I am planning on throwing a beach bonfire! I am a little stuck on the food part. I want to use both a portable propane grill and the bonfire. So far:
-Vegetable Kabobs
-Beef Kabobs
-Corn on the Cob
-Chips and Guac
-Cold Pasta Salad or Potato Salad
-Fruit (I’m thinking watermelon)
-Hot Dogs and Burgers (maybe get rid of beef kabobs if doing burgers too)
-S’mores
Any tips/recipes/what do you think of the above? Thanks in advance!
We usually plan for the exact same menu you have listed when we stroll to Huntington/Bolsa Chica for the day with friends/family. Well, minus kabobs…because I’m too lazy to prep those for a crowd. We like to limit all the sides/snacks to no dairy as to not worry about food temp and storage…so everything is vinaigrette-based. You can always to bacon-wrapped dogs and cook onions and peppers in foil packets. We do our s’mores with peanut butter cups in addition to the regular chocolate…one of my friends always brings bananas to roast in foil packets with chocolate or peanut butter cups mixed in. I like pre-making pitchers of cocktails that sit in the cooler all day on ice, so I can easily pour and serve…do a float of any soda and it helps mix the alcohol better. For cold evenings, we bring instant cocoa mix and a peppermint schnapps.
If my friends organize, they’ve brought their cast iron pots to make chili and cornbread…and maybe another to make a fruit crumble dessert. I’ve only seen it done once, and it was really delicious.
Marinate some pineapple in soy sauce, water and brown sugar, then grill. So refreshing and easy.
I don’t think you need burgers if making beef kabob, but if there are children, you definitely need hot dogs on sticks or coat hangers for them to play with in the fire. It’s not a bonfire until someone’s hot dog falls in the fire, a few marshmallows catch on fire, and a little kid gets its first blister.
We don’t have combustible materials on the beach. There is sand and water (ocean). Any vegetation is beyond fire breaks, e.g., more sand, roads, cement paths. So no, beach bonfires do not cause wildfires in L.A.
@JeetKuneBao. Don’t forget to invite some musicians!
OP didn’t specify which beach, thus my initial advice. For example if one tries to start a bonfire on any beach in Malibu, that gets quashed pretty quick by the authorities.
Bonfire-approved beaches like Huntington has designated pits, sure. But again, OP didn’t specify which beach he intended on going to…