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<\/a><\/p>\nAnd it\u2019s free. Or nearly free. For the same amount of prep, time, and money as a traditional Thanksgiving Feast around a mahogany table, you can build a lasting tradition in the great outdoors.<\/p>\n
But just how should you start prepping for a Thanksgiving river trip? Like you would any other cold-water boating trip. It really boils down to three must-haves: safety, warmth, and damn good food.<\/p>\n
Keep in mind that the end of November can be frigid, windy, and wet. All standard cold-water boating guidelines should be taken into consideration, including packing extra shelter (whether a wall tent or a couple extra River Wings), firewood (locally collected driftwood may be covered with snow and is no doubt water logged), and proper gear to keep you warm (insulation, insulation, insulation). For the kitchen, be sure to pack a couple dutch ovens, preferably 12 inches or larger, pots, pans, and a turkey fryer kit.<\/p>\n
A river feast isn\u2019t about following recipes to a T. It\u2019s about camaraderie and toasts, fully bellies, laughs, and stories around a campfire. With that in mind, feel free to tweak the below recipes for your party\u2019s particular taste. Each recipe offers the required ingredients. An extra dash of this, or a little less of that is completely up to you and encouraged. In our riverside cooking experience, if it smells good, it\u2019s going to taste good. And generally, when it comes to dutch-oven cooking, when you can smell your concoction, you have five-ten minutes left.<\/p>\n The Menu: <\/strong><\/p>\n Make-Ahead Mama Miller\u2019s Famous Rolls This is the one recipe we recommend following to the T and baking the day before put-in. From start to finish, these rolls take four-five hours. Plan accordingly. They may be high maintenance, but it comes from solid sources, that these rolls are the best thing that will go in your mouth this Thanksgiving.<\/p>\n Add milk, butter and \u00be cup sugar in a saucepan and heat on stove until butter is melted.\u00a0 Set aside and cool slightly. In the meantime, pour two packages of yeast into a cup or bowl with about one cup (a little less or a little more) of very warm water. Don\u2019t get the water too hot or your yeast will not rise. Add two teaspoons of sugar to the bowl and stir to dissolve.\u00a0Yeast should rise and double in size.<\/p>\n In a mixer, add two eggs, salt and milk mixture and beat slightly. When the yeast has raised enough, add to egg and milk mixture, blend and start adding the flour. The dough should have a dull finish to it, not a glossy one.\u00a0If it feels too wet (or too sticky) just add a little more flour.<\/p>\n Turn the dough out on to a floured surface and knead for a few minutes, then put in a well-greased, extra large bowl to rise. Sprinkle the top of the dough with flour so the dough won\u2019t dry out. Cover with cloth and put somewhere warm to rise. You can warm your oven to 250 degrees for a few minutes, then turn off and raise your dough in the oven. Keep dough away from drafts.<\/p>\n It usually takes about one hour to rise, then punch down and knead a bit, adding flour as needed. Just enough flour so your hands don\u2019t stick to dough.\u00a0Let dough rise\u00a0two times, then turn out on a floured surface and knead again. For clover leaf rolls,\u00a0make three small balls and put in each cup of a greased muffin pan or divide dough\u00a0two pieces and put into greased loaf pans for bread. Let the dough in the muffin or loaf pans rise for about 45 minutes to an hour and then bake at 350 degrees until the bread is golden brown.<\/p>\n Once at camp, wrap rolls in tinfoil and throw onto the coals five-ten minutes before you\u2019re ready to eat. Top with butter pats for extra oomph.<\/p>\n Spiced Cider<\/strong><\/p>\n First and foremost, you are going to need a drink, because a holiday meal without a signature cocktail is a holiday meal lacking festivity. A favorite cold-weather, on-the-water beverage is Spiced Cider.<\/p>\n What you\u2019ll need: Bring the cider to a rolling boil. Toss in a few cinnamon sprigs for added flavor. If you\u2019ve warmed up non-alcoholic cider, mix a separate pot with warmed cider and a few cups of whiskey. (Taste the cider between cups, cider does a great job of masking the whiskey.) With a mug of this hot, tasty beverage in hand, chefs and non-chefs will be warm, happy, and ready to cook.