I've always been a bit nervous about trying new recipes on the trail. I guess it's because I don't want to go hungry and I definitely don't want to pack extra food for every meal.  For several years when I first started backpacking I stuck exclusively to the freeze-dried, pre-packaged meals because they were easy and I knew they were edible.

And then a few years back I came up with the idea of getting together with friends to experiment with backpacking recipes in the safety of my backyard.  Now it's an annual tradition, The Backcountry Cooking Party!

I have the party in the spring before the first major hike of the year. It ends up being a way to try out new recipes and to get in the mood for the hiking season. It's like the annual Warren Miller film for skiers. Everybody brings their backpacking stoves, the ingredients for one meal and one backpackable drink recipe.  I setup a big table in the backyard and we serve drinks and cook up our recipes.  We also check out pictures of prior trips and share our favorite memories.  It's turned out to be a lot of fun and I definitely recommend doing something similar.

When we do our party this year I'll publish some of the recipes for everyone to see.

The last couple parties have strayed a bit from the original intention because (as you can see in the photo) there was beer, someone did a dutch oven recipe and other guy cooked beef brisket!  So I guess even at home people want a backup meal they can depend on.