and J aren't that good at kayaking, but we had a fabulous time nevertheless.

Charcuterie for snacking

Hungry from all that paddling, we headed back to camp. Lise put out some cucumber, tomato, and onion sandwiches and Amy made a quick charcuterie platter while we prepped for dinner. At home, we had made a garlic scape pesto (recipe below), and the plan was to make a fresh pea risotto topped with the pesto. Lise sauteed some shrimp to go along with. It was a fantastic meal!


Ingredients for the risotto


Chris making the risotto

Lise added some sauteed shrimp


Dinner number two - Pea risotto with garlic scape pesto and sauteed shrimp


For dessert, Amy, having done a little glamping research beforehand, borrowed an idea from the blog Campfire Chic. It was an interactive dessert - everyone grabbed an orange and hollowed it out (saving the juice for Sunday morning mimosas, naturally). In the meantime, Amy made a dark chocolate cake batter and we filled the oranges with it. We wrapped them in foil and baked them in the campfire. If you love those chocolate oranges, or just the taste of chocolate and orange together, you have to try these!

How to make "Chocolate-Orange Campfire Cupcakes"


Step One: Hollow out an orange (keep the top!)

Step Two: Make a batter from store-bought chocolate cake mix


Step Three: Fill the empty orange about 3/4 of the way full

Step Four: Put the top back on the orange

Step Five: Wrap the orange in aluminum foil

Step Six: Place the oranges in the embers of your campfire
and cook for 20 minutes

Step Seven: Carefully remove, let cool, and serve with a spoon!


The next morning, as we wrapped up our glamping adventure, J made an amazing breakfast of scrambled eggs with fried onions, bacon, toast and silver-dollar pancakes. We feasted, broke camp and played a quick game of bocce before heading home. It was a great weekend filled with amazing food and fantastic company. Amy might even consider going glamping again!

Garlic-Scape Pesto

Ingredients:

1 bunch (7-8) garlic scapes
1/4 cup marcona almonds
1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon lemon-infused vinegar
olive oil, enough for desired consistency

In a food processor, chop the garlic scapes finely. Add the marcona almonds and continue to process. Add the parmesan cheese and vinegar and continue to process. Finally, drizzle in the olive oil and puree until you've reached your desired consistency.





4 comments:

carpet cleaning Fargo ND said...

what awesome recipes!

yummychunklet said...

Those mussels look simply spectacular!

Emily @ Life on Food said...

Holy cow these are some good eats...especially considering you were camping. I love the cake in the orange. That is perfect for any BBQ.

chicago foodie girl said...

That all looks really delicious & I love your set-up... however, I am totally on board with Amy's idea of camping. :-)