Six Inch Pie

A 9" pie can be too much for two people who are trying to be reasonable. You can buy half-sized pie plates, but I have a 6" diameter cast iron skillet which is half the area of a 9" pan according to my basic geometric calculations. While I sometimes use a press in oil crust (my dislike of rolling pastry is well documented) I decided to do an all-butter rolled crust for this, which turned out to be pretty manageable to roll and shape for this smaller pan. I halved the recipe for a single crust from my trusty Better Homes & Gardens New Cookbook:

Single Crust for a 6" pie

• 1/2 C plus 2 Tbsp flour
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/6 c (scant 3 Tbsp) butter
• 2 Tbsp cold water

For the filling, I used some of our frozen home-grown sour cherries, lovingly picked and pitted this summer and halved the filling and crumb-top from this "Best Tart Cherry Pie" recipe. The half recipe worked well for this pan size. Despite halving the recipe, it doesn't halve the bake time- I ended up baking this for 70 min. Next time, reduce the amount of crumb topping.

Crumb topping on- ready to bake

Skillet Cookies

A skillet cookie is a great quick dessert for 3-6 people. You can prepare the dough in advance, spread it in the skillet and then wait to bake it so it's warm and ready when you want to eat dessert.

The King Arthur Flour skillet cookie recipe (for a 10" skillet) is really good and calls for ingredients I always have on hand. A half-batch of the recipe works well in a 7" diameter skillet.

I've also made a Reese's peanut butter skillet cookie:

1/4 to1/2 cup granulated sugar (I used 1/4 c)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup salted butter softened
1 large egg room temperature
1/4 cup whole milk
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 cup Mini Reese's peanut butter cups halved (I used the ones from Trader Joe's )

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream butter and sugars together, then mix in egg, peanut butter and milk. Add dry ingredients and mix well to combine. Gently fold chopped PB cups into the cookie dough.
Lightly grease a 10 inch cast iron skillet. Place the cookie dough into the cast iron skillet and spread out with a spatula until the surface is even.
Bake the skillet cookie for 25-30 minutes, or until nicely browned on top and a tooth pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow the skillet cookie to cool for 10 minutes.

Peanut butter cup

A half-batch in a 7" skillet

Frittatas in Two Sizes

Have it your way frittata- 10" skillet

Serves 4

2 Tbsp oil or butter

8 eggs

1 clove garlic minced

3 Tbsp parmesan cheese

3 oz additional cheese, grated or crumbled (optional)

salt, pepper, chopped fresh herbs

2-3 c filling ingredients, including mushrooms, peppers, onions, spinach, zucchini, broccoli, asparagus, sausage, bacon, ham, chopped tomato, cooked potato cubes, etc. You can also use frozen veggies that have been cooked and drained, as well.

Heat oven to 400. Heat oil in 10" cast iron skillet. Add filling ingredients and sauté or steam sauté until lightly browned, 6-8 min, then add minced garlic and cook 1 min longer. Meanwhile beat eggs, cheeses and seasonings. Pour eggs over filling and cook over medium heat, without stirring, until it begins to set around the edges, about 1 min. Transfer skillet to the oven and bake until puffed, about 10-12 min. 

Two-person frittata in 6" skillet

4 eggs, beaten

1 c chopped vegetables

1/2 c cooked chopped meat

1/2 c shredded cheddar cheese (optional)

salt, pepper, herbs

Prepare as standard. Bake time at 375 will be about 15 min.

Small Batch Coffee Cakes, Small Batch Cornbread in 6" skillet

We're finding some good uses for the 6" diameter cast iron skillet.

