Final Reflection - Signing Off - My Compliments to the Outdoor Chef
So, I learned a lot about Dutch oven cooking in the past 8 weeks. First of all, I had no idea about "preparing" (pre-seasoning) the Dutch oven in order to cook in it. Most cookware, you just throw the food in and you're good to go--there's no preparation of the cooking pot; at least not like there is with a Dutch oven. In addition to this, I have a newly found respect for people who are master outdoor cooks. There is a lot of skill that goes into knowing how to control a cooking temperature, predicting cooking time and evenly distributing the heat source to a food item when cooking outdoors. I'd dare say this is a more challenging skill than working in a kitchen full of conventional ovens--you typically don't have to "babysit" a conventional oven like you do a Dutch oven.
In addition to this, I actually learned some, shall we say, "survival" skills. I can safely hook up a propane tank of gas to a Camp Chef stove, light the burner and cook a food item. I can also light charcoal and use it as a heat source -- for more than just cooking, if necessary. So, if we ever have a major power outage that lasts for an extended period -- well, bring it on! I'm ready!
What did I learn about myself? Well, I believe that I support the social cognitive learning theory described by Wortham. I like to construct and build my knowledge both on my own and with others. In terms of cognitivism, I need a stable prior knowledge base in order to make deep learning connections. If my prior knowledge is skimpy and my schema weak; frustration sets in very quickly; and I go into "shut down" mode--much like I did with the pie incident. In terms of the "social" learning, I want interaction and I want help, but I am very picky in whom I want to be my mentors. My instructor was too much of an expert and I couldn't relate to his thinking--truthfully, I quit trying and often became irritated. But, Arlene and my husband could create that perfect personal Zone of Proximal Development--learning skills and development right where I needed it.
What do I understand better about learning theories? Socioculturalism--it's everywhere and I experienced it first hand! My whole learning experience revolved around it. We had everyone from the Dutch oven cooking novices (myself) to the slightly experienced (my husband) to the fairly experienced (Arlene and a few others in the group) to the expert (David, the instructor) involved in this community of learners. We all had a similar goal -- to learn or improve our Dutch oven cooking skills. We all hoped that by standing on the outskirts watching David, then moving more inward and practicing along with David, and then venturing out on our own; we would adopt the culture of and join the community of Dutch oven cookers. But, we did it together. Nobody isolated themselves during our cooking lessons. We all helped to scaffold and grow each others knowledge. We learned together and we worked together--we became a community together.
Thursday, November 13, 2014
Lesson 8 - Dinner's Ready - Let's Eat!
I had to miss this week's session with my instructor, David, due to parent teacher conferences. I was ok with that, though. David was going to teach us how to fry foods, such as doughnuts, in a Dutch oven. I do have a liking for almost any fried food except doughnuts. I just don't like them. (I know this seems almost unhuman of me, but it's true.) Anyway, knowing how to make other fried foods in the Dutch oven would have only laid the ground work for some potentially serious unhealthy eating habits; so all in all, missing the session was probably in my best interest!
Personal Learning Experience:
Well, this is it. The grand finale. As I projected in my learning blog proposal, I hoped to host a Dutch oven dinner with family--I did it! I served Zuppa Toscana Soup (supposedly the same recipe as the dish served at Olive Garden), cheesy rolls, and German chocolate cake.
Overall the whole experience was pretty flawless. The only major hiccup was not having enough Dutch ovens to cook everything all at once. But prior cooking experiences allowed me to fix that problem without a hitch. I began by deciding the menu. Because I knew that I would be cooking for others, I was a little hesitant to go all out and try too many new or possibly difficult things. So, I picked a main dish that wasn't likely to burn -- a soup, I pushed myself a little out of my comfort zone and tried a bread again -- cheesy rolls, and everybody's favorite for dessert -- chocolate cake.
