Your Kick Ass Recipe

[diane o'thirst]

Thanks for all the great ideas everyone. . . Diane, I think I'm going to try your apple/brie/boboli pizza for dinner one night this week!

Sooooo...
Have you done it yet?
How'd it turn out?
Were you able to hold off your dinnermates with the peel?

[Raheer]

this is sheer fantasy - i already have a big camp to worry about so i can't do it - but i wanna see some of you guys go head to head in a BRC Iron Chef competition! someone please build Playa Kitchen Stadium!

Someone (else) please do this.

My friends and I have been searching for a theme camp theme for awhile. This is PERFECT!

I hereby announce: DUSTY IRON CHEF!


This year's ingredent: RICE!!!!

Raheer[/b]

[Raheer]

I know, it's an odd claim coming from a man who just declared himself a foodophile in the previous post, but I have survived every SCA event, sci/fi fantasy con, and other situation in which cooking space was at a premium with my own invention.

The Peanut Butter and Pepperoni Sandwich.

Yes. You read that correctly. They're very good!

Raheer

[Badger]

Wrongness factor: 3.7

In a pinch... 2.1

[Kinetic]

Peanut Butter & Pepperoni sandwiches?

Absolutely no way will that ever find it's way near my face. Not going to happen here, forget about it.

The apple/brie/boboli idea doesn't sound much better as I don't like brie, but it would at least get a sampling. Sorry Raheer, I'll leave all the pepperoni for you.

Bleech!

[Juju]

I made fresh mango salsa to eat with my crabcakes for Thursday nite's dinner party.

1. blow dust off of 3-4 ripe mangoes (which have been sitting in the shade somewhere, not wrapped in plastic), peel, chop roughly
2. chop 1 large red onion, 1 white onion (or whatever you've got)
3. chop 2 cloves garlic
4. chop/seed 2 red and 1 yellow bell peppers
5. squeeze 1 1/4 limes (save the rest for slices to have with your tequila shots
6. wipe your hands free of goop, and coat them with oil, or butter. There should be some *somewhere* in the camp... then proceed to step 7.
Step 6 is important if you wanna work with fresh chiles and not be in pain for the rest of the week
7. seed and chop 1 small jalapeno and 1 small serrano (yellow) chile peppers. WASH HANDS IMMEDIATELY!
If you don't want to bother with fresh chiles, you can add a dash of tabasco (yuk) or tapatio. No self respecting burner goes to the playa without some type of hot sauce... find some to spice up yer salsa if you're too wussy.
8. Taste.
9. Peel, gut and chop 1-2 cucumbers, depending on the heat of the salsa. (Cukes are great for cutting the heat... and add crunch, but the peels make you burp. I hate the seeds, so it's worth the extra effort to gut em too.)
10. Salt to taste
Feed to hungry friends.

This disappeared pretty fast, and was tasty on the crab, grilled chicken, and I'm sure it would've rocked with the salmon we ate the next day, too.

We had a campmate who arrived on Thursday bearing the majority of the mangoes and peppers, but those are hot weather veggies so they keep pretty well. The trick is to make sure that air can circulate and they're not kept in plastic.

[stuart]

I like to make everything beforehand. I find I want to do things other than prep and cook meals on the playa. My staple meel on the playa for the past 2 years has been my jabanero and red wine sauce burrito with beef and saffron rice. Fuck yeah it's good. Salty hearty and easy. I premake a vat of the filling and a heap of the rice. I set out the tortillas and a plate of 3 parts cheddar and 1 part reggiano (for extra saltyness). Each burrito is individually wrapped in foil for ease of prep. 3-4 burritos go into a ziplock bag. Bags go into coolers. Reheat in whatever mannner you can but if you are lucky enough to have access, 3 minutes in the microwave does a lovely job.

Another awesome trick my wife came up with...
On the day you are leaving, order a bunch of fried rice from your favorite chinese delivery place. While you are packing the vehicle, put it in your freezer to cool it down. After it has chilled, throw it into your short term and long term cooler. Don't forget the soy sauce! Mmmmm, yummy pro-style fried rice on the playa just rocks.

[Blenderhead]

I like to make everything beforehand. I find I want to do things other than prep and cook meals on the playa. My staple meel on the playa for the past 2 years has been my jabanero and red wine sauce burrito with beef and saffron rice. Fuck yeah it's good. Salty hearty and easy. I premake a vat of the filling and a heap of the rice. I set out the tortillas and a plate of 3 parts cheddar and 1 part reggiano (for extra saltyness). Each burrito is individually wrapped in foil for ease of prep. 3-4 burritos go into a ziplock bag. Bags go into coolers. Reheat in whatever mannner you can but if you are lucky enough to have access, 3 minutes in the microwave does a lovely job.

Another awesome trick my wife came up with...
On the day you are leaving, order a bunch of fried rice from your favorite chinese delivery place. While you are packing the vehicle, put it in your freezer to cool it down. After it has chilled, throw it into your short term and long term cooler. Don't forget the soy sauce! Mmmmm, yummy pro-style fried rice on the playa just rocks.

Stuart, will you [pretty-pretty] please post the burrito recipe?

