The Thanksgiving Our Oven Gave Out
November 2026
Article by Jessica Plance
Thanksgiving 2022 didn't quite go according to plan. One of my best friends from high school was visiting for the holiday, and we were excited to host Thanksgiving at our house. Then, two days beforehand, our oven's heating element went out.
Luckily, we had a few outdoor skills to fall back on. With snow from an early fall storm still on the ground, we moved Thanksgiving outside and cooked our meal over the fire in our backyard. My husband, Nick, stuffed chickens with lemon, pomegranate, onion, and herbs, dressed them with pomegranate liqueur, and roasted them in a Dutch oven. Meanwhile, I got to work researching how to make a cheesecake on a grill.
We made mashed potatoes, too (though, honestly, we love instant mashed potatoes, so those would have made a perfectly good backup!). And the pumpkin cheesecake, baked on our charcoal grill, has since become a yearly tradition. Yes, we still cook it on the grill.
The key is keeping the grill at a steady 275 to 300 degrees and setting a pan of water inside the covered grill so the cheesecake doesn't dry out. We also added a few cherry wood coals, which gave it a great flavor.
What started as an unexpected obstacle turned into one of my favorite Thanksgivings. Instead of rushing around the kitchen, we spent the day in the cool, crisp air, warming ourselves by the fire, checking on the chickens, and sipping hot cider. There was something deeply satisfying about knowing we could still pull together a special dinner with what we had, even without our most modern tools.
It was a good reminder that being comfortable outdoors isn't just about recreation. Those skills can come in handy when plans fall apart, and sometimes, they can make the experience even better. By the time we sat down to eat, the meal felt a little more earned. And somehow, a Thanksgiving cooked over a backyard fire tasted even better.
Check out the recipe below!
Originally printed in the November 2026 issue of Simply Local Magazine
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