All three recipes required a deep Dutch oven. I only have two deep Dutch ovens. So, I started with the soup first. I cooked this in the Dutch oven using the Camp Chef stove. In the lid of the Dtuch oven, I fried a small onion (minced) along with a pound of sausage. In the Dutch oven itself, I heated 10 cups of water, 7 chicken bouillon cubes, 1 tsp of salt, 2 tsps. of garlic, 1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes with 10 medium potatoes sliced and peeled. I let this boil for about 10 minutes. Then I added to the soup mixture 1 bunch of fresh kale torn in pieces along with the fried sausage and onion mixture. I let this simmer on the Camp Chef stove for about 25 minutes. Then I added one cup of heavy cream (or half and half) and let it simmer for another 5 minutes. Because I needed the Dutch oven to cook my last two parts of the meal, I transferred the soup to another pot and placed it on a low heat setting on top of my conventional stove, to keep it warm.
While the soup was simmering, I prepared the cheesy rolls and cake. For each of these, I used a "mix." The rolls were actually a Pillsbury peel and pop can. I used the large flaky rolls and covered them with shredded Colby Jack cheese. This actually worked well. I had to do the second batch in my conventional oven because of a lack of time and Dutch oven availabilty. Oddly enough, it was the conventional oven batch that most people didn't care for. The Dutch oven batch was highly sought after.
I used a Betty Crocker German chocolate cake mix for the cake. By the way, I remembered my previous trouble with not being able to lift the cake out of the Dutch oven; so, I bought some Dutch oven aluminum liners. These things work beautifully. They allow for an easy removal of food, require little to no clean up and are fairly inexpensive. I highly recommend them. Once the rolls and cake were ready to go, I fired up the appropriate amount of coals and placed them accordingly beneath and on top of each Dutch oven. I even recalled the need for Dutch oven rotation about every 10 to 15 minutes. When it was all cooked, the family gathered to eat. We enjoyed the meal along with a good chat. Fun times!
Learning Theory Connections:
So, here it is--transfer. Yep it actually happened. I have cooked quite a bit since I was in fourth grade--but by one means only, a conventional oven. Plus, I have only ever cooked with electric heat in the confined space of a kitchen (minus an occasional cooking of a s'more over a campfire). So all of this cooking with propane gas and coals in an open, outdoor space was new to me. Learning to gauge temperature control and even heating of the food was my biggest struggle. A conventional oven does that for you--coals and propane gas, not so much. I have experienced what I believe to be a horizontal transfer of skills. I have taken knowledge of an indoor, controlled environment of cooking and applied these skills to an outdoor, less controlled environment of cooking.
In addition to this, since I was a teenager, I have been able to cook full blown meals (main course, rolls, side dishes, desserts, etc.) for special family gatherings like Father's Day meals and Mother's Day meals. I can do such with automaticity and often from memory (just a quick glance at frequently used recipe and I'm ready to cook). But this has always been done inside of a kitchen. I felt that if I could do something similar to this using a Dutch Oven, I would consider my learning experience a success. As I prepared this latest family meal, Dutch oven style, I could feel the horizontal transfer occurring. I knew how to handle not having enough of the appropriate sized dishware (deep Dutch ovens), how to prepare the dishware to ensure an easy and appealing removal of food, which menu items to prepare first, etc. These are all things I do when I cook in my kitchen; so, overall--learning goal reached!
In the end, I realize that a script for outdoor cooking is finally there for me to pull forth from my schema of cooking knowledge. I get it--set up the Camp Chef stove -- use the Dutch oven on this gas powered item to cook things that won't easily burn, like a soup or chili. Or, use it to fry a a food like a meat. It also helps with preheating the Dutch oven and lighting the coals. Cook things that will easily burn, like breads and desserts with the Dutch oven. Place less coals on the bottom and more on the top to avoid burning the food. Also, a frequent rotation of 10 to 15 minutes helps to ensure even cooking and reduces the chance of burning food.
By the way, of the family dinner, my sister-in-law said, "Now this is comfort food!" Yea for praise (a little extrinsic motivation can go a long way) and its connection to behaviorism--I'll most likely repeat the behavior of Dutch oven cooking again.
I had to miss this week's session with my instructor, David, due to parent teacher conferences. I was ok with that, though. David was going to teach us how to fry foods, such as doughnuts, in a Dutch oven. I do have a liking for almost any fried food except doughnuts. I just don't like them. (I know this seems almost unhuman of me, but it's true.) Anyway, knowing how to make other fried foods in the Dutch oven would have only laid the ground work for some potentially serious unhealthy eating habits; so all in all, missing the session was probably in my best interest!
