Cooking Merit Badge 2003

Grub a la Mike

This weekend we had a great time in working on the cooking merit badge. We had six scouts who worked on this badge. They chopped, sliced, peeled, cooked, washed dishes and learned about the art of cooking. They were a great class who paid attention. Several of the items that parents should ask their scouts now include:

How to make an omlet- 2-2 rule
How to make a philly steak sandwich
Do we throw out leftovers and leftover ingredients
Why do you slice vegetables thin for the cooking process
What can you do if you have a recipe that calls for buttermilk and you only have regular milk- hint ( vingar)
What is "mise in place"

Now here is the recipe for microwave version of sticky buns that the class asked for:

Ingredients:

1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/4 cup maraschino cherries, quartered
1/2 cup pecan halves ( nice addition)
1 roll (10 oz) refrigerated buttermilk biscuits

Cooking instuctions:

1. Place butter in 8-in round dish. Microwave at high 1/2 to 3/4 minute, until melted
2. Sprinkle sugar over butter and add corn syrup. Stir well with fork. Place drinking glass in center of dish. Sprinkle with cherries and pecans.
3. Arrange buscuits over mixture in dish in petal shape, squeezing to fit, if necessary. Microwave at Medium 6 to 8 minutes, rotating dish half turn after 3 minutes. Remove glass and invert onto serving plate. Let dish stand over rolls a few minutes so remaining syrup in dish may drizzle over rolls. Serve warm.

Our menu for the weekend:

Saturday Breakfast

Sticky buns
Omlets w/black olives, ham and cheese
Fresh fruit melody
Hot Chocolate

Saturday Lunch

Philly steak sandwiches
Pan fried potatoes
Banana pudding
Mr Mike's Special Fruit punch

Saturday Dinner ( Dutch oven meal cooked in six stacked dutch ovens)

Chicken A la Scoutmaster (see recipe below)
Glazed fresh carrots
Herbed fresh green beans
Pear salad
Bread pudding w/ Mr Mike's Cherry glaze sauce
Fresh brewed tea

Sunday Breakfast

Hill Country coffee cake (dutch oven item)
Fried eggs
Hashbrowns
Country ham
Orange juice

The is a variation on a recipe that I have used for years in the catering business.

Chicken a la Scoutmaster

Ingredients:

precooked chicken breast
puff pastry (located in frozen dessert area in grocery store)
can of mushroom soup
can of sliced mushrooms
butter

(On camping trips I always use precooked chicken breast for this recipe. However, at home I would recommend a fresh raw chicken breast- cook before putting into pastry)

Take your precooked chicken breast and sit on top of puff pastry square. Place one spoon of condensed mushroom soup on top of chicken breast. Fold puff pastry, where the chicken is completed wrapped by the pastry. Brush melted butter on pastry. Place in dutch oven and cook for approx 20 minutes. Check during cooking time to make sure pastry does not burn. Place condensed mushroom soup in pot, add sliced mushrooms and simmer. When puff pastry is golden brown remove from dutch oven and pour mushroom sauce over pastry. Serve.

This is very impressive dish to serve on a camping trip to scouts. Variations on the recipe include placing chopped ham with shredded cheese on top of chicken instead of the mushroom soup. Still use the mushroom sauce over pastry.

Bon Appetit!

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