When is the last time you used your picnic basket? You know, the little wicker number that Aunt Sally gave you for a wedding present, lined with precious blue-and-white gingham that’s starting to fade.
Well, why don’t you pretend that antique is a spiffy convertible? Roll back the top. Fill it with sexy springtime food and cooling libations. Take it out for a spin. All you need is a friend, a wildflower meadow, perhaps a hat. We’ll handle the spread.
Picnic season is here.
So before the moment shifts from breezy to blazing, from cool, elegant noshing to hot burgers and steaming buns, make a plan for an outdoor feast. A memorable getaway packed with flavors as bright as the sun is as easy as a lark in the park or a drive down a winding country lane.
While generations of Southern picnics have called for mayonnaise-laced concoctions of pimento cheese, chicken, tuna and potato salad, we’ve devised a menu that’s light and lively -- laden with fresh fruit, vegetables and herbs; a dribble of nuts, a dab of cheese and the heady rush of midnight-black chocolate.
We start by stirring up a pitcher of blueberry lemonade; marinating cantaloupe and cucumbers in a tangy yogurt dressing; and creating a chicken salad of almonds and tarragon. We follow this sensible repast with pure decadence: brownies so fudgy they need to be stored in the cooler and unpacked at the last minute, cold as marble and studded with walnuts. This, we believe, is a blueprint for an irresistible picnic.
So let’s get started. You know the old expression — a loaf of bread, Aunt Sally’s basket, and thou.
A picnic that sings
An al fresco spread should be filled with delicious eats and a sense of fun. You want food that holds up to warm weather, that’s easy to pack, that won’t make a mess. You want a menu that’s fresh-tasting, forgiving and, in the end, just a tiny bit indulgent. Here is our menu for a memorable picnic.
Sandwiches of Chicken Salad With Tarragon and Almonds
Hands on: 15 minutes
Total time: 1 hour, 15 minutes (includes chill time)
Serves: 4
You can make this spread from most any kind of cooked bird; rotisserie chicken from the supermarket would be delicious. If packing sandwiches for a picnic, wrap them in waxed paper, place in a sealable plastic bag, and lay at the top of your ice chest. Of course, the salad tastes good by itself, on crackers or plated with salad greens and grapes.
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 tablespoons plain yogurt (may use low- or nonfat)
2 tablespoons buttermilk
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons lemon zest
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons freshly ground pepper
3 cups cooked chicken, finely chopped
2 heaping tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon
3 scallions, white and green parts, sliced thin
2/3 cup sliced almonds
8 slices of favorite bread (such as ciabatta, whole wheat, sourdough, etc.)
12 strips cooked bacon
8 tomato slices
4 large lettuce leaves (such as red leaf or romaine)
In a small bowl, make the dressing by combining mayonnaise, yogurt, buttermilk, Dijon mustard, lemon juice, lemon zest, salt and pepper. Mix well. Taste and adjust seasonings, and set aside. Place the chicken, tarragon, scallions and sliced almonds in a medium mixing bowl. Pour on dressing and mix well. Taste and adjust seasonings. Chill for at least one hour, or until ready to serve.
Evenly divide chicken salad among four slices of bread topped with lettuce leaves. Top with two tomato slices, three slices of bacon and the remaining bread.
Per serving: 729 calories (percent of calories from fat, 51), 59 grams protein, 32 grams carbohydrates, 6 grams fiber, 42 grams fat (9 grams saturated), 141 milligrams cholesterol, 1,356 milligrams sodium.
A Fresh Summer Salad of Cantaloupe, Goat Cheese, Cucumber and Onion
Hands on: 20 minutes
Total time: 25 minutes
Serves: 4
Author Patricia Wells makes this dish with heirloom tomatoes and includes the recipe in her new book, "Salad as a Meal: Healthy Main-Dish Salads for Every Season" (Morrow, $35). We adapted the recipe without tomatoes, but if you can find some juicy seasonal beauties, feel free to chop and toss in.
1/3 cup plain yogurt (may use low- or nonfat)
1 tablespoon seasoned rice vinegar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons buttermilk
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1 small cantaloupe, halved, seeded, peeled and chopped into bite-size pieces
1 small cucumber, thinly sliced
4 small scallions, white part only, thinly sliced
½ cup fresh basil leaves, cut into chiffonade
½ cup fresh mint leaves, cut into chiffonade
2 ounces firm goat’s milk cheese (½ cup)
Black pepper, freshly and coarsely ground
To make the dressing: Place yogurt, rice vinegar, lemon juice, buttermilk, salt and lemon zest in a bowl. Stir well, and chill until ready to use.
