Glamping With Great Food at a Wimberley, TX Getaway Cabin

Limitations, in my opinion, always lead to great outcomes - no matter how much frustration might be caused in the interim. In these cases, cooking is no different from coding.

This was a great weekend in Wimberley, Texas. And the temperature couldn't have been better. Photos are not up to normal Quavid's Kitchen standards, but, hey - we weren't trying to work too much.

Jump to:

• Cabin Tour
• On To The Food
• 🔪 Cooking Gear
• 🐶 Leela Storm's Suggested Pairings
• 🍽 Kitchen Critique
• ✔ Takeaways

Let's cover the extent of dinner ingredients during this three-night Getaway cabin getaway in the Texas Hill Country:

• butter
• garlic
• shallot
• lemon
• grated cheese
• red pepper flakes
• parsley (chopped)
• chive (chopped)
• dried dill
• linguini
• jumbo shrimp (deveined, shell on)
• big-ass russet potato
• king salmon
• flat iron
• bacon
• Maldon

Pepper and salt were provided at our location, but they were too coarse so I'd take my own next time. Luckily I did have my handy travel container of Maldon on-hand.

This isn't a recipe post, so let's get to the pictures!

Cabin Tour

Shall we start with a video tour of our accommodations?

On To The Food

Of course we did breakfast in the same skillet! Eggs, sausage, bacon. One of the tricks to cooking great on a fire is removing the skillet when it gets too hot. For the bacon, I did this many times.

I prefer cast iron over carbon steel for fire cooking because of its heat retention. It's much easier to control cooking temps.

Salt, pepper, and a solid sprinkle of red pepper flakes were all that was needed for these beauties. Keeping the shell on helps keep flavor locked in and cook without becoming dry.

Dried pasta was just under-cooked in a pot of salted water then transferred to the cast iron, which already had butter, garlic, and shrimp. Just a couple more minutes until they all combined and were done.

I've never made pasta on a fire in this way, and it was immediately clear that I'd do it again in a heartbeat. Don't forget a squeeze of lemon and a good drop of cheese before diving in.

I made this ancho chili rub three days prior to cooking. The steak was generously coated in it and wrapped in plastic wrap. Can you name all the spices here? I'll tell you if you're interested - just get in touch.

Now, this rub was done ahead of time so I could wrap the steak in plastic for 2-3 days prior to cooking.

Hey, sometimes photos don't come out so great when you're camping!

More garlic and butter for the salmon, which was topped with some dried dill. Basting was key.

Even Leela joined in on the salmon fun. We cut the smaller, thin edge and cooked it for her. She was ecstatic to say the least.

🔪 Cooking Gear

• Lodge 12" cast iron skillet
• Chef knife
• Long tongs

🐶 Leela Storm's Suggested Pairings

• 🎵 Miles Davis - So What (one of my favorites for cooking)
• 🍺 Bell's Two Hearted IPA
• 🍺 Founders Milk Stout

🍽 Kitchen Critique

Going "glamping" and still wanting to cook things outside of kielbasa-on-a-stick or hotdogs (which I still do) is always a rewarding challenge... I think because of the unknown outcome - which could be amazing or lackluster. I'm just as nervous wanting a great meal fireside as I am at home by the stovetop or smoker, but also relaxed, knowing it's exactly where I want to be.

I'm also amazed by what can be done when things are simplified and forced into a box - in this case, a 12" Lodge cast iron skillet with limited ingredients. Sure, some random prep was done in advance, but only to:

• Save chopping time on the supplied cutting board
• Increase beer-drinking time while enjoying our time away with Leela

✔ Takeaways

• Sometimes one skillet and simple ingredients are all you need to create dynomite dishes.
• Leela loved the break, and your doggy would too - so take them along!
• Camping doesn't have to cramp your cooking style - don't be afraid of fireside cooking.