A time to brag. Time to laugh at yourself.

[Vanbrat]

I have been enjoying all the stories and hearing what everyone cooks when out and about. I know there are tons of more stories to read.
What is your story, is it something you do really fast, but still good? Is it something you only have done 1-2 times out and about and it took some thinking to accomplish away from home? Is it a feast? Is it so easy you think EVERYONE might like to try it?
Have you a story of your own fails that are to funny not to share? Let's not embarrass anyone and keep it your own fails, I don't want to start or add fuel to any family feuds. I know I have plenty of those!

Here is one of my funny fails. I make a great clam chowder. So I gathered all the stuff needed and started a BIG ol' pot one evening at the near by beach campground. So far sounds good right? Except that there was only 4 of us and I didn't think to make it small enough for 4. When I usually make soup of any kind it's enough for 15-20 servings. And I didn't bring a tupperware bowl or ice chest or anything to store it in. So after eating our dinner then came the scramble to figure out what to do with the rest of it. ..... most of it went in the trash. Lesson learned don't forget to make smaller dishes. That has been a hard lesson for me, at home I cook with intuitional leftovers in mind.

Success story. I was working so hard and hubby had been working hard and I just wanted a quiet week end someplace close so we threw a bunch of stuff in the truck and took off to the beach. This time I grabbed a bag of salad, some half cooked bacon, some shrimp, some bread, wine, and a few small apples and some cinnamon and sugar. and some paper plates etc. Hubby grabbed a tub of firewood and a few apple tree sticks and that was it.
After checking in we went for a little bike ride and started a fire. About this time we said hi to the folks across the way as they petted our dog and such. Hubby started the fire I opened the little ice chest and we cooked dinner. I sat in my chair he sat in his we wrapped the bacon around the shrimp and held it over the fire. while that smelled so goood, I mean apple wood and bacon, I poured the salad onto the plates dumped the dressing on we ate with plastic forks and the shrimp was yummy and so far I had not had to take my rearend out of my chair. We roasted some apples over the fire and they smelled so good too, apples and cinnamon.... The folks across the way where also enjoying a good feast 2 couples having fun. We finished eating about the same time they did. and I heard one of the women say something about "Your turn or ? to wash" And both women walked away. I asked hubby if he was done "Yep" "Don't forget to do the dishes" WE both tossed our paper plates in the fire, snapped our sticks and poured another glass of wine. I turned to add some wood to the fire and caught the look on the guys face as he was stacking a ton of plates etc. to take in and wash. I am so glad looks can't kill!

 

[CityGuy]

Many years ago, in the early 70s, I was called upon to make potato salad for a group cookout. I'd never done that before. I got a recipe for a really big batch. First mistake was boiling the potatoes before I peeled them. Learned that lesson.

The recipe called for powdered Chinese mustard. I dumped in the recipe amount and decided I couldn't taste it and added a little more. Still couldn't taste it so . . . and again . . . and again.

Fridged it over night, hauled it 50 miles to the cookout in a big Tupperware bowl. Took the lid off and sniffed and thought "ohshit." It had cured up to blue smoke level. It was radioactive. I was the only one who ate any.

On the way home I passed a Mexican family traveling in a pickup camper preparing a meal on the side of Battleship Parkway, the causeway across the top of Mobile Bay. I gave it to them. They looked suspicious even before they took the lid off. I imagine it would up in the bay.

Successes: steaks grilled on/in our little barrel-shaped charcoal gril that just barely fits into a basement. ED seasons them to perfection and usually get the grilling time about right.

 

[Skookum]

Our first couple trips out in the RV, we brought a frozen lasagna and a bag of salad and some bread for our first night of dinner. Simple. Hard to screw up, right?

We had not been properly schooled in using an Atwood gas oven. We burned the heck out of it except for one corner, which we cut out and shared, along with our bruised egos.

