GET INSPIRED // The Bon Vivant's Guide to Camping & Feasting

We all love the city, but by this point in the summer, we're officially ready for an escape. Let this beautiful and empowering book, Campfire Cookery: Adventuresome Recipes and Other Curiosities for the Great Outdoors, be your guide to eating and drinking and well under the sun and stars.

Don't be misled by its fanciful and ambitious tone, with tips for a spirit-awakening séance (magic lantern and hypnotic techniques required) and recipes that sound more sophisticated than anything you've tried indoors (Brûléed Brown Sugar Grapefruit Brochettes, anyone?). This practical and accessible guide may very well be dog-eared, ash stained and passed on for generations. Brooklyn-based co-authors Sarah Huck and Jaimee Young aren't afraid to conquer the open flame and get their hands dirty, and you should take a cue from their words of hard-earned wisdom (with recipes) below. If the Campfire Cookery experience inspires you to become really jazzed on the whole outdoors thing, take advantage of opportunities in your own backyard: become an NYC Urban Park Ranger, or begin building a canoe of your own in 3rd Ward's Intro to Woodworking.  

3W: How and when did you come up for the concept of this book? How did it turn from abstraction into something you could hold in your hands?

Sarah Huck: It was March of 2009. Jaimee and I were working at my house; she was editing recipes for one project while I developed recipes for another. Somehow, we got to talking about the serious dearth of camping books that offered the kind of food you'd normally want to share with friends if you were, say, having a nice dinner at home. We get it—if you're rock climbing for weeks in the wilderness, it's not practical to bring Dutch ovens and duck breast in your pack. But for most casual campers, the culinary possibilities are actually pretty endless, yet most people hear "camping trip" and steer over to the canned goods aisle. For two people who enjoy the process of cooking as much as we enjoy eating, this felt like an untenable premise for a getaway. As it happened, the conversation coincided with a grilling cookbook we were working on, and we felt inspired to bring more smoky-but-sophisticated food to the masses and continue working and cooking outside.

Jaimee Young: Conceiving of the book was a bit like putting my hand up in fifth grade and asking, "Teacher...teacher...can we have class outside today, pleeeeease?" Of course all that pleading for more outside time resulted in my practically living at Sarah's kitchen table while we hammered out the proposal. All I wanted was a few days off to run around in the woods. Instead I got a year plus of hard labor, which resulted in a book I couldn't be more proud of. 

SH: We just threw ourselves into it and kept each other disciplined. For several months of nights and weekends, we drafted one sentence at a time until one day we realized we had a book proposal that we felt good about. We sent it to our agent, Jenni Ferrari-Adler, and after a few rounds of tweaking she went out with it to publishing houses. The whole process was a serious whirlwind. We sold the book in July of that year (2009).

3W: The design is gorgeous. What role did you play in that? 

SH: We feel extremely lucky that we landed with Alissa Faden, the book’s designer, who did a fabulous job of giving life to our writing. Jaimee and I conceived of the book as a throwback to another era, with this vague idea of Isak Dinesen on safari, or Auntie Mame goes adventuring. So our writing, and even our recipes to a certain extent, were cultivated with a very vintage-inspired feel in mind. We didn't have much say in the precise design, but the look of the book was created to complement the text. We actually found all those vintage prints ourselves, the constellation maps, the sheet music, the tarot cards (actually from Jaimee's stack), etc. We scoured the Internet for what we wanted and gave them to Alissa, who incorporated them into her design work.

JY: And our editor at Stewart, Tabori, & Chang, Natalie Kaire, was very involved in creating the look of the book, right down to choosing the nubbly hardcover with the title raised on gold letters on the spine. The voice of the book definitely informed the design choices. I often thought of Marianne Dashwood from Sense and Sensibility when she’s getting ready to leave the family estate of Norland. Jane Austen writes about her running through the woods, weeping, practically composing goodbye poems to every leaf on every tree. That's the attention to detail we wanted.

3W: How have your combined eight years of working as assistants and recipe testers to Melissa Clark [New York Times food columnist and cookbook author] informed this book?

SH: Although Melissa wasn’t involved in the book (she actually didn't see any of it until we'd pretty much finished the whole thing), working with her over the years was great preparation for this project.  Melissa has taught me a great deal about the cookbook world—in particular, the process of beginning with an idea you find compelling, developing recipes that speak to each other, and filling in the bits and pieces that transform pages of technical writing into something that is (we hope) a pleasure to read. I've always loved literature, and Melissa has reinforced my belief that cookbooks can be just as literary as any other form of writing.

