Presidential DOG

I am grateful to Stew for sending his comments about the DOG.    Thanks also to Larry for several attempts at providing photographs; it was one of those times when the technology failed to perform as we expected and the photos are somewhere in the ethernet.  We were unable to attend due to a conflict, but hope to see you all March 24th at the Spring DOG at Walk-in-Water Preserve in Frostproof, Florida.

Here are Stew's comments:

The DOG

We had a nice sized group at Payne’s Creek Park and were in a nice pavilion.  It was a sunny, hot day (in the mid to high 80’s), so being in the shade was wonderful.

Besides myself, we had Dave and Vick, Debbie Barber (in a wheelchair, so I wasn’t the only one running down people), Norm and Sandy, Larry and Sally, David and Dale, plus our new members, Matt and Anna Dunbar with their Cub Scout son (their daughter was off with her girlfriend, this time).  We also had 4 or 5 guests join us.

We had a dazzling array of foods prepared – I hope I remember them all.  Stew (me) made a German Chicken with chicken, onion wedges, sauerkraut and corn, topped with a dressing.  Dave baked some fresh French bread and also a beer bread, while Vicki prepared an Italian-style shrimp dish.  Norm and Sandy made an outstanding Shepard’s Pie, using sirloin cut into chunks and a super rich gravy.  Sandy also baked a cherry pie with a gorgeous lattice crust.  David and Dale made a “Cheesy” Chicken Pot Pie that had a crescent crust and was delectable, plus what I believe he called Baked Rolled Sweet Potatoes---which not only presented well, but tasted terrific! Larry and Sally made a Pork and Vegetable stew with huge pieces of lean pork loin -  wonderful!  Matt and Anna made a beautiful and luscious Poppyseed Layer Cake with blueberry-cream cheese layered topping and fresh blueberries sprinkled on top and mixed through it!!

Also, one of the guests brought a delightful cake to share.

As usual, a good time was had by all!

Recipes follow:

Stew’s Dutch Oven German Chicken 

Chicken breasts,  normally 1 per person
1 large onion, cut into thin wedges
1 or 2 cans sauerkraut  - (1-3 breasts – 1 can,  4-6 breasts - 2 cans)
Ranch dressing, 8-10 oz. per can of sauerkraut) 

If fixing whole or halved chicken breasts - 1-3 breasts you can use a #10 Dutch oven (though you can fix it in a #12 too), for 4-6 breasts you will need a #12 Dutch oven.  Spray or coat with oil, pre-heat to about 350ºF.

I usually cut the chicken up into big chunks, then mix the onion pieces and most of the sour kraut.  Then I put about 1/3 of the can (1/2+ if making a double recipe) of the remaining sauerkraut on the greased Dutch oven bottom,  I layer the mixture of chicken, sauerkraut and onion on top of the sauerkraut base and pour ranch dressing evenly over the top.

Place the lid and fresh coals to get 350° and cook for 45 minutes or until the chicken is done. 

Larry’s Pork Roast & Vegetables

Use a 12" Dutch oven with 15 coals on top, and 10 coals on the bottom. You will have to add more coals after about 1 hour because of the long cooking time

4 pounds pork roast
6 potatoes
1 package frozen vegetables, (carrots, squash, celery
1 package onion soup mix
2 cups water

Place roast in oven, add 2 cups of water. Sprinkle onion soup mix over roast. Cook 1 1/2 hours. Turn oven and lid after 45 minutes to prevent burns from hot spots.

Quarter potatoes, add to roast along with the vegetables and cook another hour, or until done.

Matt's Blueberry-Topped Dutch Oven Cake

Two, 10-inch Dutch ovens
15 coals on top, 9 coals below

Cake:
¾ cup water
1 ½ cups sugar
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking powder
1 package (3.3 ounces) instant French vanilla pudding
2 cups plus 3 Tbsp. flour
½ cup oil
1 tsp. almond flavoring
1 tsp. butter flavoring
2 tsp. vanilla
4 eggs
3 Tbsp. poppy seeds
1 cup sour cream
1 can Baker’s Joy (or nonstick baking spray)

Spray oven lining with Baker’s Joy. In a separate bowl, mix all cake ingredients together until smooth. Pour batter into oven and bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean (30 to 45 minutes).
Using gloved hands, remove cake from the Dutch oven by inverting the oven onto the lid, and then remove the oven. Place a wire rack on the bottom of the cake and invert the lid. (Be careful not to let the weight of the lid rest upon the cake when you flip it or your cake will become one very thin layer.) Set cake aside to cool.

Icing:
1 (8 ounces) package cream cheese
2 tsp. vanilla
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
1 can (21 ounces) Blueberry pie filling (or flavor of your choice)
1 cup fresh Blueberries
Toothpicks

Mix first four ingredients until smooth. Cut cooled cake in half horizontally and place three-fourths of the icing on bottom piece. Spread half the can of pie filling on top of the icing. Stick three or four toothpicks into the cake leaving the ends exposed about ½ inch. Place top half of cake onto the bottom layer. (This is a goopy cake; the toothpicks keep it from sliding apart.) Put the rest of the icing on top and add remaining pie filling to the top layer. Decorate with fresh raspberries. (The icing and filling drip over the sides. You may not need all of the icing.)

Serves: 20

Please join us Sunday, March 24th, for the Spring DOG at  Walk-in-Water Preserve.  A part of the Lake Wales Ridge State Forest, we enter from Walk-in-the Water Road, south of State Road 60  and north of county road 630. Reminder, this is a primitive location, we need to bring water along with cooking equipment and supplies. Here is a link to the map on the FWC website.  

http://myfwc.com/media/2162398/Walk-in-the-Water.pdf

The remaining DOG's on this years calendar are:

April 21, 2013 Down South Dog, Highlands Hammock State Park, Sebring, FL

July 27, 2013 Mile High Dog, Balsam Mountain, NC