My daughter wanted to go camping for her birthday, and my husband wanted to go hiking, so I thought we could make a nice twofer out of it. We’re all foodies. Adding birthdays on top of that, I really wanted to make lovely campfire fare, so I grabbed this book. It’s very cool. You will not be bored with the same old campsite (or backyard!) meals. The author’s intent is that you do all the prep right at the campsite. Measuring and dicing out in the woods, where I have no desire to have a full pantry or fridge to work out of, sounded pretty bad. I prefer to keep things as simple as possible out in the woods, so that we can concentrate on hiking, canoeing, and chillaxing, so I did all the prep work at home, and even froze what parts would freeze well to double as ice packs in our cooler. It worked out so well, and I couldn’t be happier with the book.My thoughts and pics on the dishes we tried:1) Blueberry Skillet Scones with Lemon Glaze – p 42. These were divine. They are rich, fragrant, and not overly sweet. I prepped the dough and icing in advance and put them in separate sealed bags.2-5) Savory Oatmeal with Bacon, Cheddar, and Fried Egg – p 49. Delicious. This was everyone’s favorite breakfast. I cooked and crumbled the bacon and toasted the oatmeal in advance. Then I measured and separately bagged the bacon, oatmeal, cheese, and chopped onion. I measured ice water into a mason jar (they have measurement lines on the side), so that it would double as an icepack and a drinking jar, too.6) Foil Pack Salmon with Pineapple Salsa – p 101. Fabulous dinner. The sweet, savory, and spicy salsa complements the rich fish perfectly. I washed the fish, seasoned it, and topped it with lime slices and bagged that in advance. And I made another sealed bag of the salsa in advance. This was supposed to be done in foil, which I forgot at home, so I just used my Dutch oven with a lid, and it worked perfectly. Our lantern was dead, so this photo taken with a pocket flashlight will have to do.7-11) Dutch Oven Old-School Lasagna – p 179. All the yes! Lasagna and potstickers are my kiddos favorite foods, so I was thrilled to see one of them in the book for her birthday dinner. This works perfectly in the Dutch oven with coals. Everyone loved it. I made the meat sauce and combined the cheese mixture ahead of time, and separately bagged and froze those. Then I made a little bag of the topping cheese. There was supposed to be spinach in this, but I forgot it at home.12) Mimosa Sangria – p 190. This was a lovely fireside sipper. I put the measured fruit, orange liqueur, and fruit juice in one mason jar ahead of time. When we were ready to drink it, I divided it between this and the other mason jar that the measured water had been in for the oatmeal that was now empty, and my hubby topped them both up with champagne. How’s that for glamping?!13-15) Camp Chai – p 202. I made the chai concentrate ahead of time. Next time, I’ll make two batches because the kids loved this in the morning while they sat around the fire waiting for their breakfasts. It’s a total mug of coziness.16-17) Campfire S’Mores, 6 Ways – p 209. My daughter chose a mash-up of two as her birthday cake. Chocolate graham crackers, Nutella, salted caramel, and toasted marshmallows. They thought they were way better than the standard deal. Next time, I’ll chill the Nutella and caramel so that it’ll stand up better to the molten marshmallow. One of my kids is a marshmallow igniter.Some others I have flagged to try: Peanut Butter-Stuffed French Toast with Honeyed Blackberries – p 56 * Bacon-Wrapped Potatoes with Blue Cheese – p 62 * Egg-in-a-Hole Grilled Cheese – p 68 * Pile of Grilled Vegetables with Herbed Toasts – p 79 * Grilled Grape and Gorgonzola Pita Pizzas – p 92 * Vietnamese Pork Tacos with Pickled Carrots and Daikon – p 95 * Bacon-Wrapped Dates – p 115 * Grilled Corn on the Cob, 4 Ways – p 120 * Charred Romaine Salad with Lemon-Anchovy Dressing – p 127 * Peak-of-Summer Peach Caprese Salad – p 130 * Five-Alarm Three-Bean Chili – p 142 * Summer Vegetable and Salmon Packets – p 153 * Tin Foil Seafood Boil – p 157 * Grilled Flank Steak and Fingerling Potatoes with Chimichurri – p 162 * Dutch Oven-Baked Buttermilk Chicken with Kale and Apple Slaw – p 182 * Grilled Pears with Honey-Cinnamon Crème Fraiche – p 214 * Dutch Oven Strawberry-Rhubarb Cobbler – p 215I’ll update this after we try more dishes on our next camping trip! 