9^th Annual Carson City Rendezvous Dutch oven Cook-off and D.O.G. June 13,14, &15

June 13, 14, and 15, 2008 are the official dates for the Carson City Rendezvous Dutch oven event in downtown Carson City, Nv. This event has been organized and run by David Herzog for the past eight years, making 2008 the ninth year this event has been part of Carson City’s annual celebration of the Pony Express. The Dutch oven D.O.G. and cook-off are the mainstays of the Dutch oven event. Dave and other Dutch oven cooks from all over the Western United States, also teach classes and do numerous Dutch oven demonstrations from seasoning and caring for cast iron to baking cheese cakes, making candy, and making ice cream.

The Carson City Rendezvous also features a mountain man camp and primitive merchant’s row, Civil War rein-actors, cowboy action shooters and stuntmen, Indian pow-wow and dances, all sorts of food, and live entertainment from far and wide. Last year The Comstock Cowboys, and Sourdough Slim, were the Headlining shows on the main stage. This is the 25^th year for the Rendezvous which gets bigger and bigger each year, with Michael Martin Murphy headlining on Friday night. Last years attendance for this free event was well over 23, 000 people. What a crowd to cook for, over 8,000 each day!

Last year the Dutch oven event had two wall tents and 6 pole tents erected around the cooking area. Wow, 2 huge Maca ovens at one event, all cooking food to be served to hungry spectators! Steve Karoly from Shingle Springs, Ca and Richard Smith from Campbell, Ca taught numerous classes on cooking various dishes and cast iron care. Dick Wild from Eureka, Ca is bringing his packing skills and demonstrating using pine cones as a heat source, and how to slow roast an orange glazed chicken. Smith’s Grocery has been the major sponsor for the Dutch oven event for the past seven years and we look forward to working with Smith’s again this year and years to come. We also have Sportsman’s Warehouse as a sponsor and booth supporter by bringing stocks f cast iron and accesories to get started in Dutch oven cooking. In the works for 2008 is the possibility of a sponsorship or booth support from the brand new Cabella’s store also in Reno, Nv

This year there are already 3 primitive wall tents and teams arriving for the weekend to help with the demos and enter the cook-off. Don Alt will be bringing back his Chuck Wagon and it looks like there will be at least one more chuck wagon also. Although the Rendezvous has “primitive” attractions the Dutch oven event is, by no means primitive in any sort. Camp Chef and Lodge have both shown their support by donating prizes, pamphlets and banners. We are in the continuing process of gathering more sponsors and donations for prizes, etc. The discussion of a Dutch oven ice cream cook-off is in the works also for some extra fun for all. For those who do not wish to compete in the cook-off on Sunday are invited to cook with us Saturday afternoon and share your creations at the D.O.G., which is a free event for al participants. There is an option to purchase a presale ticket for a 12 ounce slice of prime rib Saturday evening at the D.O.G. but you don’t need to purchase a ticket to partake in the potluck or cook. Tickets for the prime rib are available at the event and must be purchased by 1 p.m. Saturday at the event.

We welcome all IDOS and LSDOS members to join us this weekend for a grand event and Dutch oven party! If you’re not a member of one or both of these Dutch oven societies, You can join us without being a member! By the time you meet the Dutch oven cooks you’ll want to join one or both societies to have more fun than ever and learn more than you will use in a lifetime! There is plenty of room for everyone to pitch a tent or camp in their R.V. Please contact David Herzog or Maxine Neitz to reserve your space early since they are filling up and we need to coordinate the R.V.’s and trailers close by. Carson City Rendezvous is truly a family event for all ages and there will be many Dutch oven demonstrations, and classes offered throughout the weekend. The best part of this weekend is the cost to stay and camp with us! There is no fee! That’s right zero, zilch, nada! What a deal! If you must feel it is necessary to stay in a hotel or motel, please reserve your room now! Most likely by the end of April you will not be able to find a vacancy in Carson City on this weekend as rooms fill quickly. Like I mentioned before, there are more than 20,000 people who visit the Rendezvous over the 3 days. Now, is the time to make your plans to attend and show off your cooking skills.

I WON!!!