Soon thereafter, we had cooking in that primitive device down to an art. We used a big clay tile to more evenly distribute heat, and bought a thermometer to place inside the oven. The knob for the oven was off by 50 or more degrees. Our masterpiece was a breakfast strata , a large glass baking dish full of egg, croissant, bacon, sausage, onion, and spices. We did that when we camped with a friend and it knocked some socks off it was so good.

We've had a little bit of a learning curve with the induction stove and convection micro in our new coach. A lot of it comes down to having good cookware. We brought our All-clad from home on this trip, and good cookware for the stove really helps. We did a Thanksgiving-style dinner in the RV not too long ago. Cooked a turkey breast in a slow-cooker which we set outside on a small table. Stuffing, mashed potatoes, and green-bean casserole all on the stove and/or convection. It turned out really, really good. Option 2 was to BBQ the turkey but we're on a learning curve with our outdoor gas grill, so we didn't want to take our chances...yet!

 

[Oldgator73]

We lived in Japan for several years and took our love for camping with us. We rented our gear, tent, sleeping bags, lanterns, propane camp stove, etc from the base outdoor rec center. In most of our camping trips in Japan it seemed we were the only American family at the CG. We unloaded all our gear and I started putting our tent up. I was having a bit of difficulty so a local came over to help. He didn’t speak English and I didn’t speak Japanese. We started drinking beer and raising the tent. After several beers we started understanding each other quite well.
That evening as we started to get dinner ready we were approached by another camper. She suggested we join the rest of the campers in the common area for a group dinner (using crude sign language and some halting English). We packaged our dinner up and took it to the group dinner. Blankets were arranged to sit on and to place the food on. The dishes were passed around and I took a bit of everything. One dish in particular I could not recognize. Once in my mouth the more I chewed to bigger it got. It was a pink goo that Ed fishy. It would have been rude to spit it out so I continued to chew and finally got it down. After awhile my wife leaned over and said “Don’t try to to eat that pink goo stuff.”.

 

[tlmgcamp]

Favorite cooking story comes from a childhood visit to a campground on the Chesapeake Bay. The rule was that if you caught anything in the bay you had to eat it on site. The first day or so on site was spent crabbing in our row boat. The 3 of us would get about a bushel by the end of the day to feast on for the week. The story comes from a trip where we had the pot ready to go inside the 18' TT. However, the limited counter space wasn't enough to supply the bushel and it fell to the floor sending the crabs scampering all over the place. My mom, wearing flip flops with toes fully exposed, quickly jumped up on the sofa while the rest of us gathered them up.

Good times!

 

[CityGuy]

Favorite cooking story comes from a childhood visit to a campground on the Chesapeake Bay. The rule was that if you caught anything in the bay you had to eat it on site. The first day or so on site was spent crabbing in our row boat. The 3 of us would get about a bushel by the end of the day to feast on for the week. The story comes from a trip where we had the pot ready to go inside the 18' TT. However, the limited counter space wasn't enough to supply the bushel and it fell to the floor sending the crabs scampering all over the place. My mom, wearing flip flops with toes fully exposed, quickly jumped up on the sofa while the rest of us gathered them up.

Good times!

Reminds me of the time, at about 2 or 3, I slopped so much bath water on the floor my mother got the string mop from the kitchen stoop and splatted it down on the bathroom floor -- and dozens of chameleons went every which way. Good thing the toilet seat was down because I think she'd have jumped into the bowl.

 

[John From Detroit]

I like to make several dishes.. For one Forum gathering I made soup only one of the bags of frozen veggis I bought was the wrong veggie.. Souped it anyway.. "Sold out" so not complaining (Everybody seemed to like it) Search forum for "Accident Soup" if you want to make it. I do not recommend Okra but it worked.

I also make cheesecake.. and some one-off dishes Cheesecake is easy to make and super yummie.
A lot of what I take to Pot-Lucks is very very very easy to make... Just a basic Dump Recipe..but man is it good.
And then I do the "More work required" oooking as well..

