Gourmet camping dinner

I know it’s winter but I really enjoy this dish and I’m sure you will to if you like seafood. Now if you read my previous post on Grandma’s Meatball Pasta Sauce you know that I love to cook, and exploring new ideas is the best way to become a better cook. If I remember correctly I got this idea from a show on the Food Network.

Tools needed:

- Newspaper (you’ll find out in a second)
- Meat string (this is a special type of twine that Boucher’s use. It’s very strong and
able to withstand high temperatures without breaking)
- Open fire, or campfire
- Water
- Knife

Ingredients needed:

- Fresh piece of salmon (Atlantic or not) cut into to halves
- 3-4 lemons
- Salt
- Pepper
- Fresh herbs (you may choose the ones you like I find the best three that I’ve used are: Cilantro, curled parsley, and dill. Your going to need at least one bundle of each herb so don’t be stingy)

Lets create a scenario; your camping with friends your deep in the boonies of Algonquin Park and the only means of cooking is the fire (most of your friends are occasional campers they don’t own the Coleman gear). It’s about 5 o’clock and your getting hungry; you go to your cooler and pull out your fresh piece of salmon that is almost completely defrosted (you froze your fish before you left because your a pro camper). Your buddy has stared a fire and it’s about medium strength, your friends start to gather round the fire to cook up their hot dogs on sticks (mmmm that sounds sooo good eh pusssth yeah right). You set up shop on top of your cooler and begin to prepare your gourmet camping meal.

Step one: Preparation

- Wet (very important that you wet the paper) and layout 3-4 layers of newspaper. Any old new paper will do, and lay it across your cooler. This will act as your cutting board and prep table.
- Slice up the 3-4 lemons ½” thick
- Rip up the three bundles of herbs that you brought placing them to the side
- Cut the salmon into to equal halves

You notice your friends start to gather round you wondering what the hell you are doing. They see the fish and the newspaper and can’t quite make out how exactly you are going to cook that glorious piece of fish, considering the fact you don’t have a grill. You smile and reply with “I’m going to smoke it” this will bewilder your friends even more.

Step two: Layering

Now you are ready to prepare the flavor infusion device. Remember the newspaper that you laid out prior to preparing everything; this will now be the outside of your infusion device.

Place one large pile of herbs in the middle of the WET (very important again that it is wet) newspaper. Now place enough lemon slices on top of the herbs to cover the bottom of the salmon. Place one-half salmon, skin side down on top of the lemons. Hit it up with salt and pepper, more lemon slices and another handful of herbs. On top of the herbs place more lemon (you need several slices of lemon). Salt and pepper the other half of salmon and place it on top of the other half like an herb and lemon sandwich. Now place more herbs on top of the sandwich (make sure the salmon herb sandwich is totally covered in herbs).

Your friends are becoming even more bewildered but at the same time even more interested in this strange meal. Preparing this meal if half the fun.

Step three: The wrapping

Now that you have your herb, lemon and salmon sandwich cover it and wrap the entire sandwich with wet newspaper (I would recommend 3-4 layers of paper although gage it on how much salmon you have. Of course the more salmon the more paper right). Now remember that Boucher’s twine take that and tie the bundle together several times making it a tight sealed package.

Before the final step I will explain how this little meal will work. The newspaper around the salmon acts as a smoking device. If you have ever burned wet newspaper you will find that it creates a lot of smoke. This is why you must use wet paper. The herbs and all the other goodies inside the package will infuse together creating a one of a kind taste (trust me). Ah, yes the ink in the paper, don’t worry about that, that’s why you have herbs covering the salmon. I would recommend a low fire with mostly ambers you don’t need a flaming salmon sandwich.

Final step: Cooking

Place the package right in the smoldering fire. It most likely will not erupt into flames because you wet it. The time it takes to cook is a tough call. I do know it takes about 3-4 times longer then conventional methods of cooking fish. It depends on how large the fish is, and how hot the fire is. If your unsure open a little hole and check, if it’s not ready chuck it back on.

After it’s complete, rip open the paper and uncover you home made smoked salmon. You and your friends will have a great meal in the middle of nowhere and the smell will make your mouth water. Best severed with many funnels…common people were camping here right!

