It’s My Party

My daughter, Anna, decided to have some friends and family over to our home for a campfire and mountain pies. She had to work a block of time from Thursday morning until noon on Saturday. That left poor old Dad to straighten up the house, get some of the groceries, and with the help of her boy friend James, we cut and stacked firewood, set up tables and chairs, and moved the fire pit.

When she got home, she did have to wash off the table and chairs, gather the food and supplies, and bring home some ice.

My other daughter came with her husband Eric and their daughter Hannah, bringing the sandwich irons and hot dog skewers. Darrel and his wife Jaimie Johns were the others invited. It was a nearly perfect evening, a few clouds, but a lot of sunshine.

After we said the blessing, we started making mountain pies. Mountain pies are just two pieces of buttered bread with different types of fillings. The buttered bread is placed on the sandwich press, butter side against the metal. The press is made of two hinged, square, shallow cupped pieces of metal on long handles. The press is almost like a George Foreman grill, but made to use in a campfire. The press is placed on the hot coals and the bread is toasted and the fillings warm.

We had several types of fillings. Ham and cheese, pizza sauce, cheese, and pepperoni, as well as several pie fillings for dessert pies. My idea was to try to make a Reuben sandwich. Anna and James really like Reuben sandwiches and I thought, “Why not?”

We used rye bread slices, cut in half so they would fit in the presses. Between the slices, we stacked the corned beef, sauerkraut, Swiss cheese. I forgot to get Russian dressing and had to use Thousand Island dressing instead. I was anxious as my pie baked in the coals. I don’t know if anyone else tried to do a Reuben as a mountain pie or not, so this was an experiment. The pie was delicious and was the hit of the party.

I had almost forgotten how nice it could be to relax around a campfire talking, eating, and relaxing. Thanks to friends and family for reminding me just how much fun it can be.