Sweet and Sticky Grilled Chicken Wings

Everything seems to taste better on the grill. And chicken wings, although fantastic baked in the oven until sticky, are no exception.

What I love even more about this recipe is that there aren't piles of dishes to clean up afterwards, and on a hot summer day, the house doesn't get heated up with the oven. Oh, and did I mention that the grill just intensifies the amazing flavour of the marinade while keeping the wings nice and juicy?

You can marinade these wings for as little as an hour or overnight. Just take them out of the fridge for about 30-45 minutes before cooking so that they come up to a more ambient temperature (you should do this for everything you put on the grill or in the oven for even cooking).

And one more thing... make sure you have a ton of napkins or wet wipes to clean yourself up after devouring a pile of these!

S'mores Cupcakes

Camping is one of my favorite pastimes. Pitching the tent. Hiking. Building fires. And of course, campfire cooking.

In 2009, when we went camping in Eastern Canada, I shared some of my campfire cooking with you: Campfire Toasted Ham and Cheese Sandwiches, Fire Roasted Chicken Thighs, Cheddar Baked Potatoes, and of course, Warm Baked Apples filled with Nutella.

I think that was the last time we went camping (living in the Middle East, camping is not a very popular pastime) and since moving back to British Columbia, I have been dying to go!

So, while I was drifting off, thinking about ideas for cupcakes for my best friend, it's no surprise that camping came back into my mind. And then I thought of S'mores. The sweet, sticky, oozy marshmallow with the rich chocolate and the crunch of the graham cracker. So I decided to recreate S'mores in a whimsical cupcake.

This cupcake has a graham cracker crust, layer of chocolate, dense chocolately cupcake, graham sprinkles, broiled marshmallows, a chocolate drizzle, and topped with a graham cracker garnish.

Yes, it is a lot of steps and yes, it does take some time, but it is so so worth it! They looked fantastic and the taste was to die for. How could you possibly resist?

S'mores Cupcakes

Makes about 5 dozen medium sized cupcakes

For the Crust

1 1/2 cups Graham Crumbs

1/2 cup Sugar

1/3 cup Butter, Melted

3/4 cup Semi-Sweet Mini Choc Chips or Finely Chopped Chocolate

For the Cupcakes

(I used the One Bowl Chocolate Cake Recipe for these!)

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/4 cups cocoa powder

2 1/2 cups sugar

2 1/2 tsp baking soda

1 1/4 tsp baking powder

1 1/4 tsp salt

2 large whole eggs, plus 1 large YOLK

1 1/4 cups milk

1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp vegetable oil

1 1/4 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups warm water

For the Toppings

Marshmallows (I used mini but you could also use big ones)

1 1/2 cups Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips

Dark Chocolate Chips

15 Graham Crackers, broken into large pieces

Preheat the oven to 350F. Line your muffin pans with paper liners or spray your cake pans with cooking spray.

Combine the graham crumbs, sugar and melted butter. Press about 1 tsp into each cupcake mould. Sprinkle with chocolate chips.

Sift together flour, cocoa, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a large mixing bowl.

Add the eggs and yolk, milk, oil, vanilla and water, and beat with an electric mixer on low speed until smooth and combined (about 3 minutes). Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Add chocolate cupcake batter on top of the graham crusts until the cups are about 2/3 full. Sprinkle with a little of the graham crust. Bake for about 20-25 minutes (for medium sized cupcakes).

Let cool on a wire rack. Turn the oven to broil. Once cool, top with marshmallows and broil for about 30 seconds until the marshmallows are browned. Make sure you watch the marshmallows as they brown quickly and burn easily.

Once browned, remove from oven and using your fingers or a spoon, just press down the marshmallows.

In a microwave proof bowl, heat chocolate chips for 20 seconds at a time, then stir, then heat again, until completely melted. Place the chocolate into a ziplock bag and cut a small corner off the bag. Drizzle the chocolate over the top of the cupcakes. Garnish with a piece of graham cracker.

Amazing Camping Food- Part 3

So, more about my method of "Wrap-it-in-tin-foil-and-chuck-it-in-the-fire."

As I mentioned previously, this works with pretty much anything. The idea is slow cooking over an open fire while you get on with setting up or tearing down camp, playing with the dog, hiking or playing cards. Plus, there is the added bonus of good tasting camping food!

In this post, I will go through this method using 2 more examples (for a 3rd example, see my previous post for roasted chicken) just to show you how versatile it is.



Campfire Baked Potatoes with Cheddar

Large baking potatoes
Cheese, sliced or grated
Salt and Pepper
Butter

This is the easiest and most satisfying camp food ever!

Wash the potatoes and then wrap them individually in tin foil.

After you start your campfire, place the wrapped potatoes at the edges of the fire, so that they get the heat but are not directly in the flame. Let the bake there while you prepare all your other food, go for a hike, or do something else (they need about 1 hour to 1.5 hours).

Once the potatoes are tender, remove them from the fire, slice them in the middle, and stuff with cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Wrap them again in the tin foil and place again in the fire for about 5 minutes, just until the cheese is melted. Remove from the fire, add a spoon of butter, and enjoy!

Alternatively, if you have a campfire at lunch to make the toasted ham and cheese sandwiches, just as the campfire is dying down from lunch, wrap the potatoes and place them in the glowing embers of the fire. Leave them there until dinner time. At dinner time, remove from the fire pit and build your campfire. When you are ready to eat them, stuff with cheese, throw them back in the fire, and enjoy!


Yum Yum Yum....and if that didn't just wet your appetite, this next recipe for Warmed Baked Apples filled with Nutella certainly will!


