Campfire Dinner

This date requires advance planning and you will need to bring a hefty load of supplies, but it can be a lot of fun to do together. You will need to find a park or campground that is open in the evening and allows fires. After dinner, you can sit by the fire, talk and sip wine, roast marshmallows, play a game, gaze at the stars and maybe even sleep under them.

COST

Some parks have fire pits that you can use, otherwise you will have to bring a portable barbecue. You can buy a small barbecue for $10 to $15. The dinner part will cost from $10 to $30.

PREPARATION

You will need to find a nice place to have a campfire, and don't forget to make reservations or get permits if necessary. In addition to the food, you will need two folding chairs, flashlights or a lantern, tongs to pull food out of the fire with, plastic or real silverware and plates, napkins, drinks, glasses, a wine opener, paper towels, wood for the fire and an easy-starting kindling block, matches or a lighter, a blanket, bug spray and toilet paper—just in case. Dress in layers and bring a jacket in case it gets chilly.

HOW TO BUILD A CAMPFIRE FOR COOKING

The fire pit should be about two- to three-feet wide and two feet deep. The outside should be lined with rocks. You don't really need a grate, as some recipes can be cooked directly in the fire or along the edge.

When it comes to building a fire, dry wood is good wood. For kindling, we can't recommend highly enough the manufactured kindling blocks such as the Duraflame Firelighters that you can get almost anywhere. Just touch a match to them, and your fire-starting blues are over. You'll need to layer your logs over the starter block in a way that allows air to circulate through. Fire needs plenty of air circulation to be successful. Let the wood burn until it starts to turn into redhot coals.

CAMPFIRE RECIPES

You can always stick with the basics—hot dogs and marshmallows, or fix the following dinners ahead of time and bring them with you in a small ice chest:

Foil Chicken

• 2 medium potatoes, 2 carrots, 1 zucchini
• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 2 teaspoons Italian salad dressing
• 2 sets of double-thickness foil squares
• garlic powder, salt & pepper

Oil the foil squares. Cut the potatoes, carrots and zucchini in to 1/4" strips. Place half of the vegetables on each foil square. Sprinkle the chicken breasts with garlic powder, salt and pepper and lay them on the vegetables. Pour 1 teaspoon of Italian dressing on the chicken and seal each foil square tightly. Place them on the grate or on the edge of the fire for 10-15 minutes, touching the coals but not in the super hot center of the fire. Turn and cook 10-15 minutes more.

Baked Apples

• 2 apples, 2 teaspoons of butter
• 2 foil squares
• brown sugar and cinnamon
• a knife to core the apples with

Peel off the first inch of the apple's skin. Remove 3/4 of the core but leave some at the bottom so the filling doesn't drip out. Fill the empty part of the core with brown sugar, cinnamon and a teaspoon of butter. Put each apple on a double piece of foil and bring the foil corners to the top, twist and seal. (Do all of this ahead of time and you'll be less likely to stab yourself.) Place each apple on the edge of the grate or just touching the edge of the coals for 45-60 minutes. When the apple is done it should feel soft when you squeeze it.