Personal Learning Experience:
Well, this is it. The grand finale. As I projected in my learning blog proposal, I hoped to host a Dutch oven dinner with family--I did it! I served Zuppa Toscana Soup (supposedly the same recipe as the dish served at Olive Garden), cheesy rolls, and German chocolate cake.
Overall the whole experience was pretty flawless. The only major hiccup was not having enough Dutch ovens to cook everything all at once. But prior cooking experiences allowed me to fix that problem without a hitch. I began by deciding the menu. Because I knew that I would be cooking for others, I was a little hesitant to go all out and try too many new or possibly difficult things. So, I picked a main dish that wasn't likely to burn -- a soup, I pushed myself a little out of my comfort zone and tried a bread again -- cheesy rolls, and everybody's favorite for dessert -- chocolate cake.
All three recipes required a deep Dutch oven. I only have two deep Dutch ovens. So, I started with the soup first. I cooked this in the Dutch oven using the Camp Chef stove. In the lid of the Dtuch oven, I fried a small onion (minced) along with a pound of sausage. In the Dutch oven itself, I heated 10 cups of water, 7 chicken bouillon cubes, 1 tsp of salt, 2 tsps. of garlic, 1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes with 10 medium potatoes sliced and peeled. I let this boil for about 10 minutes. Then I added to the soup mixture 1 bunch of fresh kale torn in pieces along with the fried sausage and onion mixture. I let this simmer on the Camp Chef stove for about 25 minutes. Then I added one cup of heavy cream (or half and half) and let it simmer for another 5 minutes. Because I needed the Dutch oven to cook my last two parts of the meal, I transferred the soup to another pot and placed it on a low heat setting on top of my conventional stove, to keep it warm.
While the soup was simmering, I prepared the cheesy rolls and cake. For each of these, I used a "mix." The rolls were actually a Pillsbury peel and pop can. I used the large flaky rolls and covered them with shredded Colby Jack cheese. This actually worked well. I had to do the second batch in my conventional oven because of a lack of time and Dutch oven availabilty. Oddly enough, it was the conventional oven batch that most people didn't care for. The Dutch oven batch was highly sought after.
I used a Betty Crocker German chocolate cake mix for the cake. By the way, I remembered my previous trouble with not being able to lift the cake out of the Dutch oven; so, I bought some Dutch oven aluminum liners. These things work beautifully. They allow for an easy removal of food, require little to no clean up and are fairly inexpensive. I highly recommend them. Once the rolls and cake were ready to go, I fired up the appropriate amount of coals and placed them accordingly beneath and on top of each Dutch oven. I even recalled the need for Dutch oven rotation about every 10 to 15 minutes. When it was all cooked, the family gathered to eat. We enjoyed the meal along with a good chat. Fun times!
Learning Theory Connections:
So, here it is--transfer. Yep it actually happened. I have cooked quite a bit since I was in fourth grade--but by one means only, a conventional oven. Plus, I have only ever cooked with electric heat in the confined space of a kitchen (minus an occasional cooking of a s'more over a campfire). So all of this cooking with propane gas and coals in an open, outdoor space was new to me. Learning to gauge temperature control and even heating of the food was my biggest struggle. A conventional oven does that for you--coals and propane gas, not so much. I have experienced what I believe to be a horizontal transfer of skills. I have taken knowledge of an indoor, controlled environment of cooking and applied these skills to an outdoor, less controlled environment of cooking.
In addition to this, since I was a teenager, I have been able to cook full blown meals (main course, rolls, side dishes, desserts, etc.) for special family gatherings like Father's Day meals and Mother's Day meals. I can do such with automaticity and often from memory (just a quick glance at frequently used recipe and I'm ready to cook). But this has always been done inside of a kitchen. I felt that if I could do something similar to this using a Dutch Oven, I would consider my learning experience a success. As I prepared this latest family meal, Dutch oven style, I could feel the horizontal transfer occurring. I knew how to handle not having enough of the appropriate sized dishware (deep Dutch ovens), how to prepare the dishware to ensure an easy and appealing removal of food, which menu items to prepare first, etc. These are all things I do when I cook in my kitchen; so, overall--learning goal reached!