The area of a 6" cast iron skillet is just about half of an 8" X 8" pan, so you can halve recipes intended for the 8X8 and get good results for just 2 people. I halved this coffee cake recipe:

• 3/4 c plus 2 Tbsp flour
• 1/2 c sugar (I use less, maybe about 1/3 c)
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4-1/2 tsp cinnamon (I added to the published recipe)
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 1/2 egg (or 1 Tbsp yogurt)
• 1/4 c plus 2 Tbsp milk
• 1/2 tsp vanilla

Topping:

• 2 Tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon

Combine dry ingredients. Cut in butter with a pastry blender. Add liquid ingredients, blend until just mixed. Top with cinnamon and brown sugar (you could measure these, or just sprinkle some on to your taste, which is what I do). Bake at 375 for 20-25 min- this one took 30 min. The thing about halving recipes into smaller pans is that you think the bake time will be reduced, and often it really isn't much, if at all.

When our kids were growing up, everyone loved the Betty Crocker recipe using Bisquick for a quick breakfast coffee cake. I decided to try a half-batch in our small (6" diameter) cast iron skillet. I did not halve the egg, but rather threw in a spoonful of plain Greek yogurt. If you don't have any Bisquick on hand, here is a recipe to make your own.

• 1 c Bisquick
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/3 c milk
• 1 Tbsp sugar
• 1/2 egg, or about 1 Tbsp of yogurt

Streusel

• 2 Tbsp brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 Tbsp butter

Preheat oven to 375. Mix batter, pour in greased pan. Mix streusel, sprinkle on top. Bake 20-25 min or so until lightly browned and a tester comes out clean- it was 25 min for me.

For a small batch of cornbread, halve the recipe on the corn meal package. As above, rather than halving an egg I put in about a Tbsp of yogurt. I've also made it with the full egg, and it turned out fine, but fluffier. I baked it about 18-20 min or so.

For a 6" savory dutch baby, see here.

2020 Camping Retrospective

 Having bought our little camper last summer more or less on a whim, it turned out to be a total WIN this year. We had to cancel several trips we had planned due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but camping was still possible (at least after the campgrounds were permitted to open in June). So camp we did, with a total of 7 camping outings this season. We enjoyed some beautiful weather across a range of temperatures (hot days in July, then down to 31 degrees in Custer State park in Oct).

While it still takes time to plan and pack, we've gotten much faster. We left our camping gear out on the main level of the house so it was easy to pack for the next trip. Meal planning and prep still takes a while, but we got faster with that, too. We retained a number of the great foods we tried last year, and added a few more, including baking a from-scratch chocolate cake over the campfire. Andy's big discovery was skillet frying over the campfire (chicken, fish, fry bread). 

June

Lamb's Resort, Tofte MN

Spot 4A, right on the water

Andy loves pancakes while camping

Biking right by Blue Fin Bay

Fort Ridgley State Park

Our site backed right up to the creek

July

WI Dells, Door County (Peninsula State Park), Big Bay (Madeline Island)

KOA, Dells

Peninsula

Angus takes the ferry to Madeline Island

Big Bay

August

Frontenac State Park

September

Cascade State Park

Summit of Eagle Mountain, tallest in MN

Grand Portage Sate Park, High Falls

Cascade

Cascade State Park

Merrick State Park, WI

Pup in pup tent

October

Fort Abraham State Park ND, Sully State Park ND, Custer State Park, SD, Killen Woods SP, MN

Needle, Custer

The new hiking boots are wonderful

Sylvan Lake, Custer

Fort Abraham State Park, ND

Dropping Angus off for winter storage at the MN State Fair. He'll spend winter in the Education building.

A few things we learned this year:

• Don't leave home without 2-3 gallons of drinking water in the car. Store it behind the passenger seat so it doesn't get crushed when Andy rolls his seat back
• Double-bag all meat. Eggs travel in the car, not the camper
• The cooler needs ice every 2 days in the summer
• Don't put bikes on the rack on top of the camper (resulting in emergency bike repair)
• Start the fire at least 30 min before you want to start cooking
• Download your hiking map onto your phone while you still have a cell signal
• Plug the camper battery in to charge at least 24 hours ahead of the trip
• Heating water to do the dishes makes a tremendous difference
• If not a MN State Park, buy firewood before you arrive
• No matter how cold it is, open the top vent in the camper to minimize vapor build up