Thai Basil Chicken | My Palatable Life

In another life, I wish to be a camp cook with my very own chuck wagon! Well heck, in this life I would happily be a camp cook! 🙂

It appears that all aspects of my Palatable Life circle around food. Camping is no exception. I love cooking while I’m camping, and I love eating camp food. So I’m dedicating this segment in the Best of Summer series to Camp Food.

Obviously, I don’t have a real chuck wagon (but wouldn’t it be cool if I did?), but I do have a well equipped camp kitchen and well stocked camp pantry for every camping adventure.

But before I get to the camp food thing… the home away from home must all be squared away. Camping isn’t all about the food you know!

After camp is set up, the next order of camping business is to imbibe in the landing cocktail... my summer libation of choice is a La Paloma – Fresh Squeezed Grapefruit Juice (ideally ruby red), Tequila (good stuff 100% agave please) and if I’m feeling it, a splash of soda 🙂 Cheers!

And now to the main events, the camp food…

The menu for this trip was global, to say the least, with fare inspired from Thailand, Spain, and Italy.

On the menu for Sunday’s Dinner – Thai Basil Chicken served over Jasmine Rice with Green Beans.

The Heat Level – Fiery! A combo of cayenne and Thai chilies, these chilies packed the punch I was hoping for!

Mis en place is important even when camping! By the way, I made the jasmine rice at home rather than at camp.

Dinner is served!

And of course we all know what to do with the leftovers, right?

That’s right! Put a fried egg on ’em for breakfast 🙂

Monday’s dinner menu – Patatas a la Rioja, Grilled Ribeye, (more) Green Beans (cuz ya know waste not, want not) and Cast Iron Peach Cobbler.

I ran across the recipe for the Patatas a la Rioja some time ago and couldn’t wait to make them while camping. There was something about the sweet smokiness of the paprika combined with the sweet peppers and potatoes that just screamed camping to me.

To test my open fire baking skills… the peach cobbler. It started with the peaches in a pool of brown butter, brown sugar and a dash of cardamom.

For the cobbler… Jiffy Buttermilk Biscuit Mix was just the ticket. Put the mix into a plastic bag, add water, moosh it around to combine and viola… you’re done!

Then, I put the lid on the skillet and prayed that the fire wasn’t too hot 🙂

Patatas done… check. Peach cobbler done… check. Steak time!

And dinner is served…

Oh and dinner would not have been complete without wine! The 2010 Pinot Noir from Raptor Ridge was… A-MAZING. Rumor has it they’re almost out. With any luck, I’ll still be able to snag a bottle or two.

And circling back to the peach cobbler… I topped it with a Greek yogurt, honey and cardamom “creme”… YUM! It turned out pretty darn good (if I do say so myself) and I am happy to report that the fire was not too hot!

Tuesday’s dinner, the last for this trip… A humble sandwich that hits on all the right notes especially for someone, like myself, who absolutely LOVES cured meats. Think of this Italian Picnic Sandwich as antipasto on bread.

Here are some things to remember when making this sandwich:

Select a bread that will hold up… ciabatta is a good choice.
You need plenty of good herbaceous vinaigrette… cuz dry sandwiches are, well, just dry.
Tons of pickled peppers (I like using the hot ones) and greens are a must.
For the cured meats and cheese – just use your favorites.
Of utmost importance – The sandwiches need time to sit wrapped and weighted to compress all the goodies. For this reason, you may hear this sandwich called a Sitting Sandwich.