Yes! thats right I finally won First place at the Nor Cal Sports and Recreation Show Dutch oven Cook off in Anderson, Ca just south of Redding. I am sooooooo stoked it's undescribable! I've competed in this competition for 9 of it's 10 years in existence and finally took first place. This was my year and I felt it several months ago when i picked out the menu. All of the people who bring their lawn chairs to watch me and 9 other teams cook never know what I'm going to cook until they see it for them selves. Last year I cooked Mexican, the year before it was Italian, and the year before that it was Chinese, all in Dutch ovens. This year was going to be different and I needed to cook a dish that was so pretty to look at when it came out of the pot you could gain weight with your eyes.

I've seen some beautiful dishes on Food network, Good morning America and, even Cookin' with Cee Dub. I began my search and it didn't last long! I remembered a Paella dish made at a California BBQ assn. meeting I attended to teach Dutch oven cooking. The Paela was simple to cook and prepare and looked just delish! I never got the recipe from the gentleman who made it that day but, I knew I could find one that was close. Googled Paella and ended up with hundreds of different recipes. I love spicy and Carribean food and was considering making a Paella Carrribean style with Lobster. That went right out the window when I saw the current retail price for lobster (over $50.00 a pound!) I found a Paella that would fit the size of my Cabela's 20" Dutch oven lid (perfect, that's what I want!). The method was so simple I couldn't believe it!

Dutch oven Paella

½ cup olive oil, divided

12 chicken thighs

3 Tbs. Emeril’s Essence

2 ½ tsp. Kosher salt divided

2 lbs. Spanish chorizo, substitute Mexican Chorizo if not available, diced into1/4” half moons

1 medium onion, chopped

2 cups red bell peppers, chopped, about 2-3 peppers

2 cups green bell peppers, chopped, about 2-3 peppers

4 Tbs. minced garlic

2 tsp. Saffron threads

2 qts. chicken stock

4 cups medium grain rice

2 lbs. jumbo shrimp (shells and tails on, back split)

1 lb. mussels, cleaned and de bearded

1 lb. steamer clams, cleaned

2 ½ cups frozen peas, thawed

In a large mixing bowl or tub season the chicken with 2 Tbs. essence and 2 tsp. salt. Toss the thighs to cover with seasonings. Heat a 20” Cabela’s Dutch oven lid over a checkerboard pattern of briquettes, then add ¼ cup of the olive oil to the lid. Once the oil starts to smoke cook the thighs on each side for 4 minutes per side to sear. Remove the chicken from the lid, and set aside.

Add remaining oil and chorizo and brown, stirring occasionally until well browned, about 7 minutes. Add onions, and peppers and continue cooking until onions are softened, about 5 minutes. Add the rice and sauté 3 minutes, then add garlic and saffron. Spread this mixture evenly across the lid then place the chicken thighs across the top of the mixture in a single layer.

Pour about 1 qt. of the broth into the lid or as much liquid it will hold without over flowing. Cover with bottom and add more broth as needed in 15 to 20 minute intervals, adding as much as possible without over flowing until all the broth is used up.

When the last of the broth is added, place the shrimp, mussels, and clams around the entire dish and cover. Cook 15 minutes, remove cover and sprinkle peas over the top, cover and remove from heat, let rest 7 to 10 minutes before serving. Serve from the lid on a lid trivet in the center of a table.

Serves 8 two breasts per person, 16 one breast per person.

*NOTE: This recipe may be doubled by cooking in the 20” Dutch oven by using the oven traditionally right-side up.

Then came the bread (my weakness in this competition) I needed a loaf that looked great and tasted better. Sourdough is so hard to do because it takes so long to raise properly and the same goes for yeast breads on cool days. (it was only about 68 degrees out) Out from the Diabetic Dutch oven book I wrote came, Dave's famous sourdough beer bread, a sourdough wheat beer bread that tastes like French bread, perfect!

Dave’s Sourdough Beer Bread

1 cup whole wheat flour

2 cups all purpose flour

1 cup sourdough starter, room temperature

3 Tbs. honey, or sugar if honey is not handy, can substitute same amount of Splenda®

1 tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. kosher salt

1 cup warm beer, the darker the more flavor

½ cup butter, melted

1 tsp. granulated garlic, optional

Add the honey or sugar to the sourdough starter, set aside for 30 minutes. In a medium bowl combine flours, soda, powder, and salt, stir well to incorporate well. Add sourdough starter and beer. Stir until just moistened. Pour dough into a greased 10” deep Dutch oven. Cover and let rest 10 minutes. Add garlic to melted butter if you like then pour over the dough at the end of the 10 minutes. Bake at 350° for 30 to 35 minutes. Remove from heat and let rest 10 more minutes before turning out onto a cooling rack. Let cool completely before serving.

