Page Title

Cooking the One-Burner Way:

Gourmet Cuisine for the Backcountry Chef (2nd Edition)

By:

Melissa Gray & Buck Tilton

(CT, Globe Pequot; 2000)

I've read a number of trail-cookbooks and magazines in search of unusual and interesting trail recipes. However, I love this book because:

The recipes are simple;
Many of the meals look unusual and tasty;
It's a one-burner and one-pot-meal ordeal;
There's a concise overview of backcountry chef-needs and considerations for meal planning;
Recipes offer "Helpful Hints" and "Style Points" for sprucing up one's meals; and,
The book teaches the reader about specific brands of food, cookware, etc., to improve one's culinary skills.

Personally, I love breakfasts on the trail. The authors share a variety of recipes using dehydrated hash browns (I can't get enough of them!), porridges, an assortment of unusual pancake concoctions, and options for making syrups on the trail.

The chapter on sauces seems rather complete, although I've noticed a number of them in other references. But again, it's those "Helpful Hints" that make all the difference.

The section on Entrees features a great selection of recipes with grains and pasta… I look forward to using my dehydrator for preparing salmon, chicken and beef for some of their main courses. The pizzas look good!

Although baking on the trail is something that never interested me… I'm now quite interested in the variety of breads offered by the chefs in this handy book. They are described in very "do-able" terms.

On "g's" five vegetable rating system, this book gets a: