Everybody eats: How to make picnic prep easy

My husband and I received a wicker picnic basket as a wedding present more than 18 years ago. I don't think we've gone on 18 picnics since it came into our possession, but I've yet to toss it during cleaning purges because I love the thought of picnics.

What I don't love is the work that goes into preparing for one.

I think my mother felt the same way. My family didn't go on a lot of picnics when I was little, but every time we did, our picnic basket was usually a cardboard bucket of chicken. I grew up believing a popular food chain was for picnic food only.

I wanted to write a column about picnic foods to explore the realm of outdoor dining that didn't involve visiting a drive-thru window. Then my son graduated from high school and I realized my inaptitude for math extended to party planning meal preparation. As I stared at the piles of leftover deli meat, cheese and sandwich buns, it became obvious my original idea of fancy picnic foods would not be fulfilled this time around. I needed to do something simpler. Something modest. Something that would put a dent in the leftovers cramming my refrigerator.

Not only was I successful in finding a second use for some of the party foods, I learned my fear of picnic prep was all in my head. Eating outside doesn't need to resemble a scene from a romantic comedy or even the cover of a food magazine. All you need is good food and people to enjoy it with; the rest will take care of itself.

I didn't use a recipe for the sandwiches. I'm not exaggerating about the amount of leftover lunch meat. If I wanted to open my own sandwich shop, I had everything I needed. Local lunch shops can breathe easy — that isn't part of my summer plans. Instead, I Googled deli meat to see if there were any interesting ways to use turkey, ham and roast beef slices beyond piling them on top of each other. There really wasn't, but one blogger suggested taking the sandwich buns out of the package without separating them. To save time, she kept them together, slicing them in half lengthwise to build one gigantic sandwich, which she packed in a storage container for transportation. When it was time for lunch, everyone just grabbed a bun, ripping it from the group to have an individual sandwich. I tried it and that cut my picnic preparation time considerably.

I've made French Potato Salad for summer potlucks before. I have a fear of mayonnaise consumption in the heat, so I am a fan of any summer recipe that doesn't require the condiment. I'm also a fan of recipes that call for wine. Seriously, there's always a bottle of white wine in my refrigerator specifically for this reason. The bottle of blush next to it has nothing to do with cooking.

Believe it or not, the Reese's Peanut Butter Blondies also are a leftover recipe. My son loves Reese's more than any other candy. When he was little, he couldn't pronounce Reese's properly, so he called them peanut butter with a chocolate taste. I bought dozens to serve as centerpieces for his party and not nearly enough were devoured. I might have made the centerpieces too neat. I blame Pinterest. Yes, it came to my rescue when searching for recipes to use up graduation leftovers, but it also was the cause. Oh well. One bite — OK, several bites — of peanut butter cup blondies, all was forgiven.

I had one more graduation party leftover that made my picnic planning complete: paper plates and napkins. Maybe picnic preparation can seem to be too much for something that's supposed to be simple, but at least there aren't many dishes to clean after the meal.

The recipes:

French potato salad

1 pound small white boiling potatoes

1 pound small red boiling potatoes

2 tablespoons good dry white wine

2 tablespoons chicken stock

3 tablespoons Champagne vinegar

1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard

2 teaspoons kosher salt

3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

10 tablespoons good olive oil

1/4 cup minced scallions (white and green parts)

2 tablespoons minced fresh dill

2 tablespoons minced flat-leaf parsley

2 tablespoons julienned fresh basil leaves

Drop the white and red potatoes into a large pot of boiling salted water and cook for 20 to 30 minutes, until they are just cooked through. Drain in a colander and place a towel over the potatoes to allow them to steam for 10 more minutes. As soon as you can handle them, cut in 1/2 (quarters if the potatoes are larger) and place in a medium bowl. Toss gently with the wine and chicken stock. Allow the liquids to soak into the warm potatoes before proceeding.

Combine the vinegar, mustard, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and slowly whisk in the olive oil to make an emulsion. Add the vinaigrette to the potatoes. Add the scallions, dill, parsley, basil, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and toss. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Source: 'The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook' by Ina Garten (Clarkson Potter; April 6, 1999)

Reese's peanut butter cup blondies

1 cup plain all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

¼ cup unsalted butter, softened

¼ cup smooth peanut butter

1 cup, packed light brown sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 large egg

1/3 cup dark chocolate chips

6 Reese's peanut butter cups, coarsely chopped

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F, and line an 8x8-inch pan with parchment paper allowing an overhang for ease of removal. Set aside.

Sift or whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt into a large bowl. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter, peanut butter, sugar and vanilla together until pale, then beat in the egg until well combined.

Fold in the flour mixture until just combined, then stir through the chocolate chips and peanut butter cups.

Transfer the mixture to the prepared pan and bake for 19 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out with clean (some crumbs clinging is fine.)

Remove pan from oven and cool in the pan completely on a wire rack before cutting into 16 squares.

Source: www.sweet2eatbaking.com

Rainbow fruit cups

Green grapes

Pineapple

Blueberries

Strawberries

Tangerines

Layer the fruit into clear plastic cups. The fruit can be cut in advance, but don't layer until the last minute to keep the colors nice and bright.

Source: myfrugaladventures.com

Strawberry lemonade

1¼ pound of strawberries, washed and cut in halves, about 4 cups

2 lemons, washed and quartered

¼ to ¾ cup honey or sugar to taste, adjust based on your preference and sweetness of strawberries

6 cups water

Blend the strawberries with the honey and 1 cup of water. You don't need to strain it. Place the blended strawberries mix in a pitcher.

In the same blender, no need to rinse, blend the quartered lemons with 1 to 2 cups of water.

Strain the lemon mix into the pitcher, mix well and add the rest of the water. Taste and adjust sweetness level if needed.

Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Source: laylita.com