JY: Melissa Clark is not an outdoorsy girl, but of course, her style of cooking and recipe development has influenced me greatly. I love how she cooks to her own tastes, her own appetite. For me, coming from a French Culinary Institute (pastry) background, it was sort of drummed into us never to deviate from a recipe. Ingredients are expensive, so even if you do try something new, you better make damn sure it works the first time. Kind of a lot of pressure there. But Melissa just gets an idea in her head, or maybe it's more of a craving in her belly, and just goes for it. If a recipe doesn't work out the way she planned, she'll tweak it and remake—or maybe decide that what she got was even better than what she planned. In which case, she might just change the name of the dish and move on. I love when she does that. It's such a fun way to work.

3W: How did you manage collaboration? What's the most challenging aspect of having a co-author? The most rewarding?

SH: It took us awhile to get into a collaborative groove. At first we would sit down together and literally agree on every word that hit the page. It was painfully slow. We did that straight through the proposal process, but once we'd sold the book and set out to write the entire manuscript, we realized that we would never meet our deadline at such a snail's pace. So we divvied up the writing and sent each other drafts to edit and critique. Our voices became so similar that now we often struggle to remember who wrote what. As for the recipes, we always met to develop dishes over an actual campfire, so there's not a single recipe in the book that we didn't taste together.

I think the most challenging aspect of co-authorship is that you have to be 100% respectful of the fact that another person's input is equally important as your own. There are times when you have to set aside your ego and seek compromise. The rewarding flip side is that collaborative writing has double the potential. Jaimee and I have pretty complimentary writing styles and sometimes one of us would suggest a word or turn of phrase that would instantly give a sentence greater vibrancy and clarity. It often felt like a case of two is stronger/smarter/funnier than one.

JY: I think the most rewarding aspect of collaboration is having a teammate, someone who is there to push you harder than you might push yourself, and someone who is there to boost you up when you have a setback. You’ve got to keep switching roles, as the cheerleader or the whipcracker. The hardest thing about collaborative writing is figuring out when to keep my mouth shut. Sometimes the internal monologue that I have going on does not need to be voiced to the person next me, my co-writer. Once I realized that little nugget, I also discovered that I write a whole lot better if I stopped listening to that usually overly critical internal monologue myself.

3W: You both have such adventurous palates and imaginations. How do you most like to feed them (i.e. culinary and artistic inspirations)?

SH: Why thank you! My favorite food-related pastime is having friends over for dinner. Developing recipes is a very precise activity and has its own pleasures, but when I have the chance to cook entirely on instinct, without a measuring cup in sight, I am a free thinking woman! I also find that sitting around a table with friends, talking and sharing homemade food, is hugely inspiring. Beyond that, inspiration doesn't usually come from food magazines, cooking shows, or even restaurants. I spend so much of my day in the kitchen, thinking and writing about food, that when I do have moments to feed myself creatively I respond most to escapist activities that have very little culinary relevance, like novels, films, and even design blogs. There's something about mentally slipping into another world that re-energizes me and jolts my brain into adopting a fresh perspective about everything in my life, including food.

JY: I get a lot of food ideas from literature, specifically kids’ books. Maybe because eating is such a powerful force in a child's life (as reward or punishment), children's book authors seem to do the very best job of describing meals and flavors. I am lately addicted to Roald Dahl's books. Of course everyone can point to Charlie & the Chocolate Factory or James & the Giant Peach for simply over-the-top wonderful, gluttonous food writing. But I could read his description of supper at his Norwegian grandmother's house again and again and again. And the weather is another big factor for me. I'm not just talking cooking seasonally. In this last heat wave all I could think about was snow cones. I don't know of a book on shaved ice, but it made for a lovely frosty July in my kitchen.

3W: What few things should every city slicker know about exploring and cooking in the natural world?

SH: Three things: Do not underestimate the importance of dry wood! If your wood is even just a little bit damp, you aren't going to get a crackling blaze anytime soon. Invest in a cast iron skillet. They are about 20 dollars and will last forever. And finally, don't limit yourself. Your camping meals needn't deserve Michelin stars, but don't underestimate the potential of outdoor cooking. If you can do it on a stove or grill, you can do it over an open fire—until 200 years ago, that's the only way people cooked!

JY: I think Sarah hit the nail on the head with dry wood. Its importance cannot be underestimated. Also, don't think you need to schedule a backpacking adventure; just get out there for a day, for a night if possible. Explore! It will give you a charge you would not have seen coming.

3W: How did you learn to combine cooking and camping?

SH: I tagged along on camping trips with friends' families in Wisconsin, where I grew up, went to Girl Scout camp every summer (where I perfected the Pudgy Pie), and spent lots of nights sleeping under the stars and telling ghost stories in my neighbors' backyards. My grandparents, who lived in St. Louis, also used to drive an RV to a local Wisconsin campground each year and lived there for the entire summer. I have so many memories of visiting them and picking wild raspberries, building campfires, looking for the Big Dipper, and hunting for s'more sticks. My grandfather showed me how to choose the greenest branches and would pull out his Swiss army knife to pare down one end to a perfect skewering point.

