Have Kitchen, Will Celebrate

August 29, 2019

If you're going camping, chilling in your backyard, or wrapping up summer in a park; we’ve got a few unique menu ideas for your outdoor dining pleasure. We’re always down for a good hot dog, but sometimes stepping up your game a bit tastes so good.

The Cairn Crew grabbed our Summer 2019 Obsidian Collection and got to work. Pick and choose the recipes that fit your style best, or try them all out over the course of the long weekend. Celebrate the final weekend of summer!

All items linked in this blog are featured in the Summer 2019 Obsidian Collection. Grab it before it goes away with summer!

Keep it Chill: Sugar Shack Mule

This fresh twist on a traditional is refreshing and light-tasting…perfect for a summer send off. Pro tip: Mix up a big batch, put it in the Miir 64 oz. Growler and it’ll stay chilled and easy to serve all day long (or however long it lasts).

1 ½ oz your favorite maple whiskey
½ oz Runamok Ginger Root Infused Organic Maple Syrup
½ oz lemon juice
4 oz your favorite canned, alcoholic cider
4 oz ginger beer

Combine all ingredients and stir. Garnish with lemon and fresh mint. Enjoy!

Stepped up Snacks: Sweet and Savory Grubpockets

These are a fun finger food that will wow the crowd. We love getting creative with the Grub Stick Deluxe! You can opt to go the sweet or the savory route, all depending on the fillings you select…this is even an easy way to use excess veggies, fruit, or protein main courses.

We used our Opinel Nomad Cooking Kit and Primus Campfire Cookset to handle all of the prep and cooking / warming of the fillings.

Wrap crescent dough around the Grubpocket attachment.
Roast over coals until dough bubbles and is flakey brown.
Carefully slide Grubpocket off attachment (caution - attachment will still be hot)
Fill with leftovers and favorite toppings.

Savory ideas:

Short ribs. Remove ribs from bone and sauté with onions. Stuff into Grubpocket and top with Gruyere Cheese.
Taco meat. Stuff Grubpocket with warmed taco meat and favorite taco toppings.
Chili. Stuff Grubpocket with warmed chili, cheese, onions, sour cream and corn chips.
Pizza Grubpocket. Stuff Grubpocket with spaghetti sauce, pepperoni or other meat, cheese, onions, olives and other favorite pizza toppings.

Sweet ideas:

Banana pudding with a slice of banana on bottom and toasted coconut and whipped cream on top.
Chocolate pudding with caramel, nuts and whipped cream.
Vanilla pudding with diced, mangos, strawberries, blueberries and whipped cream.

Pro tip: Make favorite pudding according instructions and refrigerate. Transfer pudding into Ziplock bag and snip one corner of the bag and squeeze pudding into Grubpocket.

Fresh and Fiery: Fire Roasted Caprese

Grab the Grubcage attachment for your Grub Stick and your Opinel Nomad Cooking Kit to prep the ingredients and enjoy this fresh, roasted twist on a classic salad.

Cut two ¼” tomato slices
Put one tomato slice into Grubcage
Top with balsamic vinegar and olive oil
Add a thick slice of fresh Mozzarella
Add several fresh basil leafs
Top with second tomato slice
Top with additional balsamic vinegar and olive oil
Roast over hot coals

Breakfast of Champions: Hot Cakes and Maple-Coated Fruit

Backpacker’s Pantry Multigrain Buttermilk Hotcake Mix combined with the Primus Campfire Cookset makes whipping up a batch of hearty hotcakes a breeze. We like to step our game up a bit by chopping up seasonal fruit with the and coating it in the organic maple syrup of our choice from the Runamok Maple Syrup Pantry Collection. Consider your pancake game leveled up!

Try out our recipes and let us know what you think. Do you have a favorite way to step up your outdoor meals? Tell us in the comments!

Try out our recipes and let us know what you think. Do you have a favorite way to step up your outdoor meals? Tell us in the comments!