“Cooking with fire means that you become more aware as a cook. you have to master two living things: the fire and the ingredient. For me, cooking is like music, it’s completely different when you do it unplugged.” – Niklas Ekstedt, Food From the Fire 

Between my two brothers and I we have nine children. There are enough of us to easily warrant the group campsites we inhabit every summer. We spend the better part of a week letting our kids run free in the woods, chasing snakes (and in the meantime terrify their aunt), constructing forts, creating and reenacting elaborate scenes that take place under the wooded canopy of our campground.

While the kids run barefoot in the woods I busy myself with the fire. It takes very little for me to stoke the fire for dinner as the coals still burn hot from lunch and breakfast. As we’ve settled into a camping routine I have given myself the title of camp chef. I prepare the menus then divide the prep and clean up tasks. To me, cooking over the fire feels both thrilling and completely natural. Somehow the weight of the cast iron pan in my pan and the manipulating of the coals in order to tame the fire to give off just the right amount of heat just feels right.

Somewhere between the caramelized fennel and cream steamed mussels and the apricot cobbler with spiced biscuits cooked with coals in a dutch oven my eldest brother and I dreamt up plans for Kitchen Unnecessary. 

It feels just like that; a dream.

Here’s how we describe that campfire cooked dream on our website.

“Outside cooking is not just for the summer, this series shows you the magic of cooking seasonal ingredients outside all year long. Rain or shine – or snow, Ashley Rodriguez and her guests will take you outside to show you how to embrace cooking outdoors.

Each episode we will show you how to plan, prep and prepare a seasonal and local menu that you can cook and enjoy outside.

Cooking outside with seasonal and local ingredients we do not sacrifice taste or technique but we add a whole new layer of experience and create memories that last long after the food is gone.”

I could not be more excited to share this new project with you all here. Nothing is changing in this space, in fact I am more inspired than ever to cook and share recipes with you. Kitchen Unnecessary is just one more way for me to share my passion and encourage people to cook and gather as often as possible.

Please enjoy our first episode!

We are so excited about our future adventures. Currently we are exploring the idea of digging for Geoduck in the middle of the night. We’re making plans to get out to Alaska in June in search of the prized Copper River Salmon and we’re eager for Spring morels to start popping up.

This project is the work of a small but mighty team. My brother (Chris Baron, Baron Visuals) is my partner in this and I could not be more honored to be a part of this project with him. I have been hoping for years to have something like this to work on with him as his cinematography is beyond stunning. He has been nominated for an Emmy and has filmed for some incredible shows and films including, Food, INC.

My husband, Gabe is the incredible eye behind these photos posted here not to mention the website and logo.

John Harrison captured it all on film.

My dear friend and planning genius, Julie Hubert, is our fabulous producer.

Bryan Tucker, John and Chris took about 10 hours of footage and turned it into 9 stunning minutes.

And Daniel Winkler, our star and mushroom expert. From the first phone call we knew we found the right guide. This episode would not be the same without Daniel.

The first episode would not be possible without the support of our partner, Barebones Living. I’ve been using their product and developing recipes for their site for awhile now and I was so thrilled that they saw our vision for Kitchen Unnecessary and jumped on board.

Now on to the next adventure!

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Fire Roasted Pumpkin Fondue with Chanterelles and Chorizo

Author Ashley Rodriguez

Yield 4 Servings

This one is a show-stopper. Smoky roasted pumpkin becomes a serving dish for fondue with a spicy mushroom cap. Don’t fear the char that will inevitably coat the exterior of the pumpkin but do keep an eye on it while it roasts so that the char doesn’t go beyond the skin. You can roast the pumpkin completely in the cast iron pot but it will take quite a bit longer. Bring along the cheese already grated to save yourself from doing that work on the campsite.

Ingredients

1 3 pound kabocha squash (or other small pumpkin or squash)

8 ounces chorizo

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

8 ounces chanterelles, cleaned and sliced

1 garlic clove, thinly sliced

1 tablespoon butter

1/2 cup white wine

8 ounces grated comté or gruyere

4 ounces grated swiss cheese

Sea salt

For serving:

2 pounds fire cooked potatoes

2 apples, sliced

1/2 loaf crusty bread

Instructions

Set the pumpkin in hot coals at the base of a campfire. Pile up the coals around the pumpkin.

Roast until tender, about 20 to 30 minutes (depending on the heat of your fire). Don’t worry about the exterior char but you may have you move it around while roasting so it cooks evenly.

Carefully remove the pumpkin from the coals then let cool a bit before removing the top and scooping out the seeds.

Place the pumpkin in a small cast iron roasting dish then return the whole thing to the coals. Place the lid on and keep warm while you prepare the chorizo and chanterelles.

Set a cast iron skillet over low flames on a grill grate or directly on the coals.

