Camping Weekend Coming Up!

Greetings Foodies! I'm really excited today because I'm planning out the meals for my camping trip to Wisconsin this weekend! It's going to be an awesome one, and I absolutely can't wait! Friday, I'm off work at noon (Thanks Dan "The Lobster Man"!) and I'm leaving directly from the office for the Illinois/Wisconsin Border. This is where we are spending Friday night, and Friday night is going to be AWESOME. Why do you ask will Friday be so awesome??? I'll tell you why dear readers...Friday is going to rock my socks because I get to make Camp Fire Roasted Surf & Turf!!! There is NOTHING I love more than a great meal around a crackling fire in the woods. It's just so peaceful and serene. I wish I had more weekends to get out and camp, but living in the Midwest kinda puts a damper on that whole late fall/winter camping thing.
At any rate, I will be making Maine Lobster Tails and probably our Filet Mignon as well over the campfire withe Cheddar Stuffed Fire Roasted Potatoes, and Campfire Roasted Caramel Stuffed Apples. Both the Cheddar Stuffed Fire Roasted Potatoes and Campfire Roasted Caramel Stuffed Apple recipes came from a fantastic blog I follow called Food & Passion- The Diary of a Food Enthusiast.
Wish I could take credit for the apple and potato recipes, but I'm content to riff on someone's genius for a few minutes if it will allow me to enjoy an incredible meal. I did adapt the apple recipe to include caramel instead of Nutella. The boy who follows me is not a big fan of Nutella, or at least that's what he says. in all honesty... I don't think he even knows what Nutella is.
He had lead a sheltered food life until he met me. Believe it or not, it was a BIG fight just to get him to try ribs. Yes...tender, flavorful, BBQ Ribs... somehow he ended up convinced he didn't like them. Once I got him to try it, it was all over. He was suddenly angry he had lost 30 years of eating ribs to sheer ignorance. Oh well...better late than never!
Anyway...I digress. Back to my weekend plans. Friday will be the Surf & Turf feast, and Saturday I'm going to the Reconnaissance Fair!
For anyone who has never attended Ren fair...go. I'm sure there is one near you, so don't be afraid to let your freak flag fly and get there! The food rocks (Giant Turkey legs, beef ribs and ice cream crepes), the people are awesome and it's just an all around great time.
After a day of Renaissance fun, it's off to the area of the Wisconsin Dells where my best friend is currently living. It's been like a month and a half since I have seen him so I'm excited and he is planning a pig roast Saturday night. Who does not love a pig roast?
Well, that's my little rant about the upcoming weekend...anyone else have big food plans for this weekend?

Ham Recipe Sent Via Comment

Good Monday afternoon foodies. I hope all of you had a great weekend! This morning I received a great Ham recipe comment on my Niman Ham post. This recipe sounds so good, I felt it should be a post of it's own. So here it is...I can't wait to give this one a shot.
And thanks again to @diella and @jeffallennyc !



Here's what we would do:
a) make a paste of mustard, minced garlic, paprika, fresh herbs (thyme is nice) and black pepper.
b) score the surface of the ham all over. Slather with mustard paste.
c) Drain and rinse a bag or two of sauerkraut.
d) In a roasting pan put sliced yellow onions, kraut, some garlic cloves, bay leaves, fresh thyme, whole peppercorns, some cloves, and a couple bottles of light German style beer.
e) add some smoked pork Kielbasa cut into 1-2 inch pieces
f)Place the ham on top of the kraut, cover the whole thing with foil and bake in the oven the right amount of time for the size of your ham. Then uncover and cook for additional 30 minutes or until a nice crust forms from the paste.

We like to slice and eat with rye bread, some of the kraut, sliced pickles and spicy mustard. Pairs nicely with beer or an off-dry Riesling. It also goes excellently with breakfast. Fry up some eggs and add thin ham slices to the pan and fry at the same time. Put on a bagel or English muffin, add a little Swiss or cheddar, etc.

Enjoy!
@diella and @jeffallennyc