No outdoor adventure is complete without a campfire and no campfire is complete with a toasty s’more. That’s why we’ve put together a list of our favorite tips and tricks for the perfect gooey and chocolatey treat.
Get extra toasty. There’s nothing worse than unmelted chocolate. Set up your graham cracker and chocolate on top on a piece of foil and place it near the fire. Spin it periodically to make sure the chocolate warms evenly. When you put your marshmallow on, the chocolate will melt every time.
Know yourself. The marshmallow makes or breaks a good s’more. Whether you like your marshmallows golden brown or nearly burnt, make sure to keep an eye out for your preferred gooeyness.
Just keep spinning. For the perfect s’more, consistency is key. Keep spinning the marshmallow when you toast it, so it cooks evenly, especially when you have a bigger fire.
Eat and repeat. The only thing tastier than one warm, sweet treat is two.
Photographer and food blogger Katherine D’Costa spent her recent Artist Fellowship cooking up a storm at Getaway Chattahoochee. Katherine and her husband, a chef and recipe developer, came up with a three-course summer meal, all featuring Georgia peaches.
Now they’re sharing their recipes for poached peaches and corn salsa, bourbon barbecue pork chops with grilled peaches, and grilled peaches and pineapples.
Poached Peaches and Corn Salsa
What you’ll need:
2 ears fresh corn (shucked)
8 grape tomatoes (halved)
1/2 cup cilantro (finely-chopped)
1 cup lime juice
1 tsp kosher slat
2 tsp ground black pepper
1 tbsp oil
2 tbsp red tomato (finely diced)
1 poached peach
What to do:
To poach the peach, grill the peach until it’s marked and slightly smoked.
Remove kernels from corncob.
Mix all ingredients together in a bowl.
Serve immediately.
Grilled Bone-In Pork Chop with Bourbon BBQ Sauce and Grilled Georgia Peaches
What you’ll need: For Pork:
Medium to thick bone-in pork chops
For Sauce
2 cups Ketchup
1/2 cup brown sugar
4 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp ground black pepper
1 tbsp & 1 tsp salt
1 cup & 4 tbsp bourbon
2 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp ground garlic
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1/2 cup lemon juice
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp soy sauce
1/2 cup butter
2 peaches
What to do:
Grill the pork chops to medium temperature.
Heat soy sauce, brown sugar, and apple cider vinegar until the sugar is melted.
Add this mix into a blender, along with ketchup, pepper, salt, 1 cup bourbon, ginger, garlic, cilantro, lemon juice, and Worcestershire sauce.
Mix in blender until fully incorporated.
Grill peaches until marked and mildly smoked (the color will darken a bit).
Add butter, peaches, 4 tbsp bourbon, and 1 tsp salt into a sauté pan and heat until peaches are fully tender.
Chop peaches and add to blender mix.
Spoon sauce over pork to taste.
Add cilantro to garnish.
Grilled Peaches and Pineapples
What you’ll need:
2 peaches
1 pineapple
1/2 cup butter
1 tsp salt
What to do:
Grill 2 peaches and pineapple slices until tender.
Heat all other ingredients until melted.
Add peaches and pineapples until fully coated.
Chop and serve.
Ready to create a recipe of your own? Book your escape now. Find more delicious recipes from Katherine here.
We believe your Getaway should be about relaxing, not about stressing over meal planning. That’s why we’ve put together three easy recipes you can create in our cabins.
Don’t worry about bringing cooking tools. Our cabins are stocked with everything you might need, including a pot, pan, cutting board, and knives. You just need to bring the ingredients.
If this sounds like a hassle, then bring nothing at all. In the spirit of giving you everything you need and nothing you don’t, our cabins come with several provisions for purchase, including pasta, sauce, jerky, and more. But if cooking a meal solo or with loved ones sounds appealing, here are a few quick recipes so you can pick up the ingredients before your Getaway.
Chicken and Cheese Quesadillas (Makes 2)
What you’ll need:
8 oz chicken, grilled and sliced
4 tortillas
1 cup shredded cheese
1/2 cup mushrooms, chopped
1/2 cup bell peppers, chopped
1 jar salsa
What to do:
Place one tortilla in skillet and spread salsa on top.
Layer chicken, mushrooms, and peppers on top of salsa.
Sprinkle cheese on top and cover with second tortilla.
