Labor Day at the Cabin - Part 2

So what happens when you leave a bunch of girls at the cabin on a lovely early fall day in the mountains? First, they take naps. But once that’s done, they have a tea party! Late afternoon found us dipping strawberries in chocolate and sprinkles, putting raspberry jam on tea cakes that Beth made ahead and brought from home, and arranging my chocolate dipped shortbreads on a plate and picking wildflowers for a nice bouquet. We spread the old linen tablecloth on the picnic table on the deck and had a very elegant tea. Walt excused himself and let us be girly on our own.

BUTTER PECAN CHOCOLATE SHORTBREAD

2 c. flour                                                                1 c. toasted pecan halves

½ c. sugar                                                              4 oz. semi-sweet chocolate or choc. chips

1/3 c. cornstarch                                                    ¼ c. butter

1 c. butter                                                               2 tsp. honey

½ tsp. vanilla                                                          toasted pecan halves

Place flour, sugar, cornstarch in a food processor. Add 1 c. butter and vanilla and process 30 seconds or until crumbly. Add toasted pecans; pulse additional 5-10 seconds or till well combined. On a lightly floured surface, knead dough just until smooth. Chill 30 minutes. Divide dough in half, roll out to 1/3" thick. Cut with round cookie cutter, place 1" apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake about 18 minutes at 350˚F. Cool.

Place chocolate, 1/4 c. butter and honey in bowl and microwave, till melted, stirring once. Dip each cookie halfway, place on wire rack, put pecan half in center of each. 3 - 3 ½ dozen.

Our dinner was substantially different than the hikers’ dinner at the lake. Jenny made cupcakes – meatloaf cupcakes with pink mashed potato “frosting”. They were so good – mixed elk, deer and antelope meatloaf baked in muffin cups, and spuds from the garden mashed and colored light pink. We had chocolate cupcakes with pink frosting for dessert. It was wonderful – and we even had plates and silverware to eat it on…not so the fishermen.

Somewhere in the rush to get out the door in the morning, the foil which was to contain the fish and potatoes baking in the coals failed to make it into anyone’s backpack. Ditto the silverware. Ditto the salt, olive oil, pepper, etc. These guys left the 21^st century behind and  found themselves five miles from the trailhead with a mess of really nice, fresh 12-13 inch brook trout, some potatoes, onion and some lemons. And that’s it. So what did they do? Did they despair and whine and cry? No. Did they hike out and go to the convenience store in Pinedale for hot dogs and Coke? They did not. They did what real men do under these circumstances – they improvised.

They found a big flat rock that they could heat in the fire. They cooked their fish on that. They buried their potatoes and onion in the coals.

They used the lemons for lemon juice on both the fish and the spuds and ate with their multi-tools. They ate like cavemen. They ate like warriors. And they loved every minute of it.

Sunday morning at the cabin, especially with part of the crew gone, is a special time – a quiet time. A time to sit and read your scriptures, a time to count your blessings. A time for blueberry scones and fresh peaches. This was my day to cook, and I was planning a brunch centered around a casserole, but I knew that we’d need some fuel to start the day. So we had these wonderful scones and some dandy Colorado peaches.

A brief word on scones: Scones are not deep-fried bread dough. That is true only in Utah. Fried bread dough is good – in a sort of a know-that-you’re-eating-a-heart-attack sort of a way, especially with honey. Fried bread dough is good as the foundation of a Navajo taco. But it is not a scone, at least not in Wyoming, or in any place else except the Beehive State. I have spoken.

BLUEBERRY SCONES (PIONEER WOMAN)

2 cups Flour, All Purpose

⅓ cups Sugar

2 teaspoons Baking Powder

⅛ teaspoons Salt

6 Tablespoons Cold Butter

1 cup Fresh Blueberries

1 whole Egg

½ cups Milk

1-½ teaspoon Vanilla

FOR THE STRUDEL TOPPING:

¼ cups Brown Sugar

¼ cups Flour

2 teaspoons Cinnamon

2 Tablespoons Butter

In a bowl mix together the dry ingredients for the scones. Cut in the chunks of butter with a pastry knife.. It should be crumbly in texture. Gently fold in the blueberries. In a measuring cup mix together the egg, milk and vanilla. Pour into dry ingredients and with a fork, combine just until it forms a dough. (If you want to add the zest of 1 lemon, here’s where you’d throw it in.) You don’t want to over mix it because you are going to turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead it 5 or 6 times to incorporate everything.

Roll it into a ball and press it down. Brush a little milk on the top and top with the strudel topping, or omit if you want to cut calories. (To make the strudel topping, mix together the topping ingredients to form a crumb mixture.)