Serves 6 to 8

Last of all was dessert. I usually made a complicated dessert that would wow the judges but this year I wanted to K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple Stupid) Out came two popular demonstrations I did at Castle Air Force Base and the ISE Show in Sacramento. Double chocolate Fudge cookies and Deep fried Snickers. Perfect but what could I do to make it a single dessert to make you want more and satisfy the sweet tooth but not overwhelm the judges? S'mores Dave Style A cookie on the bottom, the deep fried Snickers bar in the center and another cookie on top. Dust with powdered sugar. BAM!!! No body ever baked cookies at this cook off outside of my fortune cookies with the Chinese menu several years ago. So, out came the cookies again!

Sin on a Stick Sandwich

David Herzog

Cookies

1 box Dunken Hines Chocolate Fudge Cake mix

2 eggs

½ cup (1 cube) melted butter

1/3 cup dark chocolate chips

Pour cake mix into a medium bowl and stir in eggs and butter to make a moist dough, stir in chocolate chips. Preheat a 12” or larger Dutch oven lid and Dutch oven set up upside-down on a lid trivet

Cut 1 piece of aluminum foil for each batch of cookies baked. Spoon 6 Tablespoon sized cookie dough balls on foil then place foil on the Dutch oven lid and cover with the pot. Bake 15 minutes with 12 coals under and 18 coals on top of pot. Use a wok ring to keep coals on the pot. Remove foil sheet with baked cookies and place another sheet with measured dough on the lid. Repeat until all cookies are baked. Let cool

Makes 3 dozen (I get 2 dozen from a box ‘cause my cookies are a little bigger than 1 Tbs.)

Deep Fried Snickers Centers

½ to ¾ cup AP flour

½ cup powdered sugar

1 egg, slightly beaten

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/3 cup club soda

20 miniature sized Snickers bars

1 to 1 ½ qts. vegetable oil for deep frying

Bamboo skewers

Heat oil in a 8”deep or 10” deep Dutch oven to 360°. Stick bars onto a bamboo skewer then freeze for 30 minutes or place on dry ice for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, combine flour, sugar, egg, vanilla, and soda in a medium bowl and stir to a consistency of thin pancake batter. Some additional soda or flour may need to be added. Dip each bar into batter and deep fry for 1 ½ minutes to 2 minutes until golden brown.

To assemble the sin, place a cookie on a paper plate and place a deep fried Snickers bar on top of the cookie and press a second cookie on top then lightly dust with powdered sugar. Leave on the bamboo skewer for “Sin on a Stick”

I GOT it BAD!!!

My nominal tax refund arrived last week and castironitis took me over and took almost all of my refund just like the IRS! But, I got to choose where it went to. a new 6" Lodge, 2 antique waffle irons, a brand new BBQ/Smoker and the modifications to make it better, and a new Cabela's 20" (that makes 2 now). Cooking in cast iron is down right exciting especially when you win a Dutch oven Cook off! I finally won 1st after 10 years of thirds and fourth place. Then my friend Mark went to the WCC in Salt Lake City to watch the new world Champion Dutch oven cooking team crowned.

I just had to try out my new smoker since I've been reading up on low and slow BBQ for a while and got tired of cooking in Dutch ovens and showing the BBQ gurus how to use a Dutch oven. It was now time for them to show me their secrets to BBQ. My brand new smoker did a rack of St. Louis ribs with that mouth watering smoke ring to prefection, despite the impatience and hunger of my family. So, the meat didn't fall off the bone but, it still was down right tasty! They smoked for about 2 1/2 hours and needed about 90 minutes more but, I didn't care and the family was especially happy ( TOUCHDOWN!!!) Now that St. Patty's Day has past I told them I'd smoke a corned beef to make pastrami So, early in the morning the smoker gets fired up and in goes the corned beef to make some mouth watering pastrami with no cutting the time short.

I quickly discovered that smoking and BBQ is a lot like Dutch oven coking in that they both take careful heat management, assembly of the dish, preparation, and a lot of "down time" waiting for that mouth watering food to be cooked through to be served. The cooking methods are different but also have similarities with two completely different and tasty outcomes.