Press quesadilla down with spatula or spoon.
Flip quesadilla and cook until cheese is melted.
Enjoy!
One Skillet Veggie Chili (Serves 4)
What you’ll need:
Olive oil (free in cabin)
1 onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp oregano
2 pinches salt (free in cabin)
1 can diced tomatoes
1 cup corn
1 can black beans, drained
What to do:
Heat skillet and add olive oil.
Add peppers and onions. Cook until the onions are translucent.
Add garlic, chili powder, and oregano. Stir in.
Add beans, tomatoes, corn, and a two large pinches of salt. Let simmer for about 20 minutes or until tomatoes break down.
Season to taste and serve!
Easy Pasta Salad (Serves 4)
What you’ll need:
1 package pasta (purchase in cabin or bring your own)
1 bottle Italian salad dressing
1 cucumber, chopped
3 tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
What to do:
Bring pot of water to boil.
Add pasta and cook until al dente. Drain.
In mixing bowl, combine pasta, salad dressing, cucumber, and tomatoes.
Mix in cheese.
Enjoy!
Looking for some cocktails or mocktails to add to your meal? Check out our campfire cocktail favorites here.
Ask Getaway friend, bartendress, and The Spritz Co.’s founder, Maggie Mae Dale, about her favorite campfire memory and she’ll tell you about her days at summer camp as a teenager, when she prepped food over an open fire and roughed it with her cohort. “Laughing with my friends and catching fireflies on that trip is something I’ll never forget.”
Raised in Minnesota and based in Williamsburg, Maggie now crafts spectacular cocktails. When she’s not bartending, you can find her unwinding with “records, rye whiskey, and being a little witchy.”
Armed with her mantra, “Spritz all day, party all night,” Maggie has designed three cocktails to warm up your getaway this holiday season.
Campfire Cocktails: Fireside Negroni
For this version of the negroni, vermouth is swapped for bergamot and cinnamon tea, bittersweet aperol, and gin. Yields three cups of tea. Maggie’s special note: My wish is that you enjoy your own taste of “aperitea-vi” as you getaway!
What you’ll need:
4 cinnamon sticks ½ cup fresh squeezed orange juice 2 bergamont tea bags (lady grey tea) ¼ cup turbinado sugar (raw cane sugar) 1 orange peel (with as little pith as possible) 4 cups of water 1 oz. aperol 1 oz. gin Cinnamon sticks and orange wedge for garnish
To mix:
To brew the tea, fill stove pot with cinnamon sticks, sugar, orange peel, orange juice, and water and bring to a boil.
Once water is at boiling temperature, add two bags of earl grey tea and let steep for five minutes on a low simmer. Double strain tea into teapot or serving container.
Add one part (1 oz.) aperol, one (1 oz.) gin, and four (4 oz.) parts orange tean in a cup. Stir. Toss in a slice of orange and cinnamon stick for garnish.
Sip by a cozy fire.
Campfire Cocktails: Midnight Hot Cocoa
As a young camper, Maggie and her friends would sneak off to a hidden beach at night, build a campfire, and make “Midnight Cocoa” with melted chocolate and marshmallows. This recipe includes cayenne for a rich and spicy twist on the classic. Yields two servings. Non-alcoholic.
What you’ll need:
2 ½ cups macadamia milk 1 tsp. ground cinnamon 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract 6 oz. semi-sweet baking chocolate ¼ tsp. ground cayenne pepper Toasted marshmallow and Maldon salt for a garnish
To mix:
Bring macadamia milk and cinnamon to a simmer in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, whisking occasionally and ensuring milk doesn’t boil (around 10 minutes).
In a double broiler, melt semi-sweet chocolate bars on low heat to avoid burning. To save time, substitute cocoa powder for melted chocolate.
Whisk in chocolate, vanilla, and cayenne. Cook on low heat, whisking frequently, until mixture is smooth and creamy and chocolate is melted (about five minutes).
Campfire Cocktails: Sweater Weather
This is a take on an old-fashioned, but orange bitters are replaced with citrus- and cola-notes of Averna Amaro and Brovo Amaro. Clove, cardamon, and cinnamon finish the drink off for a hint sweetness.
What you’ll need:
2 oz. Small batch Bourbon 0.75 Averna Amaro 0.5 Brovo Amaro No. 1 Orange peel and clove
To mix:
Add ingredients to a mixing or pint glass. Add ice. Stir for 20-30 seconds and strain over fresh ice.
