The Picnic

What summer's really about ...

Summer is here.  Well, not really.  The first day of summer is technically 20 days away, but everyone knows that summer starts at the end of May.  Everyone has a favoirte summer food – but for me that “summer food” feeling has always been less about the food itself than the meal, and the style of the meal.

It’s about the picnic.

I don’t mean (necessarily) a blanket spread on the grass in the park or a spread set up on a tailgate.  It’s the spread itself. A buffet of options – whether those options are just some fruit an bread and cheese, or a five table buffet at the neighborhood block party.  It’s that you can pick and choose and mix and match and build your favorites and load up a plate, or be choosy and go back for seconds or thirds or … it’s grazing.  More than the location, the weather, even the friends – it’s that endless variation that I really love.

This week’s menu is picnic foods.  Some are simple and straightforward, my take on some traditional items made in straightforward ways – basically the three pillars of the mayonnaise food group. Some have a little twist, but nothing out there. These recipes aren’t pushing the envelope because sometimes you just want the old familiar favorites.

Basic Simple Delicious Coleslaw

Coleslaw is a weirdly divisive dish. There are arguments over style, over ingredients, and for some whether a plate of sauce cabbage actually constitutes a dish or is just some cruel trick played on us all by cooks past.  I’m not of the cruel trick school.  I love coleslaw – almost any style - though I’m not a fan of the celery seed that seems to make its way into some preparations – it’s like someone said “you know what would make this dish of crunchy cabbage and carrots better?  Some weird sandy textured seeds that sort of taste like celery.”    That someone was wrong.

This is a very straightforward and somewhat old fashioned recipe, but it makes a great slaw that works as a side, can be repurposed as a topping (it’s is great on a hugely messy brisket sandwich), and best of all is a perfect pairing for the rich Caramelized Onion, Bacon, and Bourbon baked beans you’ll find below.  Beans and Coleslaw. Best. Ever.

2 cups thinly sliced green cabbage
1 small carrot
½ tsp kosher salt
1 tbsp granulated sugar
1 tbsp white or cider vinegar
½ cup mayonnaise
¼ tsp ground black pepper (opt)

Peel, trim, and cut the carrot into a very fine matchsticks (julienne cut) – a julienne peeler makes quick work of this.  

Add the carrots and the finely sliced cabbage to a non-reactive bowl and sprinkle with the sugar and salt.

Toss well to distribute the salt and sugar, then allow to stand undisturbed for at least 30 minutes.

Macaroni Salad

Like the coleslaw above, this is a straightforward recipe – but that doesn’t mean it’s boring. Instead, think of it as a blank canvas that you add to as you want.   I use Dijon mustard – you can swap in yellow mustard if that’s more your thing.  I also intentionally undercook the pasta.  This means it better soaks up the dressing and doesn’t get mushy.  It does mean that you’ll need to make it a little in advance – but that’s sort of the point of picnic foods anyway.

Serves 4 as a side dish

2 cups elbow macaroni
2 tbsp finely minced white onion
2 tbsp finely minced red bell pepper
2 tbsp sweet pickle relish
2 tbsp minced celery
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp white or cider vinegar
½ cup mayonnaise
½ tsp ground black pepper

Add the onion, red pepper, celery, mustard and vinegar to a non-reactive bowl and allow to stand for at least 15 minutes.

Add the pickle relish, black pepper, and mayonnaise to the bowl and stir to combine.

Add the macaroni to a pot of rapidly boiling, heavily salted water. 

Cook for 6-7 minutes, then drain, and stop the cooking with by adding the cooked noodles to and ice water bath.

As soon as the macaroni is cool, drain the ice water and shake, bang, spin – whatever you can to get as much water out of the pasta as possible (I use a salad spinner to drain the macaroni.  Seriously. It works wonders.)

Fold the pasta into the dressing and refrigerate for the flavors to combine.

Candied Jalapeno Potato Salad

Despite the name, and the inclusion of Jalapeño, this potato salad variation isn’t particularly spicy, though you could certainly make it so if you wanted.  The diced pepper pieces are slightly candied, and they and the corn give the salad a bit of sweet spicy crunch.

Serves 4 as a side dish

1 large jalapeño pepper
2 large russet potatoes
1 tbsp minced white onion
1 tbsp minced red bell pepper
2 green onions
¼ cup corn kernels (canned or cut from the cob and blanched)
¼ cup mayonnaise
¼ cup Greek yogurt
1 tbsp granulated sugar
½ tsp ground black pepper
1 tbsp finely minced cilantro leaves
½ tsp finely minced sage leaves or ¼ tsp rubbed sage

Remove the stem, seeds, and internal ribs from the jalapeño.

Cut the pepper into a fine dice approximately 1/8th inch.

Add the diced jalapeño, salt, and sugar to a non-reactive bowl and allow to stand undisturbed for at least 1 hour.  The sugar and salt will draw out the liquid in the pepper and partially candy the pieces.

Clean, trim, and finely slice the green onions.

Add the onion, red pepper, green onions, corn, mayonnaise, yogurt, sage, cilantro, and black pepper to the candied jalapenos and mix well.

Wash, peel, and cut the potatoes into ½-1 inch cubes.

Boil the cut potatoes in heavily salted water until just barely fork tender. 

Drain, and rinse in cold water to stop the cooking.

Drain any residual cold water and allow to cool completely before dressing with the dressing mixture.