 

[CityGuy]

Back in the early 80s my coworkers and I had a potluck lunch one Friday a month. I lived 37 miles from the office. I was married to second wife, the Wicked Witch of the West, who make really good crockpot chili. I set out from home with a three-legged pot full to the brim with chili, in the passenger's footwell. I planned to drive very carefully. Once out of the little town lived in it was all highway. The town that had a courthouse in the middle of the block with streets intersecting it's perimeter at mid-block. I had to make two right turns and one left. One let strategically placed toward the transmission. First right, a piece of cake. The left, of course, the pot turned over. I snatched it back upright about 2/3 full. A few blocks after the second right I pulled into a gas station that had row of boxwoods in a raised brick planter. I clawed as much chili as I dared back into the pot, thinking I was staying off the carpet. Then with repeated trips I threw all the rest of the chili I could get out into the boxwoods. Before I was done I was getting very quizzical looks from the attendants.

I had to go out to lunch that day, unexpectedly, with an out-of-town vendor. When I came back I was told the chili was very good, but a little gritty.

I kept my mouth shut.

 

[DutchmenSport]

I think the only really, really hard lesson we learned while camping is,... Do not use Styrofoam plates if you just pulled anything off the grill, off from over the fire, or even straight off the stove top. The heat melts the Styrofoam and those magnificent Porterhouse steaks end up on the floor. Ever since then, we have made sure our "paper products" are actually something that doesn't "melt".

Other than that, we have great success with our meals, in side the camper, outside the camper, over a fire, on the camp stove, griddle, or even a hot dog on a stick!

Well, since this topic is about food, here's a few of our successes: ...

And if these make you hungry ... well ... I'll see you in the kitchen!

 

[CityGuy]

i'd drag the ED in here to see those, but she'd hit me.

 

[Old_Crow]

Back in the early 80s my coworkers and I had a potluck lunch one Friday a month. I lived 37 miles from the office. I was married to second wife, the Wicked Witch of the West, who make really good crockpot chili. I set out from home with a three-legged pot full to the brim with chili, in the passenger's footwell. I planned to drive very carefully. Once out of the little town lived in it was all highway. The town that had a courthouse in the middle of the block with streets intersecting it's perimeter at mid-block. I had to make two right turns and one left. One let strategically placed toward the transmission. First right, a piece of cake. The left, of course, the pot turned over. I snatched it back upright about 2/3 full. A few blocks after the second right I pulled into a gas station that had row of boxwoods in a raised brick planter. I clawed as much chili as I dared back into the pot, thinking I was staying off the carpet. Then with repeated trips I threw all the rest of the chili I could get out into the boxwoods. Before I was done I was getting very quizzical looks from the attendants.

I had to go out to lunch that day, unexpectedly, with an out-of-town vendor. When I came back I was told the chili was very good, but a little gritty.

I kept my mouth shut.

A couple of years ago I made a crock pot of chili for a potluck at the park I was staying at in Quartzsite. My recipe includes a couple of pounds of ground venison. I normally don't disclose this until after they have eaten and enjoyed the chili because a lot of people are hesitant to try the venison.
I was there this year and a couple of the regulars stopped by to see if I was going to make the venison chili again.

 

[Vanbrat]

My mom reminded me again (it is one of her favorite stories) about the time we were waaay out in the sticks and she was getting ready to heat something on the little camp stove. She turned on the gas and lite a match. Flames shot way up int o the tree we had set our kitchen under. started a little fire up there. She grabbed the water in the dish pan and tossed it on the flames and then grabbed the rest of our nights water and tossed it up too. We spent the rest of that camp out hunting for our silverware. This is also one of the reasons I don't like to carry gas for camping. Though I have most of my life relied on gas I am much happier now with my electric set up and solar panels and the Jackery we carry. Mom is having memory issues now and she can't always remember today or yesterday but, stories like this keep popping up. She reminded me of somethings I would jut as soon forget but hey that is the way it goes.