Northern Michigan

[RobS]

Dave, I knew exactly what you were talking about, in fact... love em /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

I will say though, before moving to N. Indiana/S. Michigan I had never heard of them. Definitely an exremely local thing.

Had my first pasty on a smelt dipping trip in the UP. Drove by the mystery spot and all. Pure Yooper, eh? /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[Docsknotinn]

Ubetcha ! lol. GolfGar...What in the world is a pudgy Pie ? After the fudge and pasty banter I feel this might be a perilous question ? /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif Mike, There are several great campgrounds. Petoskey state Park, Burt lake and Cheboygen State Parks. Their is one West of Mackinaw that is my very favorite and that is Wilderness State Park. If you want to come over our way I'd be happy to take you and the family on a little nature tour of our area. My 160 acres is in the middle of a 31k acre private parcel. It is completely gated and private. This parcel belonged to a lumber company for the past 100 years and was recently purchased and divided into mostly larger parcels. The result of this contiguous piece of land is like turning the clock back many years in reference to the wildlife. We have numerous Black Bears, Eagles, Beavers, Grouse, Turkeys, deer and many birds and wildFlowers. The wine and cheese shop in Petoskey you are referring to is Simons General Store. If you have never taken the drive on M119 betwen Harbor Springs and cross Village it is a MUST see. Consistantly voted on of the 10 most scenic drives in the USA. Also if you have not been in several years you will be very suprised to find a world class resort, Bay harbor where the cement plant used to be. The Quarry was very deep and they dynamited the gap between the quarry and the lake to make a deep water harbor. If you are there and you face the bluff in a SW direction my grand fathers farm was there. He had a huge hill and when on top of it you can see both Lake Michigan and Lake Charlevoix. when I was a kid the B-52 bombers would fly low over the bay on practice bombing runs. They would have to pull up hard to clear the hill and try to stay under the radar. They would come over so low you could literally see the guys flying the planes. We made great sport of trying to shoot them down with out rubber plunger bow and arrows that were no doubt prize possesions from some trek to a tourist trap in Mackinaw. lol. Dave

 

[MossRoad]

Ahh, the mystery spot! Now that brings back memories. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[Golfgar4]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( GolfGar...What in the world is a pudgy Pie ? )</font>

/forums/images/graemlins/ooo.gifPudgy pies! /forums/images/graemlins/ooo.gif /forums/images/graemlins/ooo.gif

They may be known by other names in other parts of the country, but they are a staple for any real Boy Scout campout! /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif In fact, when I was a Scoutmaster, my guys wouldn't even consider smores for a campfire. They had to have pudgy pies.

Basically, you first must find and/or purchase a pudgy pie iron. We had about 10 of them for our troop, and we could've used more! The iron consists of two round cast metal plates at the end of long handles (kind of like the old hot dog sticks used for roasting hot dogs in a campfire). The two metal plates are hinged at the end, so when they are closed, they will squeeze the pie between them. Think of a waffle iron kind of gizmo on two handles.

The pies are made out of two slices of bread with some kind of filling in between. The boys generally preferred pie filling, such as apple, cherry, or blueberry. The adults tended to like the more sophisticated fillings such as beef stew or spaghetti (my personal favorite! /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif).

I've seen the irons in various shapes, but most common is round. I prefer the square irons myself, because there is less waste of bread.

Once you put the filling in between the two slices of bread, place it in the iron and bring the handles together. The handles usually have some type of clip that holds the two handles together. Then just stick the iron into the fire. One to Two minutes on each side is usually sufficient, dependent on the amount of filling that you put in.

The last place that I saw irons for sale was at the Bass Pro Shop in Springfield, Missouri. I've also found them in stores such as Farm & Fleet, Shopko, etc. I think any decent quality camping supply store would have them. But again, they may be known under another name.

Get yourself some. You absolutely will love them! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[DocHeb]

We called them Tonka Toasties, named after the Brand Name that was on the side of ours. My favorite was always blueberry filling, but pizza was close behind (tomato sauce, pepperoni, mushroom and cheese). Don't forget to butter the bread on the outside (or oil the metal) so it doesn't stick.

Attached is the Tonka Toaster opened.

 

[RobS]

This thread is starting to make me very hungry /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif I've heard of those Garry but not by that name. The irons are available in Wally World camping departments and such now. Some old neighbors cooked their entire meals that way. Veggie fillings, meat fillings and fruit fillings for dessert.