Garnish with orange peel and clove.
Wear your favorite sweater and enjoy!
You can follow Maggie and her mixology adventures at The Spritz Co. Make and drink these delicious beverages by the campfire as they were intended when you book your Getaway here.
A twist on a campfire classic. Increase or decrease the size of your skillet depending on how many people you are serving.
Ingredients:
2 milk chocolate bars, broken
2 cups mini marshmallows
Graham cracker squares
Essentials:
A medium cast iron skillet
Preparation: Add chocolate pieces to the bottom of a medium cast-iron skillet in an even layer. Arrange mini marshmallows over chocolate, covering completely. Cook for 3-5 minutes over the fire or until marshmallows are golden brown. Serve immediately with graham cracker squares.
Comfort campfire cooking can be healthy. Our cabins come supplied with olive oil, salt, and pepper, so just grab some metal skewers and fresh Brussel sprouts to enjoy this quick and easy snack.
Bring a 1/2 inch salted water to boil in a large frying pan or saute pan. Add the brussels sprouts, cover, reduce the heat to medium-low, and cook until the sprouts are tender and the water has evaporated – about 5 minutes.
Toss the steamed brussel sprouts with the olive oil, garlic, and salt.
Allow the sprouts to cool for two minutes, then skewer 4 to 5 brussels sprouts onto metal skewers with 1/2 -inch between each sprout.
Place the skewers on to the grill and cook for 5 minutes.
Turn the skewers over and continue to cook for another 5 minutes.
Garnish with salt & pepper, serve and enjoy!
Ready to try this tasty recipe on your own escape to nature? Book your Getaway today.
Photographer Jennifer Young believes that her way of connecting, communicating and sharing with the world is through imagery. Here, she shares a moment of her Getaway stay and a simple-to-make Paleo Stew recipe.
Ingredients
1 medium yellow onion 2 medium carrots 2 small squash or Zucchini 3-4 small purple or red potatoes 1/2 lb. grass-fed ground beef 3T Kerrygold salted butter, cubed salt and pepper to taste
Items Needed
Fire pit Wood Lighter Cutting board Knife Aluminum foil
Directions
Prepare a campfire, allowing 30-45 minutes for wood to burn down thoroughly to create ideal cooking conditions.
Once your fire is established, layer two, 18×12-inch sheets of aluminum foil on a flat surface. On a cutting board, dice the onion, carrots, squash, and potatoes and arrange at the center of the foil.
Add butter, salt, pepper and ground beef to your mixture, and blend together until all the ingredients are evenly distributed. Using your foil, wrap the concoction utilizing the “burrito method” to ensure your hobo pack remains intact (try to leave a little space for the airflow).
After your hobo pack is fully prepped, create a bed of coals at the center of your fire ring approximately three times the size of your prepared paleo stew. Place the pack at the center and cook for 20-30 minutes.
Notes
A variety of different veggies can be used depending on preference. Olive oil can be substituted for butter if desired.
The entire Getaway team spent two nights at our Outpost in Virginia and celebrated Thanksgiving a little early. It’s rare that the team is all together in one place, and we got to know each other a little better while huddling and laughing under the stars. We prepared our own Friendsgiving meal over the campfire. Here are some of our favorite Thanksgiving recipes.
Add butter to a medium-sized skillet and place on the campfire, stirring butter begins to bubble
Add the sugar and brown sugar, continuing to stir until smooth and glossy
Take your skillet off the campfire and chill for 10-15 minutes, otherwise your eggs will scramble (as we learned the hard way)
Add eggs and vanilla and stir well
Stir in flour, baking soda, and salt
Mix in chocolate
Place the lid onto the skillet and put it back onto campfire
Check the cookie as infrequently as possible until the edges are golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean from the center (the inside will still be gooey)
Remove skillet from fire and let cool and set before cutting individual pieces
We squeezed together on picnic tables covered in flowers, pumpkins, and pickles to feast on our dishes, almost all of which, as amateur camping chefs, turned out deliciously. Under the birch trees, we toasted to Getaway and to what we’re thankful for: tiny cabins in the woods, nature, and each other.
Have a simpler holiday. Take a few days with yourself or with loved ones this holiday season in a tiny cabin nestled in nature.
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