What are some cool things you can do with a wood fire outdoors?

Come on over to my house and fire those raku pots and chop firewood for me and have a long philosophical discussion or two and recite poetry under the cold, cold stars while our knees and feet get hotter and hotter, and drink, and yeah, temper the hell out of some Toledo steel…. And
also, how about walking on some coals and also doing that fire swallowing thing they do in the circus? Let’s practice that!

Grill a pizza.

Can I make coins somehow? That would be fun.

@pallen123 You probably can’t get the fire hot enough for that.

Considering the time of year, cook an entire traditional Easter dinner. Ham or turkey, mashed potatoes, creamed corn, baked yams, gravy, pumpkin and apple pie.

@Adirondackwannabe depends on what metal @pallen123 was using, lead or tin will melt at relatively low temperatures.

@WestRiverrat True. Those would melt, but would it be healthy?

@Adirondackwannabe if you take the proper precautions it is.

Okay, fire her up.

Don’t play with fire. You’ll pee the bed.

Fire up the wood fire, nice and hot. Let it burn for about 6 hours, while you pop popcorn, make smores, burn weenies roast hot dogs on a stick, until the fire has burned down to some really hot coals. In the mean time, take one full brisket of beef, lay fat-side-down on aluminum foil, add the usual “beef roast” vegetables—potatoes, onions, garlic, maybe some green peppers, corn-on-the-cob (with or without husk)—season with salt, pepper, maybe some thyme, or a bay leaf or two, before carefully and thoroughly sealing the foil, and very carefully placing the roast under the coals (use a shovel for this). Leave it buried under the coals for at least 3½ to 4 hours. You can feed the fire above the meat. When you finally clear the coals, you can pull the roast out of the fire, place it on a serving plate, open the foil (careful of the steam!) and serve it up!

And to accompany the meal described by @Yetanotheruser you can take some oranges and cut them in half. Take the fruit out of the peel while leaving the two halves of the peel as small bowls. Fill ONE half with biscuick (mixed as though you are making biscuits) put the other half on top and wrap in foil. Make one of these for each guest and place under the coals near the roast. After about 45 minutes you will have excellent orange flavored biscuits.

@Yetanotheruser: that’s brilliant. I’ll omit the green peppers and put in extra garlic.
@Kayak8: that’s effing brilliant. I can’t wait to do that!!!
Thanks, both of you.

@Yetanotheruser that is how I cook my turkey if I am cooking it in the firepit. keep the orange sections you have leftover from @Kayak8‘s biscuits and put them in the cavity of the turkey with some sauerkraut to keep the meat moist and give it a great flavor.

Slice a banana in half lengthwise, stuff in chocolate, cover with foil and toss into the fire. After about 5 min, take it out and scoop out mushy, chocolaty banana.

Throw in a Hershey’s kiss, tip up, and watch as the chocolate vaporizes and catches fire.

Throw in a potato chip and marvel at how long it burns due to the impressive oil content.

Do not expect to burn the wood immediately after you cut it. It needs to dry. I typically wait at least a month when the wood is split and exposed to the sun. I wait a full year otherwise. The wood I am burning now is 2 years old.

I have bonfires /campfires often. I like to experiment with different ways to start it: a single fuse, or electrically, or one match at one corner, or a hidden road flare stub as a surprise light show. I sometimes do similar food ideas as listed above. I never tried to make anything. Usually the fun is just talking with friends and relaxing.

Make sure you do it on a quiet day – and have a working garden hose nearby!

If you’re into native American ritual, you can host purifying ceremonies These make for fine bonding experiences.

Go firewalking. It’s not nearly as dangerous as people make it out to be.

Make smoked water.

@WestRiverrat I never thought of using sauerkraut with a turkey. Sounds delicious, I’ll have to try that!

This is one really dumb thing we did with fires. After we finished a bottle of beer, we would put the cap back on as tight as we could get it and then put the empty bottle in the fire. At some point it would explode and make for some wild pyrotechnics. How we never hurt someone I don’t know. But it was a wild affect. We were insane teenagers.

Read a book. : )