American Rivers Tour

American Rivers Tour

The 10 Day Cuba Fishing Adventure

Simbo and Colin in Cuba

Towards the end of January 2022 Colin and his good friend Chris Simonds set out on a fishing tour in Cuba with 8 other experienced anglers, including a team from World Cast Anglers.

The adventure began in Havana where everyone spent a day exploring the colors, cuisine, art, and customs of this city.

The following days were spent on an Avalon Cuban Fishing Centers Tour boat. Day trips were organized with experienced Cuban guides in small skiffs covering approximately 100 miles of flats, lagoons and channels between Cayo Largo and Isla de Juventud. The crew had extra eyes out for Permit fish, but tarpon, bonefish, jack craval, snook and snappers are plentiful in these waters as well.

Join these fishermen on their adventure by reading about all details of the trip and enjoy many photos on the American Rivers Tour site.

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Turkish Lamb Kebab with Tomato Chutney & Israeli Couscous

Lamb Kebab on the Big Wood River in Ketchum, Idaho

Recipe from Scott Mason of the Ketchum Grill, Idaho

Serves 8

Ingredients for Lamb Kebabs:

5 lbs ground lamb 1/2 bunch chopped fresh mint 3 shallots, diced 1/2 cup currants 1/2 cup pine nuts 1 tbsp chopped garlic Salt 3 tbsp cinnamon, ground 1/2 tblsp clove, ground 1/2 tbsp fenugreek

Mix all together. Shape onto skewers and grill. Serve with flat bread, bib lettuce, couscous, chutney and yogurt!

Turkish Lamb Kebabs cooking riverside
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Cornbread Crusted Chicken Pot Pie

Colin Ambrose is serving his cornbread crusted chicken pot pie, cooked and enjoyed by the Teton River

cooked over open fire by the Teton River, Driggs, Idaho

Serves 6

This is one of the most satisfying open fire meals I can think of. Chicken pot pie is a complete campfire dish with vegetables, protein, starch and dairy. All you need besides a plan and ingredients is a cast iron skillet or Dutch oven with a lid and a spoon.

On this trip we bought a wooden spoon, which split in half as I opened the skillet that has a tendency to seal lid to base while cooking. But as you will see if you watch the video, it all worked out.

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CHILI CHICKEN RELLENOS

Chili Chicken Rellenos at Estia's Little Kitchen

Serves 4

Ingredients:

  • 1 3.5 lb chicken, roast, remove all meat in advance
  • 4 poblano peppers, medium size
  • 2 x large eggs
  • 2 carrots, peeled and diced
  • 2 small Spanish onions, diced fine
  • 3 tablespoons chipotle with adobo
  • 1 cup shredded jack cheese
  • 2 cups queso fresco, cubed
  • Salt & pepper
  • ½ cup vegetable oil
  • 2 cups brown rice
  • 12 oz Lange Pinot Gris
  • 2 tablespoons saffron
  • 36 oz chicken stock

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Beaverkill Hatchery Rainbow Trout with Roasted Grape Relish

Beaverkill Trout Hatchery rainbow trout with roasted potatoes and roasted grape relish

Adapted from a recipe by Galen Sampson, Chef and G.M. at the Beaverkill Valley Inn that he demonstrated over fire at the BVI.

Galen Sampson has settled into a comfortable life with his wife on the edge of the Upper Beaverkill River in the Catskill mountains. As the Chef and General manager of the Beaverkill Valley Inn, Galen works hard to create new and interesting dishes and experiences of all kinds for his guests. Chef Sampson’s recipe is a good example of how he responds to expectations that an Inn on a famous trout stream should serve trout, without pulling fish from the Inn’s private stretch of river. This is a highly prized trout fishing paradise that requires all guests to agree to catch and release practices prior to stepping into the special mile of river.

