Let the coals fly

From burning embers to bubbling iron pots, visitors to the sixth annual Sac Valley Dutch Oven Cookers competition were treated to a cornucopia of flavors and aromas as they taste tested each of the 10 Dutch oven cooking teams' recipes.

Contestants did not disappoint those who came to sample the age-old cooking style held at the Colusa County Fairgrounds.

Dutch ovens have been used by cooks for hundreds of years and are still growing in popularity today. When the American frontier was being settled, pioneers cooked outdoors in a fireplace or in a lean-to behind the cabin. Large, heavy cast-iron pots were made with lids and placed directly into the coals of an open fire.

It has been said that the final design of the Dutch oven was done by the skilled craftsman, Paul Revere, and this design is still in use today.

The popularity of Dutch oven cooking continues to capture the attention and imagination of those hardy chefs who fight the elements, cooking over wood and coal just for the fun of it.

So it is with Dave Holeman and Paul Sankey, both of Colusa, who, combined, have been Dutch oven cooking for about 10 years.

"It's been great - trying to compete with your neighbor is just so much fun and is a great challenge," said Dave.

Dave and Paul, who have been longtime deer hunting friends, compete together at several competitions per year.

"I was driving by a Dutch oven competition several years ago, and I stopped my truck, got out and watched the teams compete. I got hooked, and I have been doing it ever since. It has been great working together with my partner, Paul, and enjoying the team competition. Each time we compete, we meet new friends," said Dave.

"We make a new recipe every time we enter a contest, and we don't practice it, so it can be a surprise to us when it either works or doesn't," Paul said with a big grin on his face.

One of the traditions seasoned chefs do to get new cooks up and going is to give a new Dutch oven to a freshman competitor. Once the newbie becomes seasoned, he or she then continues the tradition by presenting a new pot to another up-and-coming newbie.

"My first pot was given to me. I was just standing there helping cook, and one of the competing team members came up to me and handed me a brand new pot. Armed with a new pot, I had no excuses then but to jump head first into the Dutch oven cooking world. And I haven't looked back since. It is such a great way to meet new people, and in time, they become like family," said Dave.

I asked Dave and Paul what their menu was for the day, and they proudly told me chuck roast, gravy, sourdough bread, which they won second place in and Georgia Apple Cake. Unseasoned teams usually only cook one dish. These guys went all out.

With 10 teams competing, using both old standby recipes and new ones, there was a mixture of wonderful aromas wafting through the air as the fires heated each iron pot.

From rising sourdough bread, bubbling hot stew to apple cakes, each Dutch oven was watched closely so as not to burn or undercook its contents.

Once the tasting competition began, the lines kept getting longer and longer as taste testers sampled each one of Dave and Paul's dishes. I also noticed that many snuck back for another bite. After all, who could blame them? The melt-in-your mouth Georgia Apple Cake was out of this world.

Give this recipe a try, and if you don't have a Dutch oven, you can use a regular pan and bake it in the oven. But you may want to turn your smoke alarms off if you choose to use wood or cools in your oven for that authentic effect. Just kidding.

• Georgia Apple Cake

2 cups sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla

11⁄2 cups salad oil

2 eggs

Juice from 1⁄2 fresh lemon

Add:

3 cups flour

11⁄4 teaspoons salt

Fold in:

3 cups chopped apples

1 cup chopped nuts

Cake procedure:

Grease the Dutch oven, then combine sugar, vanilla, salad oil, eggs and lemon juice in the pot and stir until blended. Add flour and salt and mix well. Fold in chopped apples - in a variety of your choice - and chopped nuts. Bake in Dutch oven at about 325 degrees for 11⁄2 hours.

Topping

Mix in pan:

1⁄2 cup brown sugar

1⁄4 cup butter or 1⁄2 stick

1⁄8 cup milk

2 teaspoons vanilla

Topping procedure:

In another pan, mix together brown sugar, butter, milk and vanilla. Bring to a boil and simmer for 21⁄2 minutes. Pour topping over hot cake, slice and serve.

• Cook's note: Keep a close eye on Dutch oven while cooking so that you don't burn or undercook cake.

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Don't forget - a free, full-color recipe card of Dave Holeman and Paul Sankey's "Georgia Apple Cake" is available today in the lobbies of the Appeal-Democrat in Marys-ville and Yuba City.

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Your Neighbors' Favorite Recipe returns Feb. 13 featuring Daniel Huntington of Oregon House preparing his recipe for "Crab Cakes with Roasted Red Bell Peppers."

If you or someone you know has a favorite recipe and would be willing to share it, give me a call at 749-4720 or e-mail me at mreed@appeal-democrat.com. I would love to come to your kitchen and meet you.

Until then, hope to see you in your neighbors' kitchen.