In the end, I realize that a script for outdoor cooking is finally there for me to pull forth from my schema of cooking knowledge. I get it--set up the Camp Chef stove -- use the Dutch oven on this gas powered item to cook things that won't easily burn, like a soup or chili. Or, use it to fry a a food like a meat. It also helps with preheating the Dutch oven and lighting the coals. Cook things that will easily burn, like breads and desserts with the Dutch oven. Place less coals on the bottom and more on the top to avoid burning the food. Also, a frequent rotation of 10 to 15 minutes helps to ensure even cooking and reduces the chance of burning food.
By the way, of the family dinner, my sister-in-law said, "Now this is comfort food!" Yea for praise (a little extrinsic motivation can go a long way) and its connection to behaviorism--I'll most likely repeat the behavior of Dutch oven cooking again.
 | ||
| Fry the Sausage and Minced Onion |
 | ||||
| Adding the Kale |
 | ||
| Soup is Read to Serve |
 |
| The Dutch Oven Liner Makes it so Much Easier to Remove the Cake |
 | |
| Hey - It's Actually Easier to Cook Multiple Dishes at Once When You Dutch Oven |
 |
| Cheesy Rolls |
 | ||
| I Didn't Even Have to Glue The Cake Back Together with Frosting this Time |
 |
| If You Cook It - They Will Come |
Wednesday, November 5, 2014
Lesson 7 - Let's Not Forget Breakfast - Even if You Do Burn the Bacon!
Personal Learning Experience:
My instructor canceled class again this week. So I decided to go out on a limb and try cooking something we hadn't cooked in our lessons yet -- breakfast. After conducting an internet search, I finally settled on the following recipe: "Mountain Man Breakfast in A Dutch Oven." I found this recipe at:
This time, I began by frying the sausage. I figured that the grease from the sausage would have to substitute for the bacon grease in this recipe. (In one of my previous blogs I stated that I had learned that bacon grease makes for a flavorable cooking oil substitute--unless it's burned of course.) Along with the sausage, I cooked the onion, and garlic. Then I stirred in the bell peppers and hash brown potatoes. (FYI: I used a small food processor to mince the onion and bell peppers. I did this because I like the flavor provided by these foods, but not necessarily the crunch associated with these foods. It worked perfectly.) I placed the lid on top of the Dutch oven and let it cook on a medium-low heat for about 15 minutes. After that, I poured in 12 beaten eggs and removed the Dutch oven from the Camp Chef stove. I placed 9 charcoals on the bottom of the Dutch oven and 20 on top of the Dutch oven. I let this cook for about 40 minutes. Then I added a layer of cheese on top and let it melt for a few minutes. The final product reminds me of a breakfast/quiche casserole. It tasted great. Personally, I'd give it four out of five stars. (One point deduction for it being a little too dark on the bottom--which thankfully didn't have a burnt flavor. Just more done than I would have liked it to have been.) In fact, because the recipe made such a huge helping, I took it over to my in-laws' house and we enjoyed a little brunch together. (The burnt bacon set my timing back from breakfast to brunch.)
By the way, the bacon was supposed to have been added on top with the cheese. But, I "cheated" a little and cooked this on my conventional stove top and served it as a side dish.
Learning Theory Connections:
So, I think I felt a need to "redeem" myself after last week's personal learning experience. If you recall, I was allowing for some learned helplessness, external locus of control, and negative ability beliefs to creep into my learning experience. This week, I decided to go ahead and try some new things despite not having received a prior lesson; and it worked. I can definitely see a shift to an internal locus of control and a positive application of the attribution theory in terms of ability and effort. Firs of all, I took control of several situations: 1) not having been taught a formal lesson on how to cook a Dutch oven breakfast by shifting through and selecting a recipe from a website 2) throwing out the burnt bacon and starting again and 3) altering the recipe when it wasn't working the way I wanted it to. (Yea for not giving up!)
When my husband and I took the final product over to my in-laws house to have a brunch, everyone loved the food. My father-in-law even wanted the recipe because he Dutch oven cooks all the time on camping trips. How's that for some positive feedback, praise, and external motivation? In fact, on the way home I told my husband that I thought I was really starting to get into this Dutch oven cooking thing.
In addition to this, I think that the repetitiveness of practicing cooking in a Dutch oven is really starting to create a foundation of procedural knowledge in this area. I find myself starting to think things through, like preheating the Dutch oven, remembering to rotate the Dutch oven to ensure even cooking not too mention all of the set up of the equipment--it's becoming more and more second nature to me each time I cook.
Personal Learning Experience:
My instructor canceled class again this week. So I decided to go out on a limb and try cooking something we hadn't cooked in our lessons yet -- breakfast. After conducting an internet search, I finally settled on the following recipe: "Mountain Man Breakfast in A Dutch Oven." I found this recipe at:
http://50campfires.com/mountain-man-breakfast-dutch-oven/
I began by frying the bacon in the Dutch oven via my Camp Chef stove. Well, I learned very quickly (and unfortunately) that bacon can go from almost done to absolutely burnt within just a minute or two. Yep! I burnt the bacon. So, I threw that out and sent my husband to the store to buy more bacon while I tried to rid the Dutch oven of the burnt bacon flavoring. (I didn't want this burnt flavoring/smell to get into everything else I cooked.) Because I burnt the bacon, I decided to alter the recipe. So, I started over.This time, I began by frying the sausage. I figured that the grease from the sausage would have to substitute for the bacon grease in this recipe. (In one of my previous blogs I stated that I had learned that bacon grease makes for a flavorable cooking oil substitute--unless it's burned of course.) Along with the sausage, I cooked the onion, and garlic. Then I stirred in the bell peppers and hash brown potatoes. (FYI: I used a small food processor to mince the onion and bell peppers. I did this because I like the flavor provided by these foods, but not necessarily the crunch associated with these foods. It worked perfectly.) I placed the lid on top of the Dutch oven and let it cook on a medium-low heat for about 15 minutes. After that, I poured in 12 beaten eggs and removed the Dutch oven from the Camp Chef stove. I placed 9 charcoals on the bottom of the Dutch oven and 20 on top of the Dutch oven. I let this cook for about 40 minutes. Then I added a layer of cheese on top and let it melt for a few minutes. The final product reminds me of a breakfast/quiche casserole. It tasted great. Personally, I'd give it four out of five stars. (One point deduction for it being a little too dark on the bottom--which thankfully didn't have a burnt flavor. Just more done than I would have liked it to have been.) In fact, because the recipe made such a huge helping, I took it over to my in-laws' house and we enjoyed a little brunch together. (The burnt bacon set my timing back from breakfast to brunch.)
By the way, the bacon was supposed to have been added on top with the cheese. But, I "cheated" a little and cooked this on my conventional stove top and served it as a side dish.
Learning Theory Connections:
So, I think I felt a need to "redeem" myself after last week's personal learning experience. If you recall, I was allowing for some learned helplessness, external locus of control, and negative ability beliefs to creep into my learning experience. This week, I decided to go ahead and try some new things despite not having received a prior lesson; and it worked. I can definitely see a shift to an internal locus of control and a positive application of the attribution theory in terms of ability and effort. Firs of all, I took control of several situations: 1) not having been taught a formal lesson on how to cook a Dutch oven breakfast by shifting through and selecting a recipe from a website 2) throwing out the burnt bacon and starting again and 3) altering the recipe when it wasn't working the way I wanted it to. (Yea for not giving up!)
When my husband and I took the final product over to my in-laws house to have a brunch, everyone loved the food. My father-in-law even wanted the recipe because he Dutch oven cooks all the time on camping trips. How's that for some positive feedback, praise, and external motivation? In fact, on the way home I told my husband that I thought I was really starting to get into this Dutch oven cooking thing.
In addition to this, I think that the repetitiveness of practicing cooking in a Dutch oven is really starting to create a foundation of procedural knowledge in this area. I find myself starting to think things through, like preheating the Dutch oven, remembering to rotate the Dutch oven to ensure even cooking not too mention all of the set up of the equipment--it's becoming more and more second nature to me each time I cook.
 |
| Continual Stirring is Key to Prevent Burning. |
 |
| Who Doesn't Like Hash browns for Breakfast? |
 |
| Now Add the Egg Mixture and Cook to Make a Quiche. |
 |
| Everything Tastes Better with a Little Cheese Added, Right? |
 |
| Brunch, Anyone? |
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)