What Makes an EASY and PERFECT Picnic?
Picnic season is here at last (“HELLO you beautiful Memorial Day!”)! Can there be anything as satisfying as eating outdoors, with people you love, in a delightful location? I was reading JAMES BEARD’S MENUS FOR ENTERTAINING (1965) and found that he and his family relished picnics as much as the rest of us:
“I was brought up in a household famous for its fabulous cooking, and the memories of my childhood are full of one fine meal after another. But the most exciting of all were the magnificent family picnics. Huge hampers and baskets were filled with an endless array of delectable tidbits to be consumed in the great outdoors—on a wide sandy beach by the Pacific, or high in the mountains where blue and red huckleberries grew in abundance, or along some winding road deep in a canyon beside a rushing stream.
“For the cold food and drink, we stopped at an ice-house and picked up a large cake of ice which sat on the floor in the back of the car with the perishables on top. If we wanted anything hot, and we usually planned on coffee at least, we’d build up a fire in the open or if we were near woods that might catch from fire, we’d manage with a little alcohol stove.”
I share this inspiring passage to introduce my topic: tips for easy and perfect picnics. I found this on www.greatist.com and thought you’d find them inspiring and helpful.
GO ENAMEL. Enamel plates are light, easy to pack and carry, and practical—you can load them up with baked beans and salad, let it sit for 20 minutes, and they won’t sog out and collapse your plate (like paper plates tend to do). They also look and feel cooler than plastic, and are way better for the environment than disposable dishes.
BRING SOMETHING TO DO. Even scintillating conversation can lag after a while. Plan for boredom by bringing activities: board games, sand castle construction gear, books, and coloring books, adult or otherwise. These are easy to pack in and out, and easy to make an afternoon of delicious food even tastier.
BRING FOOD YOU CAN PICK UP EASILY. Stuff with built-in handles, like chicken drumsticks, fruit on skewers, and corn on cobs, is all inherently picnic friendly. Minimize forks, spoons, and knives as much as you can.
PLAN FOR BUGS. Flyers and creepers will invade. Strategically plan for this. That could mean packing and/or serving food and drinks in containers with lids (Mason jars, for instance), packing mesh covers, and toting plastic wrap. Shower caps can even come in handy for both covering bowls and keeping them chilled.
DON’T SKIMP ON SALADS. Salads are always appropriate. Make and pack as many as you think you’ll eat: green and grain salads for sure, but don’t forget fruit salad, chopped salads, corn salads, or potato salad (always chilled well) either. A whole spread of salads is fresh, colorful, light, and versatile. Bring any dressings in small jars and add them when you get there.
TRAVEL LIGHT. Less muss, less fuss means more time and energy to do what you came for—eating, relaxing, and probably playing. You really only need a blanket and your portable feast.
SPLURGE ON A VERY GOOD COOLER. A great cooler is used year after year. In other words, it’s an investment that delivers ongoing big dividends.
PACK MORE WET NAPS AND GARBAGE BAGS THAN YOU THINK YOU’LL NEED. They’re effortless to haul, and when you need them…you need them. And if you don’t need ‘em, they’re effortless to haul home.
BRING BLANKET AND TABLECLOTH WEIGHTS AND OTHER WIND DETERRENTS. Few things are as annoying as setting up the perfect al fresco spread, only to find the weather conspiring to scatter stuff. Have weights and tethers in mind: nearby rocks you can weight blankets with, stakes, simple napkin holders.
DON’T EVEN THINK OF PACKING ANYTHING MESSY! You’re in the woods. Or on a picnic table in a city park. Even if you can run to a public restroom to wash your 8-year-old’s face of BBQ sauce or cake frosting, you’re not going to want to have to play scrub-down. Think of un-messy picnic foods: sandwiches, frittatas, oven-fried chicken. (Still, refer to #8 and pack plenty of napkins.)
“I was brought up in a household famous for its fabulous cooking, and the memories of my childhood are full of one fine meal after another. But the most exciting of all were the magnificent family picnics. Huge hampers and baskets were filled with an endless array of delectable tidbits to be consumed in the great outdoors—on a wide sandy beach by the Pacific, or high in the mountains where blue and red huckleberries grew in abundance, or along some winding road deep in a canyon beside a rushing stream.
“For the cold food and drink, we stopped at an ice-house and picked up a large cake of ice which sat on the floor in the back of the car with the perishables on top. If we wanted anything hot, and we usually planned on coffee at least, we’d build up a fire in the open or if we were near woods that might catch from fire, we’d manage with a little alcohol stove.”
I share this inspiring passage to introduce my topic: tips for easy and perfect picnics. I found this on www.greatist.com and thought you’d find them inspiring and helpful.
GO ENAMEL. Enamel plates are light, easy to pack and carry, and practical—you can load them up with baked beans and salad, let it sit for 20 minutes, and they won’t sog out and collapse your plate (like paper plates tend to do). They also look and feel cooler than plastic, and are way better for the environment than disposable dishes.
BRING SOMETHING TO DO. Even scintillating conversation can lag after a while. Plan for boredom by bringing activities: board games, sand castle construction gear, books, and coloring books, adult or otherwise. These are easy to pack in and out, and easy to make an afternoon of delicious food even tastier.
BRING FOOD YOU CAN PICK UP EASILY. Stuff with built-in handles, like chicken drumsticks, fruit on skewers, and corn on cobs, is all inherently picnic friendly. Minimize forks, spoons, and knives as much as you can.
PLAN FOR BUGS. Flyers and creepers will invade. Strategically plan for this. That could mean packing and/or serving food and drinks in containers with lids (Mason jars, for instance), packing mesh covers, and toting plastic wrap. Shower caps can even come in handy for both covering bowls and keeping them chilled.
DON’T SKIMP ON SALADS. Salads are always appropriate. Make and pack as many as you think you’ll eat: green and grain salads for sure, but don’t forget fruit salad, chopped salads, corn salads, or potato salad (always chilled well) either. A whole spread of salads is fresh, colorful, light, and versatile. Bring any dressings in small jars and add them when you get there.
TRAVEL LIGHT. Less muss, less fuss means more time and energy to do what you came for—eating, relaxing, and probably playing. You really only need a blanket and your portable feast.
SPLURGE ON A VERY GOOD COOLER. A great cooler is used year after year. In other words, it’s an investment that delivers ongoing big dividends.
PACK MORE WET NAPS AND GARBAGE BAGS THAN YOU THINK YOU’LL NEED. They’re effortless to haul, and when you need them…you need them. And if you don’t need ‘em, they’re effortless to haul home.
BRING BLANKET AND TABLECLOTH WEIGHTS AND OTHER WIND DETERRENTS. Few things are as annoying as setting up the perfect al fresco spread, only to find the weather conspiring to scatter stuff. Have weights and tethers in mind: nearby rocks you can weight blankets with, stakes, simple napkin holders.
DON’T EVEN THINK OF PACKING ANYTHING MESSY! You’re in the woods. Or on a picnic table in a city park. Even if you can run to a public restroom to wash your 8-year-old’s face of BBQ sauce or cake frosting, you’re not going to want to have to play scrub-down. Think of un-messy picnic foods: sandwiches, frittatas, oven-fried chicken. (Still, refer to #8 and pack plenty of napkins.)
Alice Osborne
Weekly Newsletter Contributor since 2006
Email the author! alice@dvo.com