On a related note, the pasty link has resulted in my ordering four pastys directly from the UP for shipment to my house. I'll report next week on how they tasted. Thanks /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Dave (DocsKnotInn), do you know anything about the Petoskey KOA? That's where we're thinking of staying. It's highly rated and has all the amenities we (and the kids) need for a week or two stay. Fear not, we'll visit the State Parks, but gotta have the pool and full hook-ups /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[DocHeb]

Just put bread on each aluminum disc, fill your filling of choice, and close it up. It even cuts most of the crust off for you! The trick is in the timing - on the coals too short and it's just warmed (not toasted). Too long on the coals and its a charcoal Frisbee.

Attached is a Tonka Toaster closed (but not filled).

 

[Golfgar4]

Yupper Chris! /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

That be a Pudgy Pie iron. Never heard them called Tonka Toasties, but I bet they tasted just as good as our Pudgy pies! /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

And you're absolutely correct about spreading butter or oil on each side to keep from sticking. We used to take a little vegetable oil on a paper towel and wipe the inside of each iron. I'd forgotten that, it's been so long since I've had one. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

I always liked the square ones because they DIDN't cut off all the crust. /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

 

[5030]

If you are going to the Mystery Spot, go west on Rte 2 and stop at Gustafsons Smoked Fish. I recommend them.

 

[Docsknotinn]

Hwy2 is jerky Heaven. I love that place. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif I gotta get a pudgie pie pan. The thing we used to do in scouts was to take a piece of aluminum foil and put sliced carrots potatoes, and a meat patty along with a little tomatoe sauce or what ever was available in there and fold up the foil and throw them in the coals. And then theres the dutch oven peach cobbler... Who's buildin the Fire ? Mike, I dont know the KOA in Petosekey, do you have and address ? Dave A Scout is Trustworthy, Brave, Thirfty, kind, Clean, Reverent, Sexy, obideient and HUNGRY !

 

[Bird]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( And then theres the dutch oven peach cobbler... )</font>

Yep, I gave my last big cast iron dutch oven to a friend who was a scout leader and needed another one for making those peach cobblers.

 

[MossRoad]

In scouts we'd just take a can of Dinti Moore stew and punch a few holes in the lid and set it in the fire till the juice started rolling out the top of the can. Then some brave sould would reach in there and grab it out with an oven mit. They usually lost some eyebrows, but it was worth it on a cold afternoon.

 

[MossRoad]

OK, who's got the recipe for the dutch oven peach cobbler? All I ever got to do was dig the hole and shovel the coals in, set the oven in the hole and put the coals on top, then bury it. Never got to assemble the ingredients. Also, about how long did we cook those things? We usually made ice cream while it was cooking..... mmm, must take food break! /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

 

[RobS]

Our fall family cub scout campout is in another week or two. Saturday night fare includes foil dinners and dump cake. Can't wait! Foil dinners consist of meat patty, potato slices, onions, carrots and sauce (ketchup, hot sauce, whatever you like) in foil cooked right on the coals. After dinner is dump cake prepared in dutch ovens on the same coals. Recipe couldn't be simpler, just remember 3-2-1: 3 cans pie filling of your choice, two boxes jiffy white cake mix sprinkled on top and 1 stick of butter sliced over it all. No need to mix, the boiling fruit juices take care of that for you. Delicious /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[MossRoad]

Our dump cake is one can of cherry pie filling, one can of crushed pineapple, one yellow cake mix and one stick of butter(none of that sissy margarine). Mmmm, time for second helpings! /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

 

[Docsknotinn]

Does my bridge photo get the Betty Crocker award or what ? /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif Dave

 

[5030]

I see we went from geography to food.

"Dump" cake? That sounds scary, do you have to take a "Dump" afterward? Or if you don't eat it, do you get "Dumped"? /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

[RobS]

<font color="blue">I see we went from geography to food </font>

Ah but it's geographically based food Daryl, that's the key /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[super7]

And to think no one has mentioned the antique trackor/steam/implement museum south of petoskey.

Gotta have an ice cream in either Bay Harbor or Harbor Springs and go window shopping with the wife, and have to stop at Simons and the Wood crafting shop down the street (really, really want one of their canoes)

Cheers
Tony

 

[Golfgar4]

When I was with the Scouts, every year we'd have a weekend campout for the boys who were joining our troop from Webelos. It became a tradition that on this "first" campout, we'd have spaghetti, italian bread, and dump cake.

About 2 weeks after having one of these campouts, I received a call from the mother of one of the new boys. She said she didn't know what to do and thought she should ask me. She went on to explain that all her son talked about after the campout was this "dumcake". It was now just 2 days from his birthday, and he wanted her to make a "dumcake" for his birthday. She had no idea what the boy was talking about. She was sure that he had it all wrong, and could I please explain it to her.

After I quit laughing, I simply explained the process of making a dumpcake. I did warn her, though, that it probably wouldn't taste quite the same as it did when it came out of a dutch oven. /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif