Who says you can’t make amazing dishes when you are living your best RV life? Just because your space is limited doesn’t mean you can’t turn out gourmet meals in your RV to enjoy during the holiday season. Let us help you get there by suggesting these restaurant-worthy meals that are as delicious as they are easy to prepare.

 

These recipes can be made on your RV stovetop, outside on the grill, or on a campfire. To save time, portions of these recipes (such as sauces and marinades) can be made ahead of time at home.

 

Pinnacles Scramble

Annie Somerville, chef at Greens in San Francisco created this dish years ago on a camping trip, and it’s been a brunch favorite at her restaurant ever since.

 

Ingredients

8 large eggs

2 tablespoons milk

About 1/4 tsp. each kosher salt and pepper

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

3/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

2 cups fire-roasted tomato salsa

Crème fraîche

Warm corn tortillas*

Whisk eggs and milk in a bowl with 1/4 tsp. each salt and pepper; set aside. Heat a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Melt butter, then add potato mixture and stir occasionally with a flexible spatula until hot, 2 to 3 minutes.

Add egg mixture, reduce heat to medium, and cook, scrambling gently, until set, 2 to 4 minutes; add cheese and cilantro at the last minute. Serve with salsa, crème fraîche, and tortillas, plus more salt and pepper to taste.

*Double-wrap tortillas in foil and warm over low heat, turning often.

 

Gaucho Steak with Four-Herb Chimichurri

Celebrity chef Guy Fieri grew up camping and this is one of his favorite dishes to make. The flavor in this dish doesn’t stop, just like Guy, thanks to the herby marinade that tenderizes and flavors the dish.

 

1 1/2 pounds skirt steak

 

Ingredients for Marinade

4 chopped garlic cloves

1/2 cup cilantro leaves

1/2 cup parsley leaves

6 large basil leaves

1 tablespoon oregano leaves

2 tablespoons minced white onion

2 tablespoons minced red bell pepper

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1 1/2 teaspoons to 1 tbsp. ancho chile powder

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons red-wine vinegar

In a food processor, pulse garlic, cilantro, parsley, basil, oregano, onion, bell pepper, salt, pepper, cumin, and ancho chile powder until coarsely chopped. Pour in olive oil and red-wine vinegar and whirl to combine. Pack in a travel-safe container.

Prepare a gas or charcoal grill for high heat (450° to 550°; you can hold your hand 5 in. above cooking grate only 2 to 4 seconds). Grill steak over direct heat (cover if using gas), about 4 minutes per side for medium-rare. Let sit 10 minutes, then cut across the grain into 1/2-in.-thick slices. Serve with Four-Herb Chimichurri.

 

Chili Lime Corn on the Cob

As a high-end side dish, cooking corn still in the de-silked husk keeps the kernels moist and adds a nice grassy flavor. An alternative is to husk the corn and wrap in foil.

 

Ingredients

4 tablespoons butter, at room temperature

1 teaspoon finely shredded lime zest

1 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more for sprinkling

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic

6 ears sweet corn

Combine butter, zest, chili powder, salt, pepper, and garlic in a small resealable plastic bag. Mush around to combine thoroughly. Chill until ready to use, then bring to room temperature.

Pull back husk from each ear without detaching from bottom of cob. Remove as much silk as possible and fold husk back over ears. Soak ears in water for at least 30 minutes and up to 1 hour. Drain ears, open husks, dry ears with paper towels, and spread evenly with butter mixture. Fold husks back over ears and tie in place with kitchen string or strips of husk. Corn can be kept at this point, chilled, up to 24 hours.

Prepare grill for indirect medium heat (350° to 450°) If using charcoal, bank coals evenly on opposite sides of the fire grate, leaving a cooler center section; if using gas, turn all burners to high, close lid, and heat 10 minutes. Then turn off one burner and lower others to medium. Grill corn over cooler spot, covered, until tender and charred, 20 minutes. Serve with salt.

 

Fire Roasted Vegetable Salad

Chef Russell Moore at Camino in Oakland, cooks some of the vegetables for this dish right in the fire, infusing the salad with smokiness.