Caramelized Onion, Bacon, and Bourbon Baked Beans

Baked beans are one of my favorites.  Not just my favorite beans, but just simply “one of my favorites.”  I’ll eat them with BBQ or fried chicken, spooned over toast or as a side with bacon eggs and hash browns, I’ll even roll them into a tortilla because why not, I’m sort of an adult, I can eat what I want.  There are a lot of recipes out there, a lot of hints, tricks, etc.  Growing up, my mother always took the “doctor the canned beans” route and the results were fabulous, but I now prefer starting almost from scratch.  Dried beans have better texture and flavor than canned beans, and while they do require a little more advanced planning, the results are totally worth it.   This recipe includes caramelized onions. That also takes a little time, but they melt into he sauce and provide a sweet, deep backbone of flavor that’s totally worth the extra effort.  I like sweet beans, but if you’ve got a drier palate, you can cut back on the sugar. It will have a slight difference in texture, but nothing major.

Serves a campfire worth of cowboys as a side dish

2 cups dry Great Northern beans
6 cups chicken stock or water
4 strips thick cut smoked bacon
1 large onion
1 cup tomato ketchup
½ cup dark brown sugar
2 oz bourbon
¼ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp Chinese five spice powder
2 tsp kosher salt

Soak the beans overnight in 4 cups of water with 1 tsp salt and ¼ tsp baking soda.

Drain the beans and discard the soaking liquid.

Preheat your oven to 300° F

Peel, trim, and dice the onion into ¼ inch or smaller pieces.

Cut the bacon into ¼ inch pieces and add to the bottom of a Dutch oven over medium low heat.

Cook the bacon until crisp, then remove and set aside, leaving the bacon fat in the pot.

Add the diced onion to the pot and cook, stirring often, until the onions are very dark and caramelized.  You may need to occasionally deglaze the pan with a little water to prevent burning.

Once the onions are dark, add the beans, stock or water, ketchup, brown sugar, bourbon, remaining 1 tsp salt, and five spice powder.

Bring the pot to a simmer, then transfer to the oven to cook uncovered until the beans are tender and most of the liquid has been absorbed – 3-6 hours.

Buttermilk Brined Fried Chicken

The great thing about fried chicken as a picnic dish is that it’s great hot, great warm, and great cold.  There aren’t many dishes for which that’s true, and it really makes it a perfect item.  You can enjoy it at the table, in the yard, or miles from home and while each is a different experience, they’re all Fried Chicken.  I mean, who doesn’t love fried chicken?

This recipe is a straightforward buttermilk brined chicken.  I include a lot of garlic and some spices in the brine to impart more flavor to the meat itself – and up to 48 hours marinating really gives you tender flavorful chicken.   Then, I add a substantial portion of cornstarch to the breading.  Corn starch fries up to an exceptionally crisp crust – which means this chicken can stay crispy even a few hours after frying.

1 small frying chicken, cut up

Oil for frying

Buttermilk Brine

2 cups cultured buttermilk
4 cloves garlic
1 green onion
1 tbsp kosher salt
1 tsp black peppercorns
1 tsp red pepper flake
1 tsp smoked paprika

Chicken Breading

1 ½ cups AP Flour
½ cup corn starch
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp finely ground black pepper
½ tsp dried thyme
¼ tsp rubbed sage

Add buttermilk, garlic, green onion, red pepper flake, 1 tbsp kosher salt, and 1 tsp smoked paprika to the container of a blender and process until smooth.

Add the chicken and the contents of a blender to a large zip top bag, squeeze out the air, and close. 

Allow the chicken to marinate at least 8 and up to 48 hours, turning occasionally.

Add AP flour, cornstarch, garlic powder, 1 tsp smoked paprika, 1 tsp kosher salt, baking powder, finely ground black pepper, thyme, and sage to a large container and use a whisk to stir into a homogonous mixture.

Working in small batches, remove the chicken from the marinade and dip into the breading mixture.  Shake to ensure that the breading coats the chicken evenly.

Place the breaded chicken on a rack and allow to rest uncovered in the refrigerator at least 1 hour to allow the breading to hydrate.

Heat your frying oil (I use a mixture of vegetable oil and lard or shortening) to  350° F

Fry the chicken in batches until golden brown, and a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the piece reads 165°F.

Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. I’m not a dessert guy.  I mean, I love eating desserts – and ‘m even a little distrustful of those, like my wife, who don’t – but I’m not really great at making them.  That’s why I really prefer some simple old school preparations of the chop mix and dump variety.   Cobblers are definitely one of those.  I’ve found over the years that there are a lot of different definitions of cobbler. I’ve had versions that were essentially a pie without a bottom crust,  versions that essentially resembled yellow cake cooked over a pool of bubbling hot fruit, and this version – a quick bread topping that falls somewhere between a biscuit and a shortbread.  That was the version my mother made when I was a kid and I still love it – both because of the memory, but also because it’s so quick to make.   

Because we’re in that window between spring and summer where both strawberries and rhubarb are at their peak – and because I love that combination – this is a simple and fast strawberry rhubarb cobbler.  Look for really juicy strawberries  and deep red stalks of rhubarb, they’ll make the dish sweeter and brighter.

Serves 4 as a dessert

2 cups stemmed and sliced strawberries
2 cups sliced rhubarb stems
2 cups plus 2 tbsp AP flour
1 ¼ cup buttermilk
1 cup sugar divided
4 tbsp cold unsalted butter
2 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp kosher salt

Preheat your oven to 350°F.

Add sliced strawberries, rhubarb, ½ cup of sugar to a non-reactive bowl. Allow to stand 15 minutes.

Sprinkle 2 tbsp of flour over the fruit and stir to combine.

Add 2 cups of AP flour, ½ cup of sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt to the bowl of a food processor.  Pulse until the butter is incorporated and the mixture looks like a very fine meal.

Add the buttermilk the flour mixture and pulse just until combined.

Grease a skillet, add the fruit mixture, and spoon the batter over the top.

Bake at 350°F until the topping begins to brown.

Serve hot or cold, with vanilla ice cream, or whipped cream or just on its own.