For those of you who visit here, please come to Carson City in June and join us all for some great Dutch oven cooking and for this year some great BBQ also. We are adding a non-sanctioned BBQ competition to co inside with the DOG on Saturday. The 2008 world champion Dutch oven team is also a BBQ and Chili competing team and will be helping judge the Dutch oven cook off and participating in the BBQ competition. I'm going to give it a try in the BBQ competition as well to add a little extra fun and excitement to just cooking Dutch oven salt packed prime rib.

As for the new Dutch ovens and waffle irons it is all going to good use. I could never buy a piece of cast iron and disrespect it by not cooking in it. The waffle irons get their weekly work out and the new Cabela's 20 will cook its share of Paella (that's why I got it) the Lodge 6 will be a new addition to my legendary Christmas tree and will get several brothers and sisters for personal servings of various dishes.

For me castironitis is not just about expanding my cast iron collection, but the whole life style and life of activity that revolves around Black pot camp cooking. The Dutch oven, camp fire, smell of briquettes and smoke in my hair form the smoker slowly tenderizing and flavoring that piece of meat cooking in a cloud of smoke, like the food inside of my Dutch ovens, steaming away to juicy perfection from prime rib to perfect mouth watering cheesecake.

January 19, 2008 is the Sacramento, Ca ISE/IDOS dutch oven cook off with no entry fee! check out these great prizes!

ISE/IDOS cook-off prizes

1^st place

• 1 Personalized Maca Dutch Oven $150.00 value
• Invitation to 2009 IDOS World cook-off
• 1 BreezeShield wind guard http://www.breezeshield.com/
• 1 set Lodge Twig Handle Spatula, Spoon, Fork and Ladle
• 1 Lodge red cooking gloves
• 1 Lodge red leather aprons
• 1 Lodge "Field Guide to Dutch Oven Cooking" cookbook

2^nd place

• Camp Chief Dutch Oven
• 1 BreezeShield wind guard

• 1 Lodge red cooking gloves
• 1 Lodge red leather aprons

• 1 Lodge "Field Guide to Dutch Oven Cooking" cookbook
  

place

• 1 Lodge red cooking gloves
• 1 Lodge red leather aprons
  

• 1 Lodge "Field Guide to Dutch Oven Cooking" cookbook
  

Contact Gary House to enter at:

209-480-8406

CCDOA@sbcglobal.net
Hope to see you all there!

Classes at Sportsman's Warehouse

Dutch oven classes and demos starting at 10 a.m. until about 4 p.m. the menu will include Sin on a Stick ( deep fried Snickers bars), easy tortilla cassarole, cast iron care and basics, breads, and winter cooking. Come by and say hi, and better yet stock up on D.o. supplies for next year and Christmas shop for yourself!

The classes and demonstrations will not be in any particular order as to when they will be presented. I will be handing out recipes and pamphlets on upcoming events, classes and cook-offs. Cook books can not be sold at SW but, I will arrange a time and place to purchase cook books. Keep posted! Also the Sportsman's Warehouse website has the class listed under the events link then click the California button. I hope to see you there!

I'm already looking at a busy year in Dutch ovens and Black pot cooking!
Lets start off in Rocklin, Ca at Sportsman's Warehouse, on December 1, 2007 at 9:30 am I will be conducting several D.o. classes Take a look at the SW website as soon as it is posted (next week?)

Next is the International Sportsman's Exposition on January 17 - 20, 2008 at Cal Expo, Sacramento, Ca. I will be accompanied by as many as 10 other Dutch oven cooks doing demonstrations and class continuously on all 4 days with a 3 pot competition on Saturday and either a chili competition or iron chef competition on Friday.Contact me for entry information!

For those who like to watch me get creative I am competing in the Sports and Rec. Show in Anderson, Ca on February 29, March 1 and 2, 2008 in 3 different Dutch oven competitions. Contact Dave Cole for more details at castandfire at aol dot com.

In June in Carson City, Nv is the annual Carson City Rendezvous and Dutch oven Events. This is the 25 th year of the rendezvous and the 10th year for the cook off so it will be a huge event! The date is June 13 -15, 2008. Contact me for more info.

No dates set yet for the next 2 events but I will be teaching at both and they are IDOS events. The first is the Region II D.O.G. and also the 2008 IDOS Fall Convention. Both may be held in Central Ca this year. More details coming soon!

