DAM DOG SOCIETY

    The ‘Dam Dog Society’ is not a hate group for dogs. The ‘Dam Dog Society’ is a group of like-minded people that love to cook with Dutch ovens. D.O.G. is the abbreviation for ‘Dutch Oven Gathering’. This Saturday an event was held demonstrating, cooking, eating and enjoying all things about Dutch Ovens. I recently joined the Northern California chapter of the ‘International Dutch Oven Society” (IDOS). This was their spring gathering. The event was held right smack dab in the middle of a vineyard. This is the way we roll in California.

The weather was not cooperating today. It was raining throughout the day. This did not dampen our commitment to creating a feast that was all prepared with our black iron ovens. We had a small platoon of pop-up tents. This provided shelter to slice and dice meats and vegetables for cooking. There was a slight haze of charcoal smoke from all the chimney starters. It was quit the scene.

It is amazing what can be prepared in a Dutch oven. Can you prepare a certain dish in your home oven? That same dish can be prepared in a Dutch oven. Meats, side dishes, desserts and my specialty breads were prepared today. We were shooting for a 12 noon lunch. Participants were timing their cooks to make this time goal. There were a couple of late arrivals to the D.O.G.  So we had a second seating of dishes scheduled for one o’clock.  

We had a brief meeting at noon; welcoming attendees and taking care of some IDOS business. It was time to eat. Are you ready for this long list of scrumptious dishes? We started with a meatball crostini. Some of the main dishes included; lasagna, pulled pork sliders, red beans & rice, several chilis’, beef stew, vegetable stew, lamb, and a potato sausage casserole. The bread department had some monkey bread and my signature dish of jalapeno cheese bread. Desserts included a peach cobbler and an apple ‘dump’ cake. This was only the first sitting. I had prior commitments and missed the second offering of Dutch oven cooked delights. WoW!!!!!!!!

What a fun day. It was great to gather with a bunch of Dutch oven enthusiasts. We swapped ideas, stories and Dutch oven knowledge. We were situated in beautiful surroundings of a vineyard. I can guarantee nobody walked away from this event hungry. I cannot wait till the next D.O.G.