Goodbye Summer, Hello Lög

Last weekend we had our final taste of summer, with a trip to a friend's cottage on Lake Muskoka. To end the season we decided to make our favorite camp fire meal — lög. I don't think that's actually the name, or the correct spelling, but it's what we've come to call a crazed method for cooking a huge piece of beef tenderloin in the fire. I have to give full credit to Andreas for introducing us to this unusual way of cooking... it really is a show stopper.

First make a stuffing for the tenderloin. In this case, carrots, shallots and mustard. Butterfly the tenderloin, and then spread the cooked and cooled stuffing in the middle. Wrap the tenderloin in two layers of cheese cloth, truss, and then soak the entire thing in a bottle of red wine. While it's soaking, get the fire ready and wait until you have a good bed of hot coals to cook on. When the fire is ready, drop the lög on top. It's always a guess how long the lög should cook, so turn it occasionally to ensure one side doesn't get too burnt. The moisture from the wine, and the double layer of cheese cloth should keep it from charring the tenderloin. In the end you'll have a smokey and delicious piece of beef.

Prepping the fire


Toss the lög on the fire!


Monte guarding the lög


Lög is almost ready!


Shhhh, the Lög is resting

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Cottage Barbeque

This was our first barbeque of the season, and our first visit to the cottage this year. In honor of the occasion we did an old favorite – flank steak with grilled corn. Apologies for the picture, it really did taste much better than it looks.

One Tired Monkey

Monte cristo partied too hard, and then passed out from exhaustion. Three solid hours of swimming for the ball made him one tired monkey. Of course, being a double water dog (retriever + poodle), if I'd suggested more swimming and ball he'd have jumped up and ran straight for the water.

Rainy Sunday on Lake Kashagawigamog

It never rains (almost) when we go on vacation, but it always rains on a cottage weekend. After the rain cleared this morning, I took a few pics of how calm the lake was looking across the bay.

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