Warm Baked Apples filled with Nutella

Apples (any kind)
Nutella

Wash the apples. Cut off the top of the apple and remove the core, but ensure not to puncture the apple all the way through.

Fill with nutella. Place the top back on the apple. Wrap tightly with tin foil.

Place in the glowing embers of the campfire, not in the flame. Allow the apple to bake for about 30-45 minutes (while you are cleaning up from dinner, relaxing by the fire, doing the dishes, playing cards). When you remove the apple from the fire, it should be fork tender and melting in your mouth. Enjoy!

Amazing Camping Food- Part 2

Ah... nothing like the great outdoors! Your lungs filling with fresh air, the smell of the forest, and chicken roasting over an open fire (or was that chesnuts??)....

Regardless, it's dinner time! We went to the store and found chicken on sale, so we decided to roast some chicken in the campfire. Yum yum.

This is so so easy, and this method can be used to roast or bake so many things in the fire, from chicken to sandwiches to potatoes to dessert (as you will see in my next post). The name of this method? "Wrap-it-in-tin-foil-and-chuck-it-in-the-fire." Seriously, it's that simple.

Of course, to elaborate on that method, you can add herbs and seasonings, aromatics (garlic, onions etc), and stuff that melts (cheese, chocolate) before you wrap it and chuck it in the fire, during the process, or after it's done. The end result? Perfect camping food. Just remember, do not literally chuck it into the fire... try to avoid the direct flame whenever possible or the result won't be as pleasant.

Anyway, back to the chicken....

Fire Roasted Chicken Thighs
Serves 3 hungry campers

9 chicken thighs
Drizzle of Olive Oil
4 cloves of Garlic
1 large Red onion, cut into wedges (8 pieces)
2 tbsp Dried Herbs
Salt and Pepper

Place chicken thighs on a large piece of tin foil (depending on how big your fire pit is, you might want to divide the thighs onto 2 or 3 pieces of tin foil to make the packages easier to place and handle in the fire).

Rub the chicken thighs with olive oil. Then rub with salt, pepper and mixed herbs. Place garlic cloves and quartered red onion on the tin foil with the chicken. Close up the tin foil into tight, leak proof packages. You may need to use another layer of tin foil just to be sure.

Place the tin foil packages at the edge of the fire. Do not place them directly in the flame. The goal is not to burn them to a crisp, but to roast them slowly with the heat from the fire. After about 40 minutes, remove the tin foil packages from the fire. Open and check that the chicken is cooked (juices should run clear when you cut into the thigh meat next to the bone).

Amazing Camping Food- Part 1

So I just got back from a week of camping in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. Tent living, campfire building, and camp food. Yep, I said it... camp food. But I am not just referring to hot dogs and s'mores. I am referring to really easy and yummy "gourmet" camp food. Food that is just as easy to make as pasta and mac and cheese, but is more filling and delicious.

Expand your camp food horizon! Shop at the local markets. Buy groceries rather than convenience foods and elevate your next camping experience!

For starters, here is a little tip....

In our camping kit, I always carry the following "pantry" staples-- a small bottle of extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper, small zip lock bags or containers of herbs (usually one with dried chili flakes and one with mixed italian or provencal herbs), and small containers of dijon mustard, ketchup, and barbecue sauce. These come in handy for all your cooking needs, from kicking up jarred pasta sauces and seasoning goods from the local market to making salad dressings. I also carry some tin foil, butcher's string, and of course, a good knife.

All this stuff on hand means that you expand your campfire cooking experience!



So, join me as I walk you through a variety of delectable, easy to make camping food that will give you energy through the day, and motivate you to give gourmet campfire cooking another try.



Campfire Toasted Ham and Cheese Sandwiches

Toast Bread (White or WW)
Butter or Margarine
Smoked Ham, sliced
Old Cheddar (or any hard, meltable cheese you find at the local market)
Salt and Pepper

For this recipe, the ingredients are minimal and I didn't put quantities since it's pretty obvious that you would use however much you need to make a sandwich.
The ham we purchased was a chunk of smoked ham which we sliced ourselves, but you can also have it presliced at a local deli counter if you prefer.

You could do this recipe in a frying pan over a camping stove or in a frying pan over the fire, but if you find you don't have a frying pan, or you want to try something different, try it this way....

Find a large stick/tree branch in the woods with a v-shaped branch. It should not be too dry, as you don't want it to burn in the fire. Cover it with tin foil to create a strong, flat surface. This will be your "pan" (see photos above).

Now, no matter what method you are using (camping stove, frying pan, or tree branch), you will follow this same method.

First, build your sandwiches by buttering both sides of each piece of bread. I know this sounds like a lot of butter, but don't skimp. It will ensure the bread toasts nicely AND it will taste delicious!

On one slice of butter bread, add a layer of cheese, a layer of ham, then another layer of cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Finish with the 2nd slice of bread. As a reminder, the sandwich should be buttered inside and outside.

Heat your tree branch constructed frying pan (or your actual frying pan) over the campfire (or camp stove). Add about 1 teaspoon of butter and let it melt over the surface slowly. Do not place the frying pan directly on the flame, but just beside so as not to burn the butter. Place one side of the sandwich onto the cooking surface and let it toast. Again, it is very important to be patient and not place the "frying pan" directly in the flame of the fire. This will ensure that the bread gets toasted and the cheese gets melted, without burning.

After a few minutes, check that the first side of the sandwich is golden brown and toasted. When it is, carefully flip the sandwich over and toast the other side. When both sides are toasted, remove from the fire and enjoy!