JY: My brother was the big camper on our family. He liked to go to this place in Northern California called Desolation Valley. He still goes there, with his two dogs (they each have their own backpack) and a couple handfuls of Power Bars. Well, that sort of thing is just not for me. I was more influenced in outdoorsy-ness by my grandfather, my mom's dad. On beautiful summer mornings he would say, "Everybody up for camp breakfast!", and we'd all tramp over to our community park where he'd make eggs and bacon and toast right there on the grill. It wasn't any kind of culinary risk; he just thought food tasted better outside, and I have to agree.

3W: What are you working on, and/or what's next for each of you?

SH: I'm doing a mix of writing, editing, teaching, and recipe development work. I've also started working on another book, a sweet and savory guide to cooking with fruit.  I really love the cookbook world, so I'm hoping to just keep on going! 

JY: I'm taking advantage of the August work lull and spending time with my mom and grandma in northeast Ohio. I'm also assisting Melissa with her next slew of projects and will hopefully be working with Sarah soon to put together a Campfire Cookery sequel, which will take the ideals of the first book to a new location! As far as career goals go, I'd love to work the way my current favorite writer, Roald Dahl, did:  short stories, kids’ books, a pair of memoirs, and one of my all-time favorite cookbooks.

See below for two delicious recipes from the book: mussels washed down with rosemary gin fizz! 

Classic Garlicky Steamed Moules

At camp, our tradition is to whip up a bowl of plump, briny mussels wading in an aromatic, garlic-studded broth the moment we arrive. While several among the party rig up our tents, pour glasses of Lillet, and polish the binoculars, the rest of us set to work building a fire. Shellfish being quite perishable, this is a prudent way to use them at their freshest and finest. We also love the speed with which they can be prepared, since one ought always begin outdoor revelry as quickly as possible. Be sure to include a crusty baguette in one’s camp larder; it is a heavenly vehicle for soaking up the mussels’ cooking juices. 

Provides 4 portions

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 shallot, finely chopped

2 fat garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 cup dry white wine

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

2 pounds freshest mussels, rinsed and well drained

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley, for garnish

Crusty baguette, for serving

Prepare a medium-high-heat fire, with flames occasionally licking the grill grate. Let the fire burn for 45 minutes, until glowing coals and embers form. Then use a coal shovel or like implement to scrape a bed of embers off to the side of the fire.

Melt the butter in a Dutch oven over the high heat until bubbling. Add the shallot and garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Carefully pour in the wine and add the salt. Add the mussels and give a quick stir. Cover the pot and cook until most of the mussels have opened, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and discard any unopened mussels. Sprinkle with parsley and serve with crusty bread for soaking up the delicious mussel liquor. 

Gent’s Rosemary Gin Fizz

This is our take on the classic Ramos Fizz, invented in the 1880s by Henry C. Ramos in the crescent city of New Orleans. It was Mr. Ramos’s innovation to add cream to this concoction. No doubt he felt his patrons were not getting enough calcium to make them grow big and strong (and able to shake this drink for the two solid minutes it requires for a proper fizz). Well, mixing dairy with one’s gin is certainly our preferred way to achieve sturdy bones and a dazzling smile. We took the liberty of garnishing with rosemary to give the sophisticated city cocktail a rural charm. 

Provides 1 cocktail

2 ounces gin

2 to 4 dashes orange bitters, according to one’s appreciation of bitterness

2 tablespoons Lemon Confectionery Syrup (see below)

2 tablespoons heavy cream

1 large farm-fresh egg white, optional

2 dashes orange flower water, optional (see Advisement)

1 fresh orange wedge

1 sprig fresh rosemary

Place the gin, bitters, confectionery syrup, and cream, as well as the egg white and orange flower water, if desired, in a shaker. Close the lid securely and shake vigorously until the drink is fizzy and foamy, about 2 minutes. Pour the mixture into a chilled highball glass and add a squeeze of orange. Use a sharp knife to remove the peel from the orange and skewer the fruit with the rosemary sprig. Plop the sprig into the glass and serve immediately, before the fizz dissipates. 

Advisement: Be judicious with the orange flower water; a little of this elixir goes a long way. If one uses too much, the cocktail will be more suitable for decanting into a lady’s cut-crystal perfume bottle than into a glass. 

Lemon Confectionery Syrup

Making a confectionery syrup out of one’s tree-ripened lemons is the most expedient way to capture their tart sweetness just at the pinnacle of their glory. This syrup can be made prior to a camping trip, and refrigerated in a jar with a tightly fitting lid for up to 3 months.

Provides about 1 1/4 cups syrup

2 lemons

1 cup sugar

Use a Microplane to finely grate the zest from both lemons into a medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan. Extract the juice from the lemons. Place a sieve over the pan and pour the lemon juice through it. Add the sugar and 1 cup water to the pan and place it over a medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves and bubbles appear (there is no need to bring the liquid to a full boil).

-- Interview by Cara Cannella