The Nibble: Gourmet Recipes For Camping (2024)

This award-winning recipe for a grilled onion stuffed with pozole can be cooked in an outdoor campfire, on your backyard grill or in the comfort of your kitchen.

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August 2007

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Award-Winning Recipes For Your Grill Or Campfire

Gourmet Food For The Great Outdoors (Or Indoors)

Next time you go camping, or fire up the Weber grill, stretch your horizons beyond burgers and chicken. These recipes are two of the winners in the 2007 Annual Campfire Classic sponsored Redwood Creek wines. So grab your tent and cast iron pot and become a “campicurean”—a campfire epicure. Eat like a gourmet under the stars with these two gourmet recipes that are sure to become part of your indoor recipe file as well: Pozole-Stuffed Onions and Fiesta Scallops.

The Winning Recipe: Coal-Roasted Chuckbox Pozole-Stuffed Onions

We loved Oklahoman Leah Lyon’s pozole-stuffed onion. Pozole dates back to pre-Columbian times, and is still enjoyed today in Hispanic or Latino cuisine. Served as a soup or stew, it is made from hominy, pork (beef or chicken can be substituted), chile and other seasonings and garnishes. Leah took the concept from the soup bowl and tucked the hominy-meat mixture into large, sweet onions that cook easily on a grill or in a campfire. The slightly spicy pozole pairs wonderfully with the soft, sweet onion. It’s a sure-fire family favorite.

Ingredients

• 4 extra-large sweet onions
• 1 pound thinly-cut pork sirloin, cubed (or substitute other meat)
• 2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt
• Black pepper to taste
• ½ teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 cup boxed cornbread stuffing mix
• 2 tablespoons mild green chile powder
• 3 large poblano chiles, roasted, peeled and seeded
• 1 can (15.5 ounces) of hominy, drained
• ¼ cup sweet red pepper, chopped
• ½ cup aged Cotija cheese*, grated
• Cilantro and avocado for garnish (optional)

*Also called queso añejado (“aged cheese”) and queso seco (“dry cheese”) in Spanish, Cotija is a salty, firm and crumbly cow’s milk cheese that originated in the Mexican town of the same name. It is sometimes referred to as “Mexican Parmesan,” as it is used as a grating cheese. You can substitute Parmesan if you can’t find Cotija. Cotija is saltier than Parmesan, however, and is not used as a table cheese.

Directions

Slice the tops off of the onions ¼ of the way down, and slice the roots from bottom so the onions sit flat without rolling over. Peel the skins from the onions. Cut an ‘X’ into the center and use a spoon, melon baller or small ice cream scoop to remove the center portion, leaving the walls approximately ½-inch thick. Dice ¼ cup of onion from the centers and store the remaining onion for use in another recipe. Mix diced onion with pork, salt and pepper, cumin, stuffing mix, chile powder, poblano chiles, hominy, red pepper and cheese. Fill each onion bowl with mixture. Wrap onions in large squares of heavy duty foil, bringing seams together on top by flattening the foil slightly. Keep wrapped onions upright and nestle each on hot coals. With a small shovel, top each onion with 1 to 2 hot coals.

From the campfire or your kitchen oven, it’s delicious.

• Gear To Take Camping: Ingredients plus can opener, foil, ice cream scoop/melon baller/spoon, large mixing bowl, meat thermometer (optional), sharp knife, small fire shovel
• Estimated Cook Time: 30 minutes
• Wine Pairing: Redwood Creek 2005 Pinot Noir

Fiesta Scallops With Crumbled Bacon, Red Pepper & Corn

This hearty main dish, by Julia DeCastro of Florida, is as flavorful as it is colorful.

Ingredients

1-1/3 pounds fresh sea scallops 2 tablespoons blackening seasoning 5 slices thick cut bacon 3 scallions, chopped 2/3 cup red bell pepper, chopped 3 large garlic cloves, chopped 3 ears of fresh sweet corn, kernels cut from the cob 2 medium ripe tomatoes, chopped ½ cup fresh basil plus extra for garnish, chopped ½ cup Redwood Creek Chardonnay 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice Directions

Shake that skillet over the coals: These scallops are delicious!

1. In a cast-iron skillet over medium coals, cook the bacon until crisp, remove from the skillet and set aside to drain. In same skillet, sear the blackening-seasoned sea scallops approximately 2 minutes per side (they do not need to be cooked through at this time); set aside.
2. Add the scallion, red pepper and corn; sauté for 4 minutes. Add the garlic and stir for an additional minute.
3. Add the Chardonnay to the skillet to deglaze the pan, scraping up any brown bits on the bottom of the pan. Let the wine reduce for approximately 2 minutes.
4. Add the tomato, basil, lime juice, salt and pepper to taste; bring to a simmer for 2 minutes. Add the scallops and simmer until cooked through, approximately 5 minutes. (Editor’s Note: We prefer our scallops rare rather than cooked through, so add the scallops back in only to blend with the other ingredients prior to serving. Cook them to your own taste.)
5. Serve in shallow bowls and top with crumbled bacon and additional fresh basil.

• Gear To Take Camping: Ingredients plus cast-iron skillet, spatula and serving bowls
• Estimated Cook Time: 15 minutes
• Wine Pairing: Redwood Creek 2005 Chardonnay
  

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