[stuart]

well, I am a cook to taste kinda chef but I can lay out the main action for the sauce.

Prep yer beef, be it tips, strips or ground. To make a whole pile use close to 2 pounds
Once beef is browned and drained add...
olive oil, probably around 1 1/2 tablespoons
tomato sauce, about 8oz. Make sure it is unspiced/unsweetened
1 and a half cups of a heavy, not too dry red wine. Shiraz or Zinfandel will do fine
3/4 cups of chopped/minced onions
A Shitload of garlic, mashed. You can buy this in jars (not dried for godsake) if you are lazy like me.
The key ingredient is a good Jabanero pepper sauce. StJohnsspice.com is where I usually source mine. This you will have to play by ear but don't be shy. While these types of suaces are quite hot, they are also incredibly flavorful. It will mellow a bit as the whole brew simmers.
Salt to taste.

you will have to monkey with proportions on the fly. I always do.

Let the thing cook down to so that it is not too watery but not so much that it becomes a paste.

For the rice, I use two packs of mahatma saffron rice. The yellow rice adds a nice richness to the whole affair.

For cheese, a good sharp chedder and as mentioned above, fresh reggiano parmesan for extra saltyness.

Once you have all this going, just add the red goop, some rice and the cheese in a tortilla. Wrap it up and store in foil for later use.

best of luck

I made way too much this year, but some of my neighbors were happy to eat my excess.

[Blenderhead]

Awesome! Many thanks, Stuart! If I can get my house ready in time for the decompressors coming up from LA, I'll try a batch to take to the party Sunday.

I cook the same way you do; pretty much on-the-fly. Only problem is recreating something that came out spectacular the first time (especially if you did it while drinking crazy amounts of alcohol at the time. Ugh).

If Mexican is your thing (or one of them), I'd suggest checking out Rick Bayless' books (I think he has a TV show too, but never seen it); he has some really good basic recipes for salsas, moles and other stuff that you can tweak to suit your own tastes.

[Blenderhead]

This sounds easy enough but I'm looking for a kick ass salsa or pico de gallo recipe. Everything I find is like soup or gruel, I want something chunky and with a little bit of a kick. Does anyone have any recommendations or am I stuck with more On the Border salsa?

Sorry, K, I just now saw your post whilst wandering around eplaya... I just found the website below a couple days ago, but it looks incredible. I recognize some of the recipes from books I have (tomatillo-serrano salsa is an essential part of my chili).

And here is an unsolicited tip on homemade salsa: When using onions, chop them up and rinse them under cold water in a colander for a few minutes before adding them into whatever you're making. This "deflaming" process removes the enzymes (the ones that make you cry) that can interfere with the other flavors in your dish, but you keep the crunchy, natural flavor of the onion.

http://www.pepperfool.com/recipe_home.html

[Blenderhead]

A guest just turned me onto this one during Decom weekend:

When making a big skillet of eggs, add a couple pinches of dried thyme in during cooking. Subtle, but definitely adds a new twist.

Even better if you mix in chicken apple sausage chunks in.

[J]

When using onions, chop them up and rinse them under cold water in a colander for a few minutes before adding them into whatever you're making. This "deflaming" process removes the enzymes (the ones that make you cry)

crying has nothing to with enzymes, onions release a gas (I think sulphur) that reacts with the water on your eyes to make a mild acid on the surface which irritates the eyes and causes crying to wash it away. The only way to truely not cry is to wear goggles.

J

[diane o'thirst]

[quote="JThe only way to truly not cry is to wear goggles.[/quote]

Nope, you can peel 'em immersed in a bowl of water.

Also, another way to remove the smell (of anything — including skunk) from your hands is to rub a little liquid soap on them and wipe off on a towel without rinsing.

[J]

but peeling them underwater doesn't help with crying while cutting or cooking them..

[Blenderhead]

When using onions, chop them up and rinse them under cold water in a colander for a few minutes before adding them into whatever you're making. This "deflaming" process removes the enzymes (the ones that make you cry)

crying has nothing to with enzymes, onions release a gas (I think sulphur) that reacts with the water on your eyes to make a mild acid on the surface which irritates the eyes and causes crying to wash it away. The only way to truely not cry is to wear goggles.

J

J is exactly right; explanation from HowStuffWorks:

When you slice through an onion, you break open a number of onion cells. Some of these cells have enzymes inside of them, and when they are sliced open, the enzymes escape. The enzymes then decompose some of the other substances that have escaped from sliced cells. Some of these substances, amino acid sulfoxides, form sulfenic acids, which then quickly rearrange themselves into a volatile gas.

[J]

J is exactly right;

This goes to show the 6 grand spent on culinary school wasn't a waste of money.

[diane o'thirst]

Got this off the Epicurious site. I'll be doing it for Thanksgiving dinner and I will <b>definitely</b> be bringing a few frozen Ziplocs of the base out to the Playa this year!

