All coal recommendations assume you have a 12" regular (not deep) Dutch oven.
Bacon pancakes:
Cut bacon into small pieces and cook over 18 coals until crispy. Remove from Dutch oven and set aside. Pour off all fat.
Pour pancake batter into Dutch oven (remove 2 - 4 coals if the oven's too hot to cook pancakes properly). Evenly sprinkle bacon over each pool of batter after it's been poured. Flip. Plate. Serve with Grade A or B maple syrup.
Potatoes and onions:
Slice onions and potatoes (at a 1:1 weight ratio) 1/8" thick.
Heat 1/8" to 1/4" of vegetable oil over 18 - 20 coals until shimmering. Add potatoes, onions, Lawry's seasoned salt, garlic powder, and black pepper. Toss to coat evenly. Cover and cook, stirring every 5 minutes, until soft and browned, about 15 to 20 minutes (depending on how many vegetables you're cooking). Adjust seasoning and plate.
Chili with cornbread topping:
Make chili.
Make one box of corn muffin batter, adding 1 cup cheddar to the batter. Top chili with corn muffin batter. Cover and bake with 8 coals on bottom and 18 - 20 coals on top for as long as the box says to bake it for (usually 25 - 30 minutes, but check the progress when you lift the lid slightly to rotate it at the 15 minute mark). Serve topped with sour cream and diced tomatoes.
Pizza:
Cook bacon (or Italian sausage) as described in pancake recipe above. Remove bacon and set aside. Pour off fat.
Using either homemade pizza dough or refrigerated, canned pizza dough, press dough into bottom of Dutch oven. Top with tomato sauce (I use a super simple tomato sauce: San Marzano tomatoes, seeded then blended until sauce consistency - nothing else - no salt, so sugar, nothing - this is for an authentic Neapolitan pizza), then toppings (meat, fresh or cooked vegetables, fruit, etc.), then shredded cheese (try playing around with mozzarella, manchego, and/or pecorino-romano). Cover and bake with 8 -10 coals on the bottom and 16 - 18 coals on top for 20 - 30 minutes (remember to peek and check the progress when you rotate the oven and lid).
Some of this might be a little vague (I assumed that you have a recipe for chili. If not, please let me know and I'll post one.), so if you'd like more details or have any questions, please feel free to ask.
Check out this page:
http://papadutch.home.comcast....ven-cooking-tips.htm
It has a lot of good information on it about cooking with a Dutch oven.
Here are a few things that I've learned that are very helpful:
Rotate your dutch oven clockwise 90 degrees about every 15 minutes and rotate the lid counter-clockwise 90 degrees at the same time. This keeps the heat evenly distributed. It also allows you to peek at the food and adjust the heat and cooking times accordingly based on what you see.
All the directions for how many coals to use are just a guide. Use your senses to tell if you something is too hot or cold and adjust your heat accordingly. There are many factors that can affect how many coals are needed on that particular day: the type, size, and brand of Dutch oven; air temperature; wind; shade vs. direct sunlight; etc.
Use a ring pattern of coals on the bottom and a checkerboard (all over) pattern on the top. Place the ring of coals about 1/2" to 1" away from the edge of the bottom of the Dutch oven. The heat will radiate toward the center of the Dutch oven from all the way around the ring - this is why no coals are needed in the center of the Dutch oven. If there are coals in the center, the center will cook much faster than the outside and likely burn.
During the cooking process, keep an eye on how much of your coals you have left versus how much cooking time you have left and have some ready in a chimney if needed.
Go easy with the heat. It's a lot easier to heat up an oven that's too cool than it is to cool off an oven that's too hot.
Let me know if you have any questions or if there's anything else I can help you with.