Sauté the chorizo until cooked through. Remove to a platter then add the the butter and chanterelles. Sauté until deeply caramelized, add the garlic then return the chorizo back to the skillet. Add a pinch of salt then stir everything together well.

Remove the lid from the roasting dish with the pumpkin. Add the wine then slowly begin to stir in the cheese, waiting for each new addition to melt before adding the next. Once all the cheese has been added top with the chorizo and chanterelles, remove from the fire then enjoy.

*This post is the second in our series with Chateau St. Jean Winery in Sonoma. Wine and date nights are like peanut butter and jelly; made for each other. So we’re bringing back Date Night In here on the blog with great recipes and wine pairings to make a date night at home something to celebrate.

Our first (and only) fondue pot was green. Looking back perhaps green may not have been the best choice as the cheese that filled its deep bowl took on its olive tone. I thought we needed it. We were newly married and I was just taking a deep dive into my love of food so a fondue pot seemed a necessary investment, both for its promise of romance and heaping amounts of cheese. Somehow I overlooked the fact that we had no money and never ate fondue.

We used it once. The bowl was so large it required pounds of cheese in order to stay molten for longer than five minutes. We never figured out how to keep the tea light from scorching the cheese at the bottom while the top required a knife to cut through. What was suppose to be a romantic meal ended up causing undue stress and lots of leftover cheese. The fondue pot lived in the back of the cupboard before it was moved to the garage and then finally donated to Goodwill along with everybody else’s fondue pots.

But I wasn’t giving up on the idea of sharing a meal of melted cheese with the man I love because nothing says romance like a meal eaten with your hands. Strange? Maybe. To me it feels comfortable and and yes even just a little bit sensual (sorry, kids). It’s a meal made for lingering, for slowly dipping roasted potatoes into melted cheese and cutting the richness with slices of crisp apple. For conversations that outlast the candles on the table and for the evenings when you need the date but don’t care to spend hours in the kitchen.

Two questions always come up when people ask me about my book, Date Night In. What’s your favorite meal in the book? I love them all, truly, but the fried chicken and black pepper biscuit sandwich with the bourbon butterscotch ice cream pie for dessert is probably one of my finest moments. What’s your favorite EASY date night meal? The answer is always fondue. In the book I write about Raclette – a Swiss mountain cheese that requires nothing more than a hot oven and few things for dipping. But when there’s a bit more time (I mean we’re only talking about ten minutes here) I turn to this Roasted Chanterelle Fondue.

There’s no need to dig into the depths of your cupboard or scour the shelves at Goodwill for a fondue pot – a hearty cast iron skillet or small sauté pan will work. You don’t even need fresh Chanterelles, although that is ideal, dried ones work beautifully or use another favorite mushroom.

I really do love spending hours in the kitchen, folding butter into delicate layers, tenderly whisking olive oil and egg yolks into creamy submission, and watching sugar transform from snow to straw to copper but I also love it when a few ingredients somehow, as if by magic, turn into something that, just for a moment, takes your breath away. I love knowing that I really had so little to do with it, you know? Then I can simply sit back and take it all in as the gift it is and enjoy the company of my date. Sure I’ll take credit as he nods in appreciation, I’ll even let him believe that I worked tirelessly in the kitchen so that he does all the dishes while I slowly finish my wine.

This dish is just how I always want my dates with my husband to feel – special but simple, comfortable yet romantic. Marriage isn’t always easy but dinner can be.

Chanterelle and Gruyere Fondue

Serves 2

Pair with Pinot Noir

6 ounces fresh chanterelles, cleaned and roughly chopped or 1 ounce dried chanterelles

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 1/2 tablespoons finely chopped shallot

3/4 cup white wine

1/2 tablespoon cornstarch

1/2 pound/ 2 cups grated gruyere

For serving:

Sliced baguette

Roasted potatoes

Slice apple or pears

Cornichons

Dijon mustard

Chef 1: If you’re using dried chanterelles soak them in hot water for 10 minutes then drain.

Chef 2: Roughly chop the chanterelles.

Chef 1: In a medium saucepan sauté the shallots in olive oil until translucent, about 5 minutes over medium high heat. Add the chanterelles along with a hefty pinch of salt and a few grinds of pepper.

Chef 2: In a medium bowl toss the grated gruyere with the cornstarch until evenly coated.

Chef 1: Turn down the heat and carefully add the white wine.

While Chef 1 stirs, Chef 2 slowly adds the cheese, waiting until it melts before adding the next addition.

Chef 1: Add the cheese to a fondue pot, or if that’s not available simply pour the cheese into an oven-safe bowl and rewarm as needed.

Chef 2: Pour two glasses of Pinot Noir.

Serve the fondue with baguette, roasted potatoes, apple and pear slices, cornichons, and dijon.