 

Ingredients

1 garlic clove

2 tablespoons high-quality red wine vinegar

4 medium zucchini, sliced lengthwise 1/2 in. thick

3 ears corn, husks and silks removed

2 ripe tomatoes, cored

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided

About 3/4 tsp. kosher salt, divided

About 1/2 tsp. pepper, divided

2 whole onions, unpeeled

2 red bell peppers

2 yellow bell peppers

1 cup lightly packed fresh mint leaves, torn into pieces

 

If cooking over an open fire: Build a wood fire in a camp grill or fire ring, let burn to medium (you know if it’s the right temp if you can hold your hand 5 in. above cooking grate only 5 to 7 seconds), about 1 hour. Adjust fire so there’s a thick area of embers and smaller logs in the middle and larger logs to the sides.

Smash garlic, put in a small bowl with vinegar, and set aside. In a large bowl, toss zucchini, corn, and tomatoes with 2 tbsp. oil, 1/2 tsp. salt, and 1/4 tsp. pepper.

Place onions in embers between some smaller logs and cook, turning every 10 minutes or so, until completely black and soft when squeezed with tongs, 25 to 40 minutes. Meanwhile, set peppers on embers and cook, turning every few minutes, until completely charred, about 20 minutes. Transfer vegetables to a board and let cool.

Grill zucchini, corn, and tomatoes (in batches, if needed), turning occasionally, until grill marks appear, 5 to 35 minutes, depending on distance from fire. Pull off blackened outsides from onions and peppers. Cut corn kernels from cobs into large bowl. Cut remaining vegetables into slices or strips, discarding seeds; add to bowl. Stir remaining 6 tbsp. oil into vinegar with remaining 1/4 tsp. each salt and pepper. Toss gently with vegetables, add mint, and more salt and pepper if you like.

*Or cook all the vegetables over (but not in) a medium (350° to 450°) charcoal fire, adding 8 briquets every 30 minutes.

 

Grilled Chicken with Whiskey Barbeque Sauce and Spicey Slaw

Chef Kelly Liken of Vail, CO always brings either Leopold Bros. or Stranahan’s small-batch Colorado Whiskey and a bag of ice cubes when she camps. Pro Tip: don’t forget to pack a heatproof brush for basting the chicken, too.

 

Ingredients

SAUCE

1 1/4 cups ketchup

1 to 1 1/2 tsp. hot sauce such as Tabasco

2 tablespoons dark molasses

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons whiskey such as Jack Daniel’s

2 tablespoons Worcestershire

1 tablespoon cider vinegar

1 large garlic clove, minced

SLAW

1 pound cabbage, cut into shreds

1/4 red onion, cut into long slivers

1/2 red bell pepper, cut into thin strips

2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons Champagne vinegar

1 tablespoon lime juice

1/2 teaspoon red chile flakes

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

CHICKEN

6 chicken legs with thighs attached or small bone-in breast halves (3 3/4 lbs. total)

1 tablespoon olive oil

To Make sauce: Combine ingredients in a medium saucepan. Cover and simmer 45 minutes to blend flavors, stirring occasionally with a long spoon (sauce spatters). Add a little water if sauce gets too thick to pour. Let cool, then transfer to a plastic container and chill up to 1 week.

To Make slaw: Toss vegetables in a large bowl to blend. Transfer to a resealable plastic bag. Put remaining ingredients in a small container with a tight-fitting lid. Chill slaw and dressing up to 2 days.

Prepare chicken: In a large bowl, coat chicken in oil; pack in a resealable plastic bag and chill up to 2 days, or freeze.

Build a charcoal or wood fire in a grill and let burn to medium (350° to 450°). Bring salad dressing to room temperature. Set aside 1/2 cup sauce.

Grill chicken until browned all over, about 15 minutes, turning occasionally. Generously brush tops with some of the remaining sauce, and cook a few minutes; repeat turning and brushing 2 more times, until chicken is well-browned and cooked through 10 to 15 minutes total.

Toss slaw and dressing in a large bowl and serve with chicken and reserved sauce.