<\/p>\n Boxed Wine<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n For those not willing to wait for a warm drink. It at least warms your soul\u2014if you opt for the red varieties\u2014it\u2019s boxed for convenience and easy transport. There\u2019s no prep. And rumor has it, the bag inside makes for a great makeshift pillow.<\/p>\n Fire-Charred Brie and Crackers<\/strong><\/p>\n This quick-and-easy appetizer will keep all bellies from rumbling while the turkey is frying. Take a round of Brie cheese and slowly heat on a skillet or griddle, regularly flipping until the interior is warm and gooey. Plate it and top with dried cranberries and chopped, toasted nuts (we recommend pecans or walnuts). Circle around, smear on crackers, and enjoy!<\/p>\n Baked Fennel<\/strong><\/p>\n A quarter of a large fennel bulb\/person cut horizontally into 1\/3\u201d \u2013 1\/2\u201d slices (reserve fronds) This side-dish requires a 12 inch or larger dutch oven. Brush the bottom of your dutch with butter or olive oil and set it on the coals. Place fennel slices in the bottom of the dutch. You don\u2019t need much space in between each slice, but don\u2019t crowd, or stack them. Brush the top of those slices with butter, (olive oil is a suitable substitute, butter works best, but it can be harder to melt on the river), sprinkle with salt, pepper, and thyme and cover. You will want to let that sit for at least 20 minutes, or until the fennel is fragrant. If your senses are a little numb (from booze or cold), the fennel should be easy to pierce with a fork. At this point, uncover and liberally sprinkle panko crumbs and Parmesan cheese on top. Remove from the coals and let sit, covered, for five-ten minutes. Plate it, top with the reserved chopped fennel fronds, and serve warm.<\/p>\n Deep Fried Turkey<\/strong><\/p>\n If you want to deep fry a big bird you have to buy a turkey-frying rig. It will come with instructions and there are tons of resources online, but here are some tips.<\/p>\n A riverside beach in late November can be cold and windy. Build a three-sided windbreak around your fryer. You can use paddles or River Wing poles for uprights. Or, as if you needed another reason to pack those tiki torches\u2014they can block the wind by day and light up the camp by night. Wrap something like a tarp around the uprights. Ian\u2019s Three-Cheese Dutch Oven Potatoes<\/strong><\/p>\n One russet potato\/person, washed, cleaned of spots, and chopped 1\u201d slices Fill a pot with liberally salted water and bring to a boil. Once boiling, toss in the potatoes and reduce to a simmer. Cook until easily punctured with a fork. Strain potatoes, making sure to follow the local regulations on food disposal and straining water. Repeat the prep process with the dutch from your delicious fennel snacks, brush with olive oil and heat. (This is a process that\u2019s usually unnecessary when it\u2019s warm out, but helps quite a bit when you are cold-water cooking.)<\/p>\n Add the potatoes to the dutch with a quarter to half a stick of butter, depending on how gluttonous you\u2019re feeling. Add about half a cup of sour cream, half a block of cream cheese, parmesan and cheddar to your liking (we tend to go pretty heavy with our cheese). Mash the \u2018taters, whip all the above ingredients into the level of creaminess you prefer. Season with salt, pepper, basil, and oregano to taste. Don\u2019t cook the potatoes longer than 20-30 minutes. Uncover and top with more parmesan and cheddar. Let sit while the turkey rests.<\/p>\n Mama Nicely\u2019s Candied Sweet Potatoes<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Sweet potatoes peeled and cut into \u201csteak fry\u201d lengths Place the sweet potatoes into a heated skillet, add butter, brown sugar and water to cover. Sprinkle on cinnamon. Mama Nicely never used nutmeg or ground cloves, but you could. Simmer until water is evaporated, potatoes are soft and a warm candy glaze coats all. Mama Nicely hardly ever measured ingredients. Wing it.<\/p>\n Spiced Upside Down Cake<\/strong><\/p>\n 1 box favorite spice cake mix When on the river, desert can be one of the highlights of a day, and it is absolutely mandatory after a Thanksgiving meal. One of our falls favorites is Spiced Upside Down cake.