Dutch Oven Favorites by Mark Hansen

Author:Mark Hansen
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Hobble Creek Press
Published: 2015-12-31T16:00:00+00:00

As I was surfing the ’net one day, looking for cool dutch oven sites, I revisited cooking-outdoors.com and found this great recipe for stuffed artichokes.

Instantly, my thoughts and memories went back to my childhood, when my mother steamed some artichoke heads and served them for dinner. We were used to strange and new things appearing on our plates, and most of it was good, so we tried them. Dad showed us how to pull out the leaves, dip them in the butter sauce, and scrape the tasty, pasty meat off the leaf with our teeth.

I still remember it as one of our many fun dinners. It was so different that it became not only a delicious meal that was good for us, but also an event that the family would remember for many years to come. At least, I would!

As soon as I saw this at www.cooking-outdoors.com, I knew I had to try it. And, of course, I couldn’t just follow the original recipe. I have to try things a little differently! Some of the things I did that day were improvised at the moment. I’ll try to recreate them as a recipe, with more exact measurements, but remember that the amounts are only guesses at best. When you cook them, I encourage you to improvise as well.

Tools

12-inch dutch oven

24+ coals below

8-inch dutch oven

12+ coals below

Ingredients

olive oil

1 medium onion, diced fine

3 celery stalks, diced fine

4–5 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 to 1 lb. mild italian sausage

salt

pepper

liberal shakes of dried parsley

dried oregano

dried basil

1 to 1 1/2 cups fine, dried bread crumbs

about 4 cups water

4 fresh artichoke heads

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup commercially prepared salsa

salt

pepper

paprika

garlic powder

chili powder (add gradually, go light at first)

lemon juice

2 cups chicken broth

1 cup water

2 cups rice

remainder of the stuffing

The first thing I did was to get my 12-inch regular dutch oven heating on a lot of coals, with about a tablespoon or two of olive oil in it. It was a breezy March day, so I knew I was going to go through a lot of coals, and I would have to watch it close and manage the heat carefully.

Once the oil was shimmery, I dropped in the aromatic veggies (the onion, celery, and garlic). They simmered right away, and I cooked them until they started coloring brown a bit. Then I put in the sausage. When browning the sausage, I took great pains to work the meat so that it ended up cooking in very fine, small chunks. Big globs would be difficult to stuff into the artichoke leaves. At this point, I also added in the herbs and seasonings.

It will look like you’re making too much filling to put in the artichokes. That’s okay. Not only do they hold more that you think, but you’ll also use the remainder later.

When the sausage was done, I pulled it out with a big serving spoon, working to get out as much as I could. Then I poured in the water. I refreshed the coals, and put the lid on, setting it to boil while I worked on the artichokes.

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