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Hatchery Steelhead with Smashed Potatoes and Wild Greens

Hatchery-Steelhead-lunch_Eel-River

We cooked this delicious recipe over an open fire alongside the Eel River in Benbow, California

Adapted from a recipe demonstrated by Joshua Schwartz: Executive Chef at Del Dotto Vineyards

Josh Schwartz has an eye for all tasty things in the wild. When invited to spend a day fishing and cooking with our American Rivers Tour crew, he was quick to suggest we start by foraging for watercress and other wild greens that sprout around the cool, clear creeks which run into Humboldt County’s Eel River. He reminded me that any wild fish we catch should be returned to the resource. Hatchery steelhead are available in Northern California so our recipe will help tell that story.

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Cooking Rainbow Trout Over Fire: Snake River Surf & Turf

Idaho Surf and Turf

Recipe from our lakeside lunch at the South Fork of the Snake River in Idaho.
Find out more about our trip by visiting AmericanRiversTour.com !

It’s not often that a trout is harvested from any river and transferred directly to the skillet on the American Rivers Tour.

Previously unknown to us, the Idaho Fish & Game Department is focused on reducing non-native rainbow trout in the Snake River. For this special occasion, we harvested a 19 inch non-native rainbow and cooked it along with 2 elk steaks for lunch. This is a simple 2 skillet meal. We prefer to use Lodge Skillets. The vegetables were purchased at a grocery store in Idaho Falls, pre-cut, and poured into the skillet from a bag. The vegetable stir fry with garlic, ginger, onions, jalapeno and soy brought the vegetables and elk steaks together nicely. Adding the rainbow was a unique and unexpected surprise.

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Red Flannel Hash with poached eggs cooked over open fire

Serves 6

Recipe from our lakeside lunch at Henry’s Fork in Idaho.

Find out more about our trip by visiting AmericanRiversTour.com !

Ingredients:

  • 3 cups butternut squash, peeled and seeded, diced
  • 3 cups potatoes, peeled and diced
  • 2 cups Spanish onion, diced
  • 2 cups, mixed yellow & red pepper
  • 10 slices smoked bacon, chopped
  • 1lb fresh chorizo or spicy Italian sausage
  • 2 cups chicken stock
  • Salt & pepper
  • 6 eggs

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Blackened Buffalo Medallions cooked over open fire at the Lakeside Lodge in Idaho

Adapted from chef Jacob Dibble’s recipe
Lakeside Lodge, Island Park, Idaho
Serves 4

This dish is made with the trim and or chain from bison tenderloin. The chain is a long thin strand of meat running from the head of the tenderloin down the side. It includes a fair amount of connective tissue that should be cut away. The whole loin includes 4 to 6 prime center cut filets that will weigh 6 to 8 ounces each after butchering. In addition to the prime filet cuts there will be trim to be used for side dishes, pasta, salads etc. This recipe is intended to make use of the additional trim meat and end pieces, including the chain, after butchering.

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Stuffed Buffalo Tenderloin | Cooking over fire at the Lakeside Lodge in Island Park, Idaho

Adapted from chef Jacob Dibble’s recipe
Lakeside Lodge, Island Park, Idaho

This dish can be served to 4 people as a main, single course. It can also be used with other smaller courses and be cut in half to serve 8 or more as a supporting dish.

Ingredients:

  • 4 Bison tenderloin (filets) 6-8 oz each
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon kosher salt
  • ½ tablespoon of cracked black pepper

Toss cleaned filets in a bowl with the salt, pepper and oil, set aside. Read More »

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Grilled Montauk Fluke over Mrs. B’s Kale Salad

Grilled Montauk Fluke over Mrs. B’s Kale Salad

Serves 4

Herb mayonnaise is a great way to flavor a fish fillet or steak while still keeping in the moisture as it cooks. This is a super easy recipe that can be adapted to whatever fresh herbs you have in your kitchen or garden. Serving grilled fish over a kale salad keeps the healthy component of your diet in check. It’s also an easy riverside preparation: just slice the kale, organize ingredients in advance then add vinaigrette as you start the fire.

