What’s harder to pack than a weekender? A picnic basket. We’ve gathered our summer essentials that don’t require Mario Batali-style skills to master. So find yourself a spot of grass and get down to business.
Sometimes it’s fine for the cheese to stand alone, but not when you can supplement it with a spicy, fruity concoction from an award-winning UK chef. Tell that to the farmer and his wife.
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To get away from the hungry mob of picnickers. Andrea Reusings’s crispy, nutty, and not-so-greasy fried chicken is as good eaten hot as it is at room temp. It’s the ideal meal on the go.
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Treat guests to a refreshing adult slushie that simply combines the big green guy, water, ice, honey, lime, and salt. Food blogger and cookbook author Heidi Swanson didn’t suggest it, but we see no problem with adding a bit of gin. To taste, of course.
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Too much mayo can be a no-no. Swanson substitutes a vinaigrette and adds veggies and tofu to potatoes for a colorful, vibrant dish that looks more appealing than that mushy goop from the deli.
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Use your noodle: Macaroni salad is a thing of the past. Smart partygoers will be quick to switch to Swanson’s ravioli salad, which incorporates pumpkin seeds, cilantro, lemon juice, Parmesan, and more deliciousness. Think of it as brain food.
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We all know Mama said knock you out. Show guests who’s champ with a berry sweet beverage from Windy City mixologist Adam Seger and chef Cleetus Friedman of City Provisions Deli. It’ll blow anyone away.
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Chef Akhtar Nawab has come up with two new recipes for any occasion when a little extra spice is needed. The salsa verde is perfect for chips and veggies, while the pasilla chile and raisin varietal would kill on enchiladas or quesadillas.
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Though Rolldrap napkins might seem like your everyday cotton variety, they’re cut from a different cloth. The tearaway cocktail or dinner squares are disposable and come in a compact, easy-to-transport roll. So you can rip as you drip without chasing after flyaways.
Available at buymydrap.com, $25-$42.
Sometimes eating off a handheld paper plate isn’t fun. Honor civility while keeping with game-day tradition by toting around a portable four top.
Available at amazon.com, $110.
“A tomato sandwich — thick slices of dead-ripe tomatoes well seasoned with salt and pepper between slices of soft white sandwich bread spread with rich mayonnaise — is a pure joy. Any attempt to improve it — toasting the bread, adding lettuce or, god forbid, basil — will only distract from perfection.”
Cooking in the Moment is available at amazon.com, $20.
You don’t need to pull out all the stops for a casual picnic. But you could pull out just one — Reusing’s sour cherry cake. Easy to bake and take on the road, the tasty squares are a bite of summer in every slice.
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