2010 South Carolina Campground Cookoff Dessert Runner-up

The answer to an insatiable sweet tooth arrived in the form of second place winner, Team Hannahhill's
 Coconut Cream Bread Pudding. With its melt in your mouth texture and dreamy coconut flavor, this five-star comfort food was a hit. We judges wished we had room for a full helping. This is one I will make at home. Hope you will, too.

 Team Hannahhill's
 Coconut Cream Bread Pudding

12 ounces cream cheese (softened)
1 ½ cups sugar (divided)

4 large eggs

2 ½ cups milk (divided)

1 15-ounce can of coconut cream (divided)

8 TBS butter (melted and divided)

1 8-ounce loaf of French bread (cut into 1-inch cubes)
½ cup sweetened coconut

¾ cup chopped pecans

Vegetable spray


Preheat Dutch oven to 350 degrees. Beat cream cheese at low speed with mixer until creamy. Add 1 cup sugar and eggs and beat until sugar is dissolved. Stir in 2 cups milk, 1 cup cream of coconut and 3 tablespoons of melted butter. Pour over bread cubes and let stand for a few minutes.

Prepare a Dutch oven for baking. Pour mixture into dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until set.

Stir together flaked coconut, pecans and 3 tablespoons melted butter. Sprinkle coconut mixture over baked pudding and bake 5 more minutes or until browned.

Cook remaining ½ cup sugar in a heavy pan over low heat. Stir constantly until sugar melts and turns into a brown liquid. Stir the remaining ½ cup milk and ½ cup cream of coconut together and pour into the melted sugar. Stir until sugar and liquid mixes well. Stir in the remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Serve the caramelized sugar sauce over the pudding.

Garnish (if desired) with praline pecans and a flower. (NOTE: Cut the calories, cholesterol and fat by using 1/3 less fat cream cheese, skim milk and Egg Beaters. The result is still delicious.)

2010 South Carolina Campground Cookoff Dessert Category

Delicious beginnings deserve a suitably sweet ending and although the entries were few, each one in the dessert category at the South Carolina Campground Cookoff was a winner.

Taking third place was the Team Latimers “Pit” Crew 
Fruit Cake Stick, a fun, light, simple but satisfying finish to an al fresco meal. It's one younger campers can put together, too.

Team Latimers “Pit” Crew 
Fruit Cake Stick

4 skewers

¼ cup water
¼ cup sugar


Pineapple cut into chunks

Strawberries sliced in half

Whole seedless grapes

Angel food cake cut into cubes

4 maraschino cherries

1 cup milk chocolate morsels

Stir water and sugar together over medium heat on grill for a light syrup. Alternate fruit with cake on skewer. Add a cherry to top of each skewer. Lay on hot, clean grill. Sprinkle syrup mixture over the fruit as you turn skewer. Take skewer off of grill and drizzle with melted chocolate. Enjoy!

South Carolina 2010 Campground Cook-Off First Prize Winner

Ta-dah - drum roll, please. Imagine the aroma of freshly grilled rack of lamb, the wake-up call of stone ground jalapeno grits. Cut into perfectly pink meat, taste and sigh. Hands down,  Team PFC - Smarr
's Grilled Rack of Lamb with Jalapeno Bacon Stone Ground Grits
 won over our taste buds and our hearts.

However, as you'll see, the Smarrs left out measurements but it shouldn't be too hard to figure out. Even the errors in the trial and error process should be delicious.

 Team PFC-Smarr
's Grilled Rack of Lamb with Jalapeno Bacon Stone Ground Grits


Grilled Rack of Lamb:
Rack of lamb

Rosemary (dried or fresh)

Thyme (dried or fresh)

Garlic powder

Salt

Pepper

White wine
Stone ground grits [Believe me, it won't be the same with any non-stone ground grits]

Bacon

Butter
Jalapeno peppers

Onion, chopped

Garlic, chopped
Water

Salt

Pepper

Green onion, chopped

Fresh Parmesan cheese


Rub rack of lamb with herbs and spices (measurements to taste preference).

Brown both sides of lamb over hot coals. Place on baking rack inside aluminum pan with about an inch of white wine. Cook indirectly over coals and close grill. Cook at medium temperature until preferred doneness. Let rest for about 10 minutes and then cut into chops and serve.


Jalapeno Bacon Stone Ground Grits

Cook bacon in cast iron Dutch oven over hot coals. Remove bacon and set aside. Add several pats of butter to bacon grease and sauté chopped jalapenos, onions and garlic. Add water, salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Add grits to water and cover. Add a few coals on top of lid and let cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened to desired consistency. Stir in crumbled bacon. Garnish with green onions and finely grated Parmesan cheese and serve.

(NOTE: I did not give measurements. All is done to taste and desired meal size. I prefer the grits to be a little runny and not stiff.)
 
Winning teams in the main dish competition

 Left to right: Third, Second and First Place teams

NEXT: Dessert winners.

NOTE: So sorry for the gap in posts - I've been in Germany and the Internet gods decided none of the equipment I hauled along should work properly.