Dutch Oven Apple Crisp Disaster

Many of my earliest culinary adventures took place at summer camp. Once a week we really 'roughed it' by cooking our evening meal over a campfire. Of course, it wasn't quite so frontier as it sounds since we made up our menu at the beginning of the week, then submitted our list of ingredients to the Pack Out counselor who worked in the camp kitchen. She premeasured and packaged ingredients into plastic bags, then packed everything into a crate for pick up on cookout day. As a counselor-in-training, I was in charge of seven little fourth graders who wanted to try baking apple crisp over the coals in a Dutch Oven. By the time my campers had pared apples, sliced them, mixed up the streusel topping, layered their ingredients, then set the cast iron pot on the coals, they were already asking how long it would take to bake. Throughout the evening as we sang songs and played outdoor games, the tantalizing aroma of apple crisp permeated our campsite. Finally, the big moment arrived! I carefully brushed coals and ashes off the lid before pulling the pot from the fire pit. Lifting the lid released a fragrant cloud of spicy apples. We were practically drooling with anticipation! Dishing up the beautifully browned crisp, but knowing it was too hot to eat just yet, we sang “Johnny Appleseed”, then blew like crazy on our steaming spoonfuls. “One, two, three–” we took our bites at the same time. Shock registered on every single face as eight bites were simultaneously ejected back into our mess kits–followed by a collective, “Yechhhh!” About that time my counselor-in-training director stopped by the campsite to see how things were coming along. Reaching over with a spoon she took a taste from my mess kit. Same reaction–quickly followed by a very guilty look. Seems the director had offered her services to the Pack Out counselor. However, she was not familiar with the kitchen's various bulk bins. So, instead of sugar, she had accidentally packed our plastic bag with two cups of salt! January 2008 “Cooking Disasters” Winner source: http://www.gourmetmagic.com/contests.php What a marvelous prize! We enjoyed it on Valentine's Day! Bread Dipping Set with Olive Oil Dean Jacobs