Chicken-Corn Chowder

10 bacon slices, chopped
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
3 medium onions, chopped
2 cups chopped red bell peppers (about 2 large)
1/4 cup all purpose flour
9 cups low-salt chicken broth
4 cups 1/2-inch cubes peeled seeded butternut squash (cut from one1 3/4-pound squash)
1 1/2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
2 16-ounce bags frozen corn kernels
1 cup whipping cream
4 cups diced skinned roast chicken
2 cups chopped green onions
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro


Cook bacon in large pot over medium-high heat until crisp.
Using slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towels to
drain.

Pour off all but 1/4 cup drippings from pot. Add butter to
pot; melt over medium-high heat. Add onions and 1 cup bell
peppers. Saute until onions are soft, about 10 minutes. Add
flour; stir 2 minutes. Mix in broth, then squash, potatoes,
and thyme; bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer
uncovered until squash and potatoes are tender, about 12
minutes. Add corn, cream, and 1 cup bell peppers. Simmer
until corn is tender, about 10 minutes. (Can be made 1 day
ahead. Cool. Chill uncovered until cold, then cover and
keep chilled. Bring to simmer before continuing.) Add
chicken, 1 cup green onions, and 1/2 cup cilantro; simmer 5
minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Ladle chowder into bowls; sprinkle with remaining 1 cup
green onions and 2 tablespoons cilantro.

Makes 10 servings.

[Oreally?]

Frozen Tamales and Potstickers.
Food with flavour? Priceless.

Pack all your dry goods in a cooler.

Instant food gets really old, really quick.
No need to refridgerate if you bring unripe: mangos, avocados, cucumbers, carrots, and onions. You will thank me for the cukes when you put them on your eyes or...

You can also "soak" non-instant rice and grains in the daytime sun for early evening preparation. Takes less cooking time.

Smoked meats (including chx breast). Make some quesadillas why don't you?

If you want greens bags of spinach.

Bacon. Did I mention bacon? Sorry tofu heads, no Fakin' at our camp.

[Sobretta Franjipan]

First be on the playa at least 10 days. Have your "morning" coffee, your "morning" weed intake, proceed onto good tequila with your campmates, bad tequila with strangers, mix with cheap vodka, gin, PBR, some random mushrooms, find absinthe if you're really lucky, maybe a mojito if the gods are smiling on you and then run into a bottom who is looking for trouble/pleasure and give him/her a GREAT BIG KICK IN THE ASS.

Serves as many as you can kick.

[Sobretta Franjipan]

and the jars can always be reused as cocktail glasses


Yuummmmm. Nothing like a great scotch out of a jar still smelling of artichoke hearts.

[Sobretta Franjipan]

First remember cilantro is probably THE most easily spoiled thing you can bring to the playa. Bring dried-fuck it.

Second, there exists an Uncle Ben's Instant Brown rice that works very well (fast, nutritious) and with a little diligence can be found in just a (burnable) cardboard box-no individual plastic bags.

Also you don't have to cook rice or grains but can let them soak. They will eventually swell as though they have been cooked. I have no idea how long this would take on the playa. Maybe only a full day in the sun.

Sometimes when you lick your lips while cutting onions this defrays the acid going into your eyes (I've had it work and not work).

Lastly one of the best ways to get any stank off of your hands is with good ol' tea. That's right, tepid tea and a towel. Learned that one in Chinatown after a delicious lobster meal.

Cheers

[Badger]

Slowly......
.....Badger's ....getting...

a...crush.... on...... Ms....

Fran....ji........

...ppan.....

[djaded]

I usually take pride in my foodieness but this is the best and easiest recipie I know for a hungover chef and you only use one skillet. Not to mention it is soooo good. This will feed about 4/5 hungry people in my experience.

What you will need:

1 bloody mary
1 LARGE skillet
4 large potatoes (any kind works)
1 lb ground beef/sausage/chorizo (I always use ground beef)
8 eggs
4 avocados
GOOD salsa (screw that pace crap)
Tons of shredded cheese
tortillas
olive oil
salt & pepper

-Add a little oil to the skillet and slowly fry the cut up potatoes until soft while you drink your bloody mary.
-Add the ground beef and stir until browned, drain fat off of the beef and potatoes.
-Add the eggs and stir untill kinda solid, salt and pepper to taste.
-Cover the contents of the skillet with twice as much cheese as you would usually add.
-Make big fat tacos with the tortillas for your buds.
-Serve with salsa and avocado and your campmates will cry tears of fatty joy.

[djaded]

Posting the recipie made me hungry and i made the tacos with jimmydeans pork sausage and it is so good. So ya, use jimmy deans.

[diane o'thirst]

Hey, everyone —

I'm participating in Peterman's Burning Man 101 event next Sunday in Seattle at the Lower Level on 12th Street near Pine. It's basically a "trade fair"-type gathering, free to the public, to give the 4-1-1 to Burn newbies — an orientation class so to speak.

Specifically I'm heading up the Survival advice team and naturally, my main thrust of attention is on Playa cuisine. I'm putting together a booklet with Kitchen Goddess Kitty and we're including our favourite recipes in it — including a few from here

Thanks for all your knowledge and experience

And if anyone reading this is from Seattle and free that day, you're welcome to join the Survival Table team! E me privately to get in on it.