These are all events I am committed to at this time and my available time is filling fast! If you want to schedule a class or special event let me know asap! I need 30 days for a class and up to 6 months for other events.

Planes, Trains, Automobiles, and Black Pots in Central California!

Dutch oven cooking an adventure? Yup, a true adventure when you get together with the Central California Dutch oven Adventures Chapter. The CCDOA Chapter is located just North of the Sierra Chapter and both chapters have got the Central Valley of California eating out of Camp Dutch ovens from south of Fresno to north of Stockton.

The Central California Dutch oven Adventures Chapter started of the season with a DOG up in the Sierra foothills in the little historic town of Jamestown, cooking at the 1897 Jamestown Railroad Museum, an extension of the famous California State Railroad Museum. Gary House, Chapter Advisor, arranged for free roundhouse tours and free train rides for the group of 20 in attendance. The staff got treated to some black pot cooking and left their bag lunches from home in the caboose refrigerator. This was an adventure for sure which left no one with empty stomachs or lack of excitement. Heck, we even got our own private car on the train which was real nice of the crew to arrange. The sky was blue and the weather perfect for cooking. There was plum cobbler, apple crisp, manicotti, beef roast, biscuits, tamale pie, beef stroganoff, beer bread, lamb stew, and a few other dishes as well to round out the table. Let’s not forget the aroma of steam and smoke from the steam engine pulling trains every hour! What ambience!

To round out the transportation adventures, the chapter was asked by the Castle Air Base Museum in Atwater, Ca, 20 miles south of Modesto, to put on demos at their special open cockpit day. It was amazing! There were military airplanes all around us and under the wings were classic cars and trucks, meticulously restored to pieces of art. As several cooks arrive to set up in the cooking area we were all surprised by the large area set aside for the group to cook in and the best part was it was done under the left wing of a B-52D bomber from the Vietnam era. There were 5 cooks set up and no less than 2 were doing demonstrations at any moment while others were answering questions about our black pots and Dave’s massive Dutch oven Christmas tree, a stack of ovens nearly 8 feet tall from the 22” Maca oven named Goliath to the tiny 5” camp chef oven at the top of the stack. Randy and Mike even had an informal chili cook off in the middle of all the demos! There was some fantastic food that came out of those black pots including, lid grilled asparagus, green chili quiche, raspberry pie, ham hocks and beans, pork Wellington, sourdough beer bread, pizzas, and “sin on a stick” better known as deep fried Snicker bars. The Snicker Bites mini sized bars were perfect for samples to hand out to the public. Central California Dutch oven Adventures Chapter was quickly invited to return for next year’s event by the Museum curator and staff. The wind may have blown all day but we kept the ovens turned and hot. We will have our Thanksgiving DOG in November and the whole chapter is busy planning for the ISE show in Sacramento.

Pork Wellington

David Herzog

1 seasoned and marinated pork tenderloin (2 to 3 lbs.)

1 medium loaf French bread

¼ cup butter

3 cloves garlic, minced

3 feet cotton butchers twine or foil to cover the bread

Slice the loaf of French bread in half but do not cut all the way through to provide a hinge. Open the bread and butter the interior generously, then spread the garlic over the butter. Open the tenderloin and place onto one half of the bread. Fold over the loaf to encase the tenderloin and tie with butchers twine 3 to 4 times to hold closed. Place Wellington into a 14” Dutch oven on a trivet or baking rack and bake at 300° for 1-1 1/2 hours. Remove from Dutch oven and tent with foil for 15 minutes before slicing.

Serves 4 to 6

Sin on a Stick

David Herzog

½ cup AP flour

½ cup powdered sugar

1 egg, slightly beaten

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/3 cup club soda

20 miniature sized Snickers bars

1 to 1 ½ qts. vegetable oil for deep frying

Bamboo skewers

Heat oil in a 8”or 10” deep Dutch oven to 360°. Stick bars onto a bamboo skewer then freeze for 30 minutes or place on dry ice for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, combine flour, sugar, egg, vanilla, and soda in a medium bowl and stir to a consistency of thin pancake batter. Some additional soda may need to be added. Dip each bar into batter and deep fry for 1 ½ minutes to 2 minutes until golden brown. Garnish with powdered sugar or chocolate powder or syrup. Serves 20