Cooking at a beach house, summer rental or fishing camp is an Iron Chef sort of challenge. You start off with some great local ingredients -- like fresh-caught fish or farm stand produce -- but you have to overcome the obstacles presented by the lack of equipment and staples. It takes imagination to cook something good with the odd pots and pans and convenience store condiments you find in the average summer house cupboard. Don't bother shopping at the nearest convenience store or Wal-Mart, because that's where the miniature plastic salt and pepper shakers and the aluminum pots and pans came from in the first place.
Somebody brought a quart of fresh-picked blackberries to the cabin the other day. I decided to use them to make a cobbler with the Bisquick we were using for pancakes. It wasn't exactly a Plinio Sandalio creation (I think he would have added bacon), but it tasted pretty good for fishing camp fare.
Fishing Camp Berry Cobbler
1 cup Bisquick Half cup milk Cup of sugar (divided use) 1 quart of berries (any kind you got) Pinch of salt Pat of butter
Mix Bisquick with milk and 2 tablespoons of the sugar. Toss berries with half a cup of sugar and salt. Melt the butter in an eight-inch square baking pan, then add the berries. Pour batter over berries and sprinkle with remaining sugar. Bake at 350 degrees F until nicely browned, about half an hour. Serve hot with vanilla ice cream (if you can find any).