<\/p>\n Use your favorite spiced cake mix, whether you like to make it from scratch or from a box is up to you.\u00a0 On the river, we always opt for convenience and strongly suggest using boxed cake mixes, you can always doctor them up with a few simple tips and tricks.<\/p>\n You\u2019ll want enough apple slices to cover the bottom of a 12″ dutch.\u00a0Heat the apple slices in a pan, adding in a liberal amount of butter. Add cinnamon, a cup or so of hard apple cider (it works just fine for the kiddos, the alcohol will cook out), nutmeg, and brown sugar to the mix once the apples start to soften.\u00a0 Cover and let simmer for 20 minutes, or until the apples are very tender and the juices have thickened into a syrupy sauce.<\/p>\n While your apples are cooking, mix the spiced cake batter.\u00a0 Brush the bottom and sides of the dutch oven with butter (you need more than you think, so the cake slides out when it is ready), and pour in your apple mixture, saving some of the syrup.\u00a0 Top the apples with the cake batter, and sprinkle the top with raw cane sugar, a dash of cinnamon and nutmeg.<\/p>\n Bake the cake for 25-40 minutes.\u00a0 5-10 minutes after you smell it, it will be ready, or very close to ready.<\/p>\n Let the cake cool considerably, or it will not come loose from the pan. (Giving the dutch a quick river bath ensures nothing is attached to the bottom or sides.) Gather the troops for the unveiling of this cake.\u00a0 Give it one really solid whack on the table. If there\u2019 no large handle on your dutch lid, leave it on, otherwise, remove it and perform the slam on a cutting board.<\/p>\n If everything went well, you should have a beautiful upside down cake topped with some wonderful apple pie filling, drizzle with reserved syrup and serve.\u00a0Additional topping options include whip cream, or to add a little extra holiday spirit to the dish, add a tablespoon or two of pre-cooked pumpkin pie mix to the cake batter.<\/p>\n Stuffing These are a few essentials that a Thanksgiving feast just isn\u2019t complete without. But there\u2019s no shame in a few menu items being store bought, straight from the box, and easy to cook. You\u2019re on a river and you\u2019ve landed on your sandy Turkey Day destination via raft. Gear storage is limited. Make your favorite dishes from scratch and throw in a couple boxed sides to add to the abundance and convenience. We recommend leaving these items to the manufacturer. Cook each as directed.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>
\n<\/strong>1 cup milk
\n\u00bd cup butter
\n\u00be cup of sugar
\n1 cup very warm water
\n2 packages of dry yeast
\n2 teaspoons sugar
\n2 eggs
\n1 teaspoon of salt
\n4 \u00bd to 5 cups of flour
\nTin foil for re-heating<\/p>\n<\/a>
\nA six-pack of your favorite canned hard cider (or non-alcoholic for the kiddos), reserving one can for the dessert
\nA few cinnamon springs
\nBottle of choice whiskey<\/p>\n<\/a>
\nSalt & pepper to taste
\nThyme
\nMelted butter or olive oil
\nPanko bread crumbs
\nParmesan Cheese<\/p>\n
\n<\/a>
\nNow that your kitchen is erect, follow these directions carefully: Be sure the turkey is dry, heat the oil slowly, and lower the bird slowly. Keep kids, dogs and drunks away from the fryer. Be prepared for rain or snow; bring an umbrella, for the fryer, not for you. If it\u2019s cold, tending the fryer is the warmest place on the beach.\u00a0As a general turkey-cooking rule, fry your turkey three minutes for every pound. (A 15-pound bird will take 45 minutes, so schedule the remaining menu items accordingly.)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\nBasil,\u00a0Oregano,\u00a0Salt & pepper
\nButter
\nSour Cream
\nParmesan & white cheddar cheeses
\nCream cheese<\/p>\n
\nButter
\nBrown sugar,\u00a0Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Cloves, etc<\/p>\n
\nApples, peeled and sliced
\nButter
\n1 Cup hard cider
\nNutmeg,\u00a0Brown sugar,\u00a0Raw cane sugar<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>Rolls or Cornbread <\/strong>(If you\u2019d rather not take the time to make Mama Miller\u2019s.)
\nMac & Cheese
\n<\/strong>Pie\/Cookies<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/a>