Picnic Foods

[Lindacakes]

Claudia Roden has a picnic book that has some nice ideas in it.

 

A Middle Eastern picnic is always good -- mixed grill skewers, hummus with pita, olives, baba ganoush, feta cheese, etc.

 

I like shrimp with avocado, tomato, onions, and (gasp) Miracle Whip.

 

There's a book called Lean Bean Cuisine with some good cold bean salads -- one I remember was Jeweled Rice Salad that had brown rice and red grapes.  It's lovely.  Black beans with avocado, corn, onion, cilantro, etc. and corn chips is good.

 

Also, somewhere I have a spectacular pasta salad with shell-shaped pasta and a great deal of parmesean.

 

Maybe it's in Jane Grigson Good Things?  A chapter on celery salads.  Celery, cold chicken, walnuts.  With blue cheese.

 

Roasted beets and hard boiled eggs.

 

Shortbread.  Thin crispy chocolate cookies.  Florentines.

 

Really delicious wine.

 

Once I did a canoe trip picnic that had stuffed apricots -- I think Claudia Roden -- mascarpone and chopped pistachio, something like that.  I can still feel the water rushing past my ankles while I ate those.

 

Picnics absolutely rule.

Edited June 9, 2014 by Lindacakes (log)

[Plantes Vertes]

Cold meat pies are a classic British picnic food (pork pie, egg and bacon pie, game pies, Cornish pasties, sausage rolls) - in fact cold meat generally; roast beef with horseradish, ham and Piccalilli, roast chicken, pate, potted meat, terrines, coronation chicken.

 

Scotch eggs, plain boiled eggs and quiche are also popular.

 

Asparagus, celery, lettuce, cucumber, radishes and watercress for salads.

 

For dessert fruit, fruit salad, strawberries and cream, fruit or sponge cake.

 

To drink, ginger beer, elderflower cordial, lemonade, Champagne, punch or Pimm's.

 

 

Here is Mrs Beeton's impressive Bill of Fare for a 40-person picnic.

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