Ingredients:

For fish & coating:

  • 2 thick fluke or flounder fillets, 8-12 oz each
  • 1 cup mayonnaise
  • Zest of one lemon

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Long Island Clam Supper: Bucatini & Littlenecks

Bucatini and Long Island clams on the porch at Estia's Little Kitchen in Sag Harbor

Makes 4 Generous Servings

Ingredients:

For the sauce (can be made ahead):

  • 3 dozen Little Neck clams, rinsed several times in cold water
  • 3 garlic cloves, chopped
  • 2 T apple cider vinegar
  • 2 T olive oil
  • 1 cup white wine (Sauvignon Blanc)

For the pasta:

  • 6 garlic cloves, chopped
  • 4 T olive oil
  • 4 T chopped parsley
  • 1 T red chili flakes
  • 1 box Bucatini no. 5

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Mid Summer Garden Vegetable Escabeche

Mid Summer Garden Vegetable Escabeche with flat beans, carrots, cilantro, garlic

Makes 4 quarts (32oz Mason jars)

Ingredients:

  • 16 carrots, peeled and cut into four sticks each
  • 10 jalapeño peppers with top removed, quartered, leave the seeds
  • 1 quart flat beans, ends trimmed
  • 1 quart string beans, ends trimmed
  • 3 heads of garlic, peeled and chopped
  • 1 bunch of cilantro, washed twice in water bath to remove sand
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1 cup salt
  • 32 oz white vinegar
  • 4 32 oz Mason jars, sanitized in boiling water*

In a 4 qt. or large stockpot, bring 2 quarts of water to a boil. Drop the carrots in the boiling water and simmer at medium heat for 1 minute. Add flat beans, string beans, and jalapeños. Stir and boil for 2 minutes. Read More »

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Refrigerator Beet Pickles | Red and Yellow Beet Recipes

Finding pickled beets at Hayward Farmers Market

Red Beet ”Refrigerator Pickles”  

Ingredients:

  • 6 medium sized beets (peeled and sliced into ½ inch discs)
  • 2 cups shredded beet greens
  • 3 garlic cloves, sliced thin
  • 3 dried red chilis, chopped
  • ½ cup chopped green onions
  • ½ cup chopped fennel bulb
  • ½ cup chopped celery
  • 8 oz water
  • 5 oz white vinegar (plus extra to top off jar if needed)
  • 3 oz white sugar
  • 1 ⅔ T sea salt

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Musky Country Salad

Musky Country Salad with bratwurst

Serves 4 hungry eaters

Ingredients:

For the Bratwurst:

  • 8 Bratwurst
  • 12 small red potatoes, golfball size
  • 2  12 oz cans Scotch lager or Amber beer
  • 2 T vegetable oil
  • 1 ½ bunches spring onions or scallions
  • 4 pretzel buns (optional)

For the salad:

  • 1 lb. small snap peas
  • ½ lb. English shell peas
  • 1 ½ bunch spring onions or scallions
  • 1 – 12 oz. jar mild Kimchi (available in Korean specialty stores)
  • 1 cup pickled beets , sliced and cut in half

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Chili Rellenos

Chili Rellenos by the Au Sable River

We cooked this recipe alongside the Au Sable river in Michigan | Read about the adventure on American Rivers Tour 2017!

Inspired by chef Matt Haley, Gates Au Sable Lodge, Grayling, Michigan.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

  • 8 poblano peppers
  • 1 pound fresh chorizo, cooked and drained
  • 12 oz Mexican melting cheese, (shredded Cotija or Monterey Jack)
  • 1 cup Panko bread crumbs

Roast peppers over open flame until skin is charred and blistering. Rest in paper bag or bowl covered in plastic until cool enough to handle. Chop or crumble chorizo into thumbnail sized pieces and combine with remaining ingredients. Read More »

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