No 380 – Wild Camp 3 – Xmas Special Pt 1

I don’t know why I put myself through these things? It could be I like a challenge, or maybe a burst of seasonal good will. More likely I just got fed up waiting for Andy to create a return match since our first Christmas meal way back in 2011.

So here’s the idea. To cook a 3 course (or more) meal while taking part of my wild camp series in December. Originally I thought I could take advantage of the fairly mild weather and cook over a wood stove in the doorway of my Eureka WickiUp3. However ‘always plan for the worst’ and I needed a back up plan, so took a little gas stove just in case.

As you’ll hear nothing went to plan! We started too late in the day to be honest and the low cloud and deteriorating weather brought darkness upon us far too rapidly, forcing us to make camp much earlier than expected as we had lost the path completely.

The weather was bitter cold, with a strong side wind and horizontal gusting rain squalls. So getting the shelters up seemed like a very good idea at the time.

However once a site was found we decided to pitch as best we could and crack on with it. The menu was intended to be as follows;

Aperitif: Warm spiced mulled wine with the hint of a fruit zest and Hors d’Oeuvres

Entree: Winter aromates roasted soup of tomato served with herb and black olive croutons

Plat: Bordelais Chevreuil cooked in a fond brun complimented by a paysanne of organic vegetables and railfort pomme de terre

Dessert: Moist genoise au chocolate with luscious heart of molten chocolate noir

Digestif: Home made Sloe Gin liquor, coffee with mousse au chocolat blanc

NB: Safety question. I chose the WickiUp3 teepee tent to cook in as there was plenty of space for us both to sit and keep away from the stove and the food. The door zipped was half open and pinned back to allow maximum ventilation to allow the gas fumes out without letting too much of the weather in. I would never recommend cooking in a tent without taking sensible precautions first.

The podcast will explain how it all went, the important thing was to get the main course started early and have it simmering for as long as possible before putting it in the cosy to keep cooking.

However to break the kitchen time I thought a Secret Santa might be good for a change and so the pictures show just how well planned Andy is for such celebration events!

The it was onto the mulled wine and Hor d’Oeuvres which start things off nicely.

While the main food was in the pot cosy to continue cooking, out came the Tomato Soup topped off with croutons, which nicely warmed us up.

Once I had reheated the main again then drained the water form the veg to make the Horseradish Mash, the meal was complete and I have to say, very, very tasty. So much so that Andy had 2 helpings and finished it all off!

By this stage we talking about all kinds of aspects related to Wild Camping so do have a listen and Part 2 will be along shortly.

Of course Andy’s version of events can be found here 🙂

Music used in order of appearance;
Chris Daniels and the Kings
Derek Miller – We Three Kings
David Bennett Cohen – Cooking With Cohen
Calvin Owens – Merry Christmas Baby
David Bennett Cohen – Crawfish Royale