To assemble the salad: Place the cantaloupe, cucumber and scallions in a large bowl. Add the dressing and toss until just coated. Shower with basil and mint, and dot with goat cheese. Sprinkle with black pepper, and serve immediately. (To make ahead: Mix the cantaloupe and vegetables with dressing and place in a sealable plastic bag or container. When ready to serve, top with herbs, goat cheese and black pepper.)
Adapted from “Salad as a Meal: Healthy Main-Dish Salads for Every Season,” by Patricia Wells (Morrow, $35).
Per serving: 151 calories (percent of calories from fat, 33), 8 grams protein, 19 grams carbohydrates, 3 grams fiber, 6 grams fat (4 grams saturated), 16 milligrams cholesterol, 624 milligrams sodium.
Blueberry Lemonade
A brew of fresh blueberries, lemon juice and sugar, this glorious summer libation tastes as bright and vivid as it looks. We suspect it would be delicious spiked with sparkling wine or vodka. Be sure to save a few blueberries for garnish.
Hands on: 15 minutes
Total time: 15 minutes
Serves: 4-6
1 cup fresh blueberries, washed and drained
1 1/3 cup sugar, divided
2 1/4 quarts water, divided
1 cup lemon juice
1 lemon sliced
Mint sprigs, for garnish (optional)
A handful of blueberries, for garnish (optional)
Place blueberries, 1 cup of sugar and 1 cup of water in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a gentle boil, stirring occasionally, until the blueberries have softened and begun to leach their color, about 5 minutes. (The syrup will be a bright purple.) Strain blueberry juice into a pitcher, and let cool briefly. Mix in the lemon juice, the additional 1/3 cup of sugar and two quarts of water. Stir well. Taste to adjust for sweetness, adding more sugar if you like. Toss the sliced lemon into the pitcher. Chill until ready to serve. Pour over ice and garnish with mint sprigs and blueberries.
Per serving, based on 4: 275 calories (percent of calories from fat, 1), 1 gram protein, 68 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram fiber, trace fat (no saturated fat), no cholesterol, 4 milligrams sodium.
Super-Intense Fudge Brownies
New York chocolatier Max Brenner calls this a "philosophical, highly concentrated fudge brownie," and we won't argue with that. Because chilling brings out the fudgy texture, we suggest placing these at the top of your ice chest and taking out minutes before serving. And because they are incredibly rich, you may want to cut them into bite-size pieces and serve like fudge. These decadent dark-chocolate confections also would be delicious with ice cream or berries and whipped cream.
Hands on: 45 minutes (includes 30-minute cooling time)
Total time: 1 hour, 15 minutes (plus overnight chill time)
Serves: 12
16 ounces dark chocolate (preferably 70 percent), roughly chopped
½ cup heavy cream
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
3 large eggs at room temperature
¾ cups granulated sugar
½ cup all-purpose flour, divided
½ teaspoon salt
¾ cup chopped walnuts
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a 9-by-13 rimmed cookie sheet or baking pan with parchment paper. (Note: To avoid having your brownies dusted with flour, you may use cocoa powder instead of flour.)
Place the chopped chocolate in a large heatproof bowl. In a large saucepan over medium heat, bring the cream and butter to a boil. Pour over chocolate. Let sit for about 1 minute, until the chocolate begins to melt. Stir until the chocolate has melted completely and the mixture is smooth. (If chocolate isn’t fully melted, you may heat it briefly in the microwave, using 30-second increments.) Set aside to cool for 30 minutes.
Add the vanilla to the cooled chocolate. Whisk in the eggs one by one, then the sugar.
Set aside 1 tablespoon of flour, and sift the rest with the salt over the chocolate. Stir mixture with a wooden spoon. Toss the walnuts with the remaining flour, and mix into the batter.
Pour batter into the prepared pan, smoothing out with a spatula. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out almost clean, about 30 minutes. Let cool. Wrap and refrigerate overnight for the fudgiest texture.
Adapted from “Chocolate: A Love Story: 65 Chocolate Dessert Recipes From Max Brenner’s Private Collection,” by Max Brenner (Little Brown, $30).
Per serving: 415 calories (percent of calories from fat, 57), 6 grams protein, 41 grams carbohydrates, 3 grams fiber, 28 grams fat (8 grams saturated fat), 81 milligrams cholesterol, 112 milligrams sodium.
About the Author
