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Seasonal Entertaining – Picnic in the Park

Picnics in the park are one of summer’s best treats. It is a wonderful opportunity for family, friends, and even co-workers to come together for great food and outdoor fun. Children find special excitement in packing up bats, balls, blankets, and usually whatever else they can cram into the bags and car. Even picking out the perfect spot to lay your blanket and grub is an adventure.

Planning your picnic menu should be equally fun and exciting. Take time to highlight all the delicious herbs, fruits, and vegetables that the summer months have to offer. The key to a successful menu is not so much quantity of dishes, but a balance of light and filling– light for the time of year, filling because hopefully you will be in your picnic area for many hours enjoying the camaraderie, sun and open space.

Because of the heat, it is best to make all of your dishes in advance and refrigerate them the night before. You can even put your juices in plastic bottles and toss them in the freezer. This serves the additional purpose of acting as an icepack in your cooler. To make life a little easier, you can also supplement a lot of your own cooking with some easy dips, crackers and breads from the grocery store.

First, start with a delicious alternative to a green salad; panzanella is a Tuscan salad that highlights fresh tomatoes, herbs, and bread. This recipe makes six generous servings.

Panzanella
10 fresh plum tomatoes, diced
½ large cucumber, diced
¼ cup small pitted olives, minced
1 T chopped oregano
1 T chopped basil
2 T chopped parsley
1 T lemon juice
4 T olive oil
2 T balsamic vinegar
1 pinch sugar
pinch of salt
pepper to taste
½ chiabatta, diced

The night before, combine all ingredients, except the bread, in a large portable container. On picnic day, simply toss the bread into your tomato mixture and there you have it, a delicious salad without the wilted lettuce.


You can make a light and easy chive dip to add to your crudité spread.

Chive Dip
1 cup plain yogurt
1 cup sour cream
¼ cup fresh chives, minced
1 T fresh dill
salt and pepper to taste

Mix all your ingredients in a medium container. Let the flavors marry and chill overnight. You can cut your veggies for the crudité the night before as well. Just put them in the fridge submerged in cold water to keep them crisp.

Apricot-Thyme Chicken Wings
These wings are delicious fried, barbecued, or baked. Simply season your wings two days before your picnic with salt, pepper, and a few tablespoons of vinegar or fresh lemon juice. You can also throw a dash of your favorite chicken dry rub seasoning. Once the chicken is done marinating, dry it off with some paper towels. Cook the chicken to your liking. Once it’s done and still hot, brush or toss with generous amounts of the glaze. This glaze is also delicious over salmon.

Apricot-Thyme Glaze
2 T olive oil
1 large clove fresh garlic, sliced
10 fresh apricots, minced
2 sprigs fresh thyme
4 T honey
3 cups water
2-3 t salt

Sauté garlic in olive oil until translucent. Add apricots, thyme, honey and water and mix together. Let boil for about 7-10 minutes. Take off heat and mash mixture through a sieve. Put liquid back on low heat but still simmering. Reduce until the mixture is bubbly and thick. Add salt to taste.

Herbed Potato Salad
The fresh herbs in this potato salad give it a special zing that will only get better by making it the night before.

4 large russet potato salad
3 T apple cider vinegar
1 cup mayo or plain yogurt
5-6 sprigs fresh parsley, minced
3 sprigs fresh dill, minced
½ red onion, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Cook and peel the potatoes. Once cooled, dice them and sprinkle with apple cider vinegar. Add mayo or yogurt, parsley, dill and onion. Season with salt and pepper and refrigerate overnight.

And finally for dessert, try a simple pound cake complimented with some fresh strawberries in basil syrup.

Pound Cake
2 cups all-purpose flour
½ t baking powder
½ t salt
2 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 ¼ cups sugar
3 large eggs
1 t lemon and or orange zest
1 t vanilla
½ cup whole milk

Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Beat salt and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time beating well after each addition. Slowly add flour and milk in alternating batches beginning and ending with flour. Pour batter into loaf pan and bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until knife inserted comes out clean.

Strawberries in Basil Syrup
Dissolve 1 cup sugar in 1 cup water. Remove from heat and steep for 20 minutes (longer if you would like the syrup stronger). Take out the basil and add a pint of fresh washed and hulled strawberries.