Vegetarian Backyard Fire Pit Feast

All you need to do is to have a few great ideas, a little time to prep, and some tools that make cooking interactive for your guests.

Recently, we tested out this theory on a party of three before bringing it to a wider audience. Our vegetarian cookout features two recipes that can be cooked over a fire pit: BBQ Carrot Slaw Dogs, with spiced carrots standing in for frankfurters, and a Build-Your-Own S’mores Bar with plenty of surprising flavor combinations like white chocolate, fruit, and almond or dark chocolate plus a double dose of ginger. It really was a blast to light a fire in the backyard last weekend and work together to create an unexpected and rustic meal.

You’ll need a few tools to pull this party off right. First, you’ll need a fire pit; you might already have one, but if not, do what we did -- check out the selection at any home improvement store. We found that basic versions start around $60, so we purchased a well-designed starter pit and ended up loving it.

This menu is a great way to put your fire pit to good use in the summer months--it’s not just for warming your bones on a chilly fall evening. We cooked two out of the three items on our menu over the flame using two Outset Rotating Campfire Forks. They’re the markedly more grown-up version of unbending an unpainted wire coat hanger to dangle a marshmallow over the fire. Plus, you aren’t nearly as likely to lose that perfectly toasted marshmallow to the dusty, glowing embers if you have a dedicated campfire fork. It securely holds 4 marshmallows or 2 hot dogs, or carrots in this case. Carrot Dogs are an unexpected way to work an extra vegetable into your dinner; our guest/helper remarked that she didn’t miss the usual hot dog at all. The char on the carrots adds some good smoky flavor, and the sweetness of the carrot is brought out well by the open-flame preparation.

You’ll top the carrots dogs with slaw, and so you’ll need a good-quality mandoline for quickly shredding purple cabbage and cutting carrots into a julienne shape. We love our new well-designed and sturdy PL8 Professional Mandoline . We’ve owned several different models of mandolines, and in comparison, this one is safest and easiest to use. We’re also really looking forward to making gaufrettes, or thin waffle fries, with it soon.

In the following recipe, you’ll see that we add a bit of barbecue sauce to the slaw along with olive oil mayonnaise and Creole mustard. We prefer to dress our slaw lightly in order to keep the focus on the vegetables and bring out their natural flavor and crunchy texture.

On to dessert: we finally tried out a s’mores bar! It’s been in the back of our heads to attempt this for a while now. Even the most basic s’more made with graham crackers and milk chocolate is good at the very, very least, but why not switch a few of the expected ingredients out for some more adventurous flavors to create an unforgettable dessert?

Just imagine a toasted marshmallow and dark chocolate that’s studded with candied ginger between two thin gingersnaps -- we all thought these were amazing. Your guests could also mix it up by sandwiching a marshmallow and white chocolate between two lightly sweet almond and dried fruit cookies. You may want to spring for a bag of vegan marshmallows, which are available at health food stores and online, like we did. This way, everyone can participate; generally, other marshmallows include gelatin, which strict vegetarians and vegans choose not to eat.

Lastly, since your guests will be eating outside, you’ll need something rustic and virtually unbreakable on which to serve supper. We used these great Ironwood Gourmet paddles in different sizes. The paddles are made from acacia wood, which isn’t harvested from any rain forest, so you can feel good about that. These boards make for a sleek, modern presentation, they have multiple uses, and they will last forever if you take care of them by oiling them and keeping them out of the dishwasher.

So this summer, we say go ahead and give a different kind of cookout a shot! Light the fire, do a little prep work, grab a cold drink, and watch your guests cook dinner for themselves while you get all the credit. What could be better?

We are excited to have been selected by the International Housewares Association to contribute to their Inspired Home blog. We have been compensated for our time, but our opinions are, of course, our own.