Seafood cookout essentials
Everything you need to throw your own party on the beach:
The ingredients. Clean and cut vegetables and fruit ahead of time, packing the components for each dish in separate containers. You don’t want the adventure of the day to be ruined because you didn’t prep.
The gear. For cooking, use a 20-quart canning pot. You’ll also need: cheesecloth, kitchen scissors, tongs, barbecue mitts, a propane lighter, a cutting board, a chef’s knife, a dutch oven, wooden spoon, and serving dishes and tools.
The fire. Check that your beach allows fires. You can build yours in a pit, using a grate with legs (Stansport camp grill, from $22; stansport.com), but a charcoal grill grate set on bricks will also work.
Lettuce, Basil, and Cucumber Salad with Goat Cheese
For an element of surprise, spread basil purée on the plate, rather than tossing it with the other ingredients. This also helps keep the salad crisp.
Northwest Seafood Boil
It’s hard to control a fire’s heat precisely, but these ingredients are forgiving. This can also be done on your home stove (use a 20-qt. canning pot).
Recipe: Northwest Seafood Boil
Olive Oil Cake
This dense but moist cake, which you can make before heading to the beach, soaks up juice from the fruit. You’ll need a 10-in. round cake pan that’s 2 in. deep.
Recipe: Olive Oil Cake
Campfire-Glazed Peaches and Figs
This dessert has all the virtue of fresh fruit with just a hint of indulgence from the browned butter and sugar. And it’s equally good made on a home stove. Serve over the Olive Oil Cake.
Recipe: Campfire-Glazed Peaches and Figs
