Dutch Oven Breakfasts Cookbook Giveaway

I’m giving away a copy of “Dutch Oven Breakfasts” by Debbie Hair, to help you get into the swing of the outdoor cooking season. To enter in the prize drawing, just leave me a comment at the end of this blog post. I’ll be drawing out a winner on June 12.

The cookbook, published by Gibbs Smith, offers a wide variety, prompting me to say out loud — “Dutch oven, it’s not just for breakfast anymore!” There are old-school classics such as Mountain Man Breakfast, loaded with bacon, sausage, hash browns, eggs and cheese. Other casseroles include Rice and Sausage Especial, Pennsylvania Dutch Casserole, and Cornbread Breakfast Casserole. Then there are Eggs Benedict, Quiche Lorraine, Breakfast Burritos, Breakfast Hash, Chocolate Crepes, Banana Bread, Cinnamon Rolls, Scones, Doughnuts, French Toast Dumplings, Stuffed Pancakes, and lots more.

A lot of these recipes would be fine as main dishes or desserts any time of the day.

I met Debbie Hair when I was food editor at the Deseret News, where I judged and wrote about lots of Dutch oven cook-offs. Debbie’s book shows her creativity and attention to detail. Each recipe designates the size of the Dutch oven, so you don’t overflow or under-fill with ingredients. It also lists how many hot coals should go on top and bottom, in order to maintain the listed temperature. And with the listed temperature, such as 350 degrees, you can adapt the recipe to cook in an indoor conventional oven.

In the intro, there’s a handy baking temperature chart, so you can see how many coals you’ll need to maintain various temperatures with specific sizes of Dutch ovens. For instance, if you’ve got a 12-inch Dutch oven, to bake maintain 400 degrees, you’ll need 12 coals on the bottom and 24 coals on top. There are also lots of tips on seasoning, cleaning and storing your Dutch oven; bread-making, lighting coals, and so on.

I like the hard-bound book’s spiral binding, so the pages stay flat when you’re trying to follow the recipe. There are beautiful photos of some, but not all, of the recipes.

Again, to enter in the prize drawing, just leave me a comment at the end of this blog post. I’ll be drawing out a winner on June 12.

Here are two recipes from the book:

Classic Quiche Lorraine

12-inch Dutch oven

8 coals on bottom

16 coals on top

350 degrees

1/2 pound bacon, chopped in 1/2-inch pieces

1 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup diced mushrooms

1 10-inch pie crust in pie pan, unbaked

3 cups grated white cheddar cheese

2 eggs, slightly beaten

1 cup milk

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 cup bread crumbs

Place Dutch oven over all 24 coals and use the oven like a skillet to fry the bacon and pour off about half the of the fat. Add onion and mushrooms and cook until onion is translucent. Remove bacon, onion, and mushrooms from Dutch oven and put into the pie crust. Sprinkle with cheese. Wipe out the Dutch oven so that it is clean.

In a small bowl, combine eggs, milk, salt, pepper and nutmeg, and pour over cheese and vegetables. Scatter bread crumbs even over the top.

Place 3 canning jar rings in bottom of Dutch oven and set pie pan on the rings. This will alow air to circulate under the pie pan. Cover and bake, using 8 coals underneath the oven and 16 coals on top, for 30-35 minutes. Quiche should be lightly browned. Let set to cool before serving.

Variation: The pie crush can be pressed into the bottom of the Dutch oven and quiche baked directly in the oven. Todo this, use a 10-inch oven, using 7 coals underneath the oven and 13 on top. Bake for 30 minutes. If you would like to life the quiche out of the oven for serving, use parchment paper lifts — 2 long strips of paper placed across the bottom of the oven before the pie crust is added. When quiche is baked and cooled, you can life the quiche from the Dutch oven using the strips.

—”Dutch Oven Breakfasts” by Debbie Hair

Dutch Oven Sparkling Potatoes

12-inch Dutch oven

9 coals on bottom

15 coals on top

350 degrees

1 pound bacon, diced

2 yellow onions, sliced

8 medium potatoes, cubed

1 teaspoon seasoned salt

12 ounces Sprite

1/2 cup grated cheese

Place Dutch oven over all 24 coals and use oven like a skillet. Cook the bacon and onions until golden. Leave the onion mixture at the bottom of oven and layer the potatoes on top. Add seasoned salt and Sprite.

Cover and bake, using 9 coals underneath the oven and 15 coals on top, for 30-45 minutes until potatoes are tender. Add cheese and melt.

Variation: You can add chopped red or green bell pepper or mushrooms along with the potatoes.

This is a gluten-free recipe.

—”Dutch Oven Breakfasts” by Debbie Hair