Fireside Thursdays bring supper back to the coals

DUANE CROSS
MCO Publisher•Editor

Hey, remember that cast iron skillet you picked up at the Lodge store? It can do a lot more than cornbread. And Grandma’s Dutch oven that’s been collecting dust in the back of the cabinet? Yeah, there’s a use for that, too.

Beginning Thursday, Oct. 8, Tims Ford State Park will put cast iron to work over an open fire with Fireside Thursdays, a seven-week cooking series built around supper, dessert, and a little know-how passed along beside the coals.

The weekly demonstrations begin at 4:30 p.m. at Pavilion No. 2 and run through Nov. 19, with a different dish on the fire each Thursday. Park staff will walk visitors through the cooking, share a few tips along the way, and then let everybody sample what comes out of the pot. Participants will also leave with a copy of the recipe, so they can try it again at home.

Supper starts with enchiladas

The first Thursday belongs to Dutch oven enchiladas. Apple fritters follow Oct. 15, with shish kebabs on the menu Oct. 22. The Oct. 29 gathering brings blackberry cobbler and ice cream, which ought to go down just fine on a cool evening beside Tims Ford Lake.

November starts with Dutch oven pizza on Nov. 5. An Oreo cookie skillet follows Nov. 12, and the series closes Nov. 19 with Dutch oven chicken and dumplings.

You do not have to know your way around cast iron before you get there. The demonstrations are designed for beginners as well as folks who have been cooking over coals for years, with techniques that can be carried back to a backyard fire pit or campsite.

Cast iron does not hurry much. A Dutch oven takes its time, and the fire needs tending. Supper is ready when it is ready, which seems just about right once October evenings start cooling off and darkness comes a little earlier.

Come once or make a season of it

Visitors can attend a single demonstration for $10 or register for the full seven-week series for $60.

Those who sign up for all seven sessions will also receive a handmade, limited-edition cookbook containing the recipes covered during the program.

Each Thursday includes the cooking demonstration, a sample of the finished dish, and the recipe to take home. Mostly, it is a chance to pick up a few tricks and spend a cool fall evening near the fire while supper works over the coals.

By the middle of the series, the leaves should be turning, and the air ought to have enough bite in it to make that fire feel pretty good.

Seven Thursdays around the fire

• Oct. 8 – Dutch oven enchiladas
• Oct. 15 – Apple fritters
• Oct. 22 – Shish kebabs
• Oct. 29 – Blackberry cobbler and ice cream
• Nov. 5 – Dutch oven pizza
• Nov. 12 – Oreo cookie skillet
• Nov. 19 – Dutch oven chicken and dumplings

Fireside Thursdays will be held from 4:30-6 p.m. at Pavilion No. 2 at Tims Ford State Park, 570 Tims Ford Dr. in Winchester.

Questions may be directed to program host KayLee Robinson at 931-418-0215, or visitors can call the park office at 931-968-3536. Registration is available through Tennessee State Parks.

And when Nov. 19 rolls around, you might just be ready to pull Grandma’s Dutch oven out of the cabinet and put it back to work.