Cut the dough in half, then half again and so on until you get 8 triangles. Bake in a preheated 400ºF oven for 18–20 minutes on a parchment-lined baking sheet.

So while everyone was enjoying the scones (baked, not fried) and peaches, that gave me time to prepare the brunch casserole. First, shredded potatoes from the garden. Then the egg mixture, from the eggs our friend Dan gives us from his little laying hens. Next, patties of elk-deer-antelope sausage. Then, chopped Swiss chard from the garden at home. And finally, a grating of sharp asiago cheese to make the whole thing just taste right. It was huge. We could have fed all the neighbors and many of the forest creatures. But it was wonderful. And the leftovers were just right for the hurry-up breakfast we always eat on Monday, when we’re busy cleaning and packing to go home.

BREAKFAST CASSEROLE (PIONEER WOMAN)

2 pkgs. Sausage

Potatoes 6

18 eggs

Swiss chard, 3-4 cups

2-3 c. grated cheese, cheddar jack

2 tbs. butter

2 tbs. olive oil

Oven 400. Slice sausage into rounds, fry till done. Grate potatoes. Melt butter and olive oil, brown potatoes as for hash browns. Season with salt and pepper. Put potatoes in 9x13 glass pan. Top with sausage. Wisk eggs. Stir in chard, or spinach. Stir in 2 c. cheese. Stir well. Pour over meat. Bake 20 minutes, sprinkle on rest of cheese. Bake another 5-10 minutes.

The fishermen got back in the late afternoon, filthy dirty and smelling like fish and full of tales of the fun they’d had. They love these one-night backpacking trips, and they learn so much. They even learn that fish, spuds, onions and lemons can make a meal in God’s country. But after they’d had their showers and changed clothes and you could stand to be near them again, we fed them. We fed them steak sandwiches with homemade mozzarella cheese and tomatoes from the garden.

SANDWICHES (PIONEER WOMAN)

2 whole Medium Onions, Halved And Sliced

1-¼ stick Butter

2 pounds Cube Steak, Cut Into 1/2-inch Strips

1 teaspoon Kosher Salt

1 teaspoon Black Pepper

¼ cups Worcestershire Sauce

5 dashes Tabasco Sauce

4 whole Deli Rolls (crusty), Split

8 slices (thick) Fresh Mozzarella

8 slices (thick) Ripe Tomato

1-½ cup Arugula

Season meat with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Melt 1/3 stick of butter in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Cook onions for several minutes, until golden brown. Remove to a separate plate and set aside.

Return skillet to stove and increase heat to high. Add another 1/3 stick of butter. When melted, add meat to pan in a single layer. Do not stir. Allow meat to sit, undisturbed, for a minute in order to brown. With a spatula, flip meat to the other side and allow to brown. Reduce heat to low. Add onions back into pan, then add Worcestershire, Tabasco, and remaining 1/3 stick of butter. Stir and allow to simmer, adding more Worcestershire or Tabasco as desired.

Melt 1/2 stick of butter on griddle or in a separate skillet. Place roll halves, cut side down in butter and brown over medium-low heat until golden brown.

To serve, spoon meat/onion mixture over bottom half of rolls. Spoon 1-2 tablespoons pan juice over the top. Lay two mozzarella slices on each sandwich, followed by two tomato slices. Top with a generous amount of arugula, then press the top half of the roll on top. Cut in half and serve immediately.

 

We fed them baked beans.

Quick Southern-Style Baked Beans (PIONEER WOMAN)
Serves up to 18

8 slices bacon, halved

1 medium onion, cut into small dice

 medium green pepper, cut into small dice

3 large cans (28 ounces each) pork and beans

3/4 cup barbecue sauce

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup distilled or cider vinegar

2 teaspoons dry mustard or 2 tablespoons Dijon

Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Fry bacon in large, deep sauté pan skillet until bacon has partially cooked and released about 1/4 cup drippings. Remove bacon from pan and drain on paper towels. Add onions and peppers to drippings in pan and sauté until tender, about 5 minutes. Add beans and remaining ingredients bring to a simmer. (If skillet is not large enough, add beans and heat to a simmer then transfer to a large bowl and stir in remaining ingredients). Pour flavored beans into a greased 13-by 9-inch (or similar size) ovenproof pan. Top with bacon, then bake until beans are bubbly and sauce is the consistency of pancake syrup, about 2 hours. Let stand to thicken slightly and serve.

We fed them watermelon and cantaloupe. We fed them sweet corn from the garden. We had Chocolate Zucchini Cake for dessert. And we thanked God on this Sabbath day for our wonderful family and this special place.

(Walt wrote this; I just edited. Isn't he a great writer?)