Weekend Adventures 005: A Campfire Cheese Plate

A campfire cheese plate filled with gooey brie, buttery fontina, fruits, grilled bread, and olives

Next time you’re in the wilderness and you’re setting up your campfire to throw some hobo bundles in the coals and marshmallows on the flames, consider this: you have a unique opportunity to harness the flavor, depth, and magic of the campfire in your food.

Cooking over a campfire imparts a smokey warmth and a rich flavor to foods that you just can’t achieve on your home grill or cast iron skillet. There’s something different – magical – about cooking on an open flame.

It should come as no surprise that my favorite part about camping is cooking over an open fire. Yes, I love being outdoors. I love the brilliant stars and the whoosh of the wind between the trees, and the stillness of it all. Being outside, away from the noise and immersed in the serenity of nature is so special to me – it’s what gets me to pack up my cooler and tent and drive two hours north. But you can bet that the minute I decide I’m going camping for the weekend, I’m plotting what I’m going to cook.

I love the challenge, too. Cooking over an open flame isn’t easy – it’s not like a burner on which you can adjust the settings by turning a dial. Fire can be unpredictable, and I’ve learned by trial and error how to harness the flames and use them to my advantage. But it’s not as difficult as it sounds.

One of my favorite camping meals is Campfire Paella, done in a fashion similar to arroz con pollo, or without protein at all. But when you’re just setting up camp and you need a snack, or when you’re returning from a day hike and can’t wait 1-2 hours till dinner is ready, a cheese plate is a classy break from the camping norm and a delicious way to soak up the splendor and sweetness of the outdoors.

I’ve written before about how to create a beautiful cheese plate for a party or gathering. This is similar, but different. Gone are the fancy props and delicate balancing act of almonds in between crackers, jams, and cheeses. Camping cheese plates introduce a simplicity, imperfection, and rustic appeal that differentiates them from their sumptuous counterparts. This is a time to keep it simple and go back to the basics.

For my camping cheese plate, I chose a soft, buttery, and tangy fontina cheese alongside a creamy and delicate brie. The cheeses were accompanied by cast iron grilled cranberry walnut sourdough, rosemary lentil crackers, red grapes, strawberries, assorted cured olives, and salami.

First, I gently melted the brie in a smaller camping skillet and then scooped it into the metal pie dish that I used to serve the cheese plate. I covered the brie (the star attraction, in my opinion) with sliced strawberries and crowded the dish with grapes, crackers, grilled bread, olives, and rolled up slices of salami. We cracked open a few beers, sat back, and enjoyed the campfire cheese plate as the sun began to set behind the trees.

This was all part of a beautiful weekend spent away from the city; a welcome reprieve in between a few stressful weeks at work, just before the summer sun began to heat up Arizona. We packed up the cooler, stopped by Sprouts for some goodies, and headed north with little activities but a deck of cards and a good book. It was a heavenly, simple weekend with sweet hikes around our campsite, the discovery of some incredible cactus flowers, and gathering of some dried florals that now grace my bar cart at home.

We took a little interlude on our way home from Prescott to go thrifting and enjoy happy hour at a local restaurant, El Gato Azul, where we enjoyed some fun tapas on their lively patio.