Picnics: Delicious Recipes for Outdoor Entertaining

By Sara Deseran and Jonelle Weaver

This is sunshine and lazy afternoons in book form, updated for the way we eat now. Picnics serves forth fresh, flavorful, and portable recipes for today's casual to elegant outdoor entertaining. Picnickers can choose from more than 45 recipes for savory salads, sumptuous sandwiches, mouth-watering main dishes, and decadent desserts—and whip up outdoor menus in no time, guided by easy-to-follow instructions and 24 inviting color photographs. Imagine: Open with tasty tidbits such as Crusty Focaccia with Rosemary or Curried Deviled Eggs. Let the serious feasting begin with Spicy Turkey Burgers or Grilled Beef Skewers (paired here with black pepper–lime dipping sauce). Top it all off with a piece de resistance dessert such as Brown Sugar Blondies with Pecans or Moist Chocolate-Walnut Cake. At the park, at the beach, in the woods, or in the backyard garden, the gang will be back for more whenever the fabulous fare in Picnics is on the menu.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Chronicle Books Digital
• Release date: Jul 2, 2013
• ISBN: 9781452128481

Sara Deseran

Sara Deseran is the food editor of 7x7 magazine in San Francisco. She has contributed to such publications as Saveur and The San Francisco Chronicle as well as serving as food editor for Taste magazine.

Book preview

Text copyright © 2004 by Chronicle Books LLC

Photographs copyright © 2004 by Jonelle Weaver

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher.

ISBN 978-1-4521-2848-1

The Library of Congress has cataloged the previous edition as follows:

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data: Deseran, Sara.

Picnics : delicious recipes for outdoor entertaining / by Sara Deseran; photographs by Jonelle Weaver.

p. cm.

Includes index.

ISBN 978-0-8118-4299-0 (hardcover)

1. Outdoor cookery. 2. Picnicking. I. Title.

TX823.D473 2004

641.5'78—dc22

2003017326

Design: Carole Goodman, Blue Anchor Design

Prop stylist: Paige Hicks

Food stylist: Liza Jernow

Assistant food stylist: Jennifer Cohen

Photographer’s assistant: Teresa Horgan

Photographer Jonelle Weaver wishes to give special thanks to Paige Hicks, Liza Jernow, Jennifer Cohen, and Teresa Horgan for long hours of work; Scott and Lisa Isherwood, Kate Green, The Parker House Inn, and The Quechee Lakes Association for lovely locations; and Per Furmark for home base support.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION 6

BITS AND BITES 12

Spiced Pine Nuts, Pecans, and Pumpkin Seeds 13

Quick Pickled Veggies 15

Mixed Olives with Orange and Coriander 16

Curried Deviled Eggs 19

Prosciutto and Melon 20

Crusty Focaccia with Rosemary 21

Cheese Course 22

Avocado-Tomatillo Salsa 24

SIMPLY SANDWICHES 25

Fresh Mozzarella, Tomato, and Basil Sandwich 26

Pan Bagnat with Tuna, Tomatoes, and Olives 29

Vietnamese Chicken Sandwich with Carrot-Daikon Slaw 30

Roasted Pork Sandwich with Fennel and Apple 32

Grilled Skirt Steak Sandwich with Salsa Verde 35

Meatloaf Sandwich with Chipotle Mayonnaise 36

Roasted Eggplant and Bell Pepper Sandwich with Herbed Goat Cheese 38

SALADS AND SIDES 39

Green Beans with Almond Butter–Ginger Dressing 40

French Lentils with Roasted Beets and Pancetta 43

Orzo Salad with Green Olives, Tomatoes, and Feta 45

Chopped