Hello Dear Friends and Fellow Foodies,
Gourmet Girl Gail here writing from Santa Barbara. If you recall from one of our past posts, the GGs auctioned off a culinary glamping weekend at the Santa Barbara Wild event last summer. They chose the venue at Blue Sky Center in New Cuyama, and it entitled the winner to two nights stay in a Shelton Hut.
Blue Sky Center is a rural, place-based nonprofit organization with the mission to strengthen their rural communities within the Cuyama Valley by supporting entrepreneurs and building their regional creative and economic resources. They list themselves as both a Hipcamp and an Airbnb.
The gift certificate specified that Gail Kearns (moi!) of Gourmet Girls on Fire would offer guidance on a make-ahead meal for them to bring Friday night (they opted for the Cuyama Buckhorn restaurant) and demonstrate setting up the camp kitchen with our gear. On Saturday they were to assist me with a delicious campfire-cooked dinner and Sunday breakfast. The package included a copy of Gourmet Girls Go Camping Cookbook, and a tour and tasting at Condor’s Hope Vineyard in the area.
The lucky winner was Shannon Karen, and she asked six of her friends to join her on this adventure. Really? Yikes! I was only prepared for two guests, but thankfully Gourmet Girl Lindsey and her boyfriend Mike were available to come up and lend a hand.
We were given access to the food trailer on the premises (more than grateful for that!) and prepared and cooked a lot of our menu there.
The dinner menu consisted of a Perfect Paloma (a GGs signature drink), two appetizers, our bison chili recipe, and two salads. The grilled Caesar salad was a real hit! Here’s Lindsey putting the finishing touches on our Caprese salad appetizer.
We also prepared a vegetarian version of the chili. Both chili versions were done outside on the Volcano and one camp stove.
For dessert we had Shannon and her friends participate in making Maryann’s Campfire Orange Bombs, a recipe in our Gourmet Girls Go Camping Cookbook. We had a great fire going for everyone by this time, and it was a blast to see our guests unwrap the foil from the oranges and dig into the fudge brownie goodness inside. I’m tempted to give away the recipe, but I’ve got to sign off soon and take care of my new rescue dog, Abigail. I think she deserves a blog post of her own in the near future. Do you agree?
For breakfast we made our delicious Apricot-Pecan Pancakes with Maple-Blackberry Syrup. It was a great ending for Shannon and her friends before they left.
The GGs will be keeping in touch with Blue Sky to see what new adventures we can cook up!
In the meantime, we hope you get outside and enjoy the summer months that are about to unfold. I, for one, will be introducing Abigail to the great outdoors!
Bon Appetit!
Gail, Denise and Lindsey
#gourmetgirlsonfire #getoutdoors #blueskycenter
Interesting post, sounds like a fun event.
I recently drove by Blue Sky when dining at the Buckhhorn and wondered what it’s all about.
Looking for a place to group camp in the area for our local Sisters on the Fly (we met waiting on line at Live Oak!). Any suggestions?
Always enjoy the Gourmet Girls posts and of course LOVE the cookbook- bought two. Just got the Tuscan Grill have to get the Volcano next. I’d love to see a post with you using the various gear mentioned in your cookbook- hints, techniques etc. Thanks for an interesting and worthwhile blog. Who says camping is just hot dogs or PBJ sammies?
We’re so glad you are enjoying our informative blog. And thank you for purchasing two of the cookbooks! You’re going to love the Tuscan grill. Over the summer, we’ll be sure to include tips and techniques about using some of the gear that’s listed in our cookbook. Bon appetit!