-Chef Josip

Grandma's Meatball Pasta Sauce

This is for all you people who like to cook. This is a how to make your own pasta sauce from scratch. It's a fairly simple recipe that I have eaten for my entire life. It was shown to me by my parents who learned from their parents.

Step 1
It begins with diced garlic. If you've ever seen "Good Fellas" there is a scene where they are making dinner in the "hide house". You see them cutting the garlic as fine as possible. This is what you want. So that it will slightly melt when you put it in the heated oil.

Step 2
Turn on you oven and in a large pot start heating some oil (mid to high or 6-7 on the knob). Back to the copping board and dice up some onions. Again the finer the better. Also chop up 2-4 stalks of celery (approx. 3/4" thickness)

Step 3
Garlic in first for about 1-2 min. This is to let it soften up. Toss in the onions and celery and stir up.

Step 4
Let this simmer for about 4-6 mins. Then add 1-2 cans of tomato paste (I use two cause I usually make a shit load of sauce). You want this to cook too for about 2-3 mins while constantly stirring.

Step5
Now dump in your tomato juice. Homemade is the best but the can stuff works as well. Once you've dumped in about 2 liters (serious amount of sauce here) I also like to add a can or two of diced tomatoes (whole too if you like) and stir it up until evenly mixed throughout.

Step6
Let simmer for 1-3 hours depending on how hunger you are. Now that the sauce is simmering you have some time. During this time I like to make the meatballs. Meatballs are easy and make the sauce have a unique and robust flavor. Things that I usually always put in my sauce:

• Meatball combination of pork, veal, and ground beef (your choice here how much you want of each)
• Neck bones - I don't really use these for the meat but more for the flavor of the bone.
• Sausage - any type here is good (I would advise against honey garlic though it gives the sauce to much sweetness)
  

Meatball Recipe:

Step7
Purchase some meat. I like equal parts of pork, veal, and ground beef. If one is not available improvise. That's what cooking is all about. Make due with what you have. If they have to be all beef then so be it.

Step8
Put all the meat into a fairly large bowl. This bowl is where you will be mixing it all together in so consider this when deciding the size of the bowl.

Ingredients:

• 1 egg
• Fresh chopped parsley (dried is fine as well)
• Diced garlic (about 2-4 cloves for 1 pound of meat)
• 2-3 ounces of milk or cream
• 1 1/2 teaspoon of salt and pepper
• Equal amount by volume of break crumbs (you want unseasoned here since you are seasoning the meatballs yourself)
• Parmesan cheese (about 5-8 tablespoons play with this amount here)

Step9
Now with your bare hands (make sure their clean) mix the ingredients together thoroughly. You want to soften up the meat as you mix it. Squish between you hands in an aggressive manner. You'll know you have enough seasoning when you grab a piece of meat and can see black pepper, green parsley and white garlic.

Step10
Let the meatballs sit out of the fridge but cover with plastic wrap. Bring them to room temperature before you place then in the sauce. Why? You ask, not to sure but I apply the same reasoning to how you let your steak get to room temperature before you cook it. I think when you throw the cold meat into boiling sauce it shocks the meat or something and it doesn't taste the same. Try and let me know what you think.

Step11

Your sauce has been cooking now for some time. You have been stirring it throughout this time as well to agitate it (IMPORTANT don't forget to do this). It’s time to make the meatballs and toss them into you simmering sauce (as well as any other meat you'd like). You can make them any size you like. I prefer about half the size of a golf ball. That way they are bite size and they can still be cut for meatball sandwiches. Mmmmmmm good!

Step12
Ok, you’re almost done here. Final step is to add the herbs to flavor you sauce. These spices are great for pasta sauce and have never failed me. Although I never actually measure the amount it always seems to work well.

Herbs:

• Sweet basil
• Salt
• Pepper
• Oregano
• Bay leaf (1-3 full leaves break them up if you like as well)
• Fresh parsley

After that the meatballs should take about 20 mins to cook. If you're not sure there done yet take a sample. Cut it in half and try it.

One last thing pasta sauce tastes most wonderful the following day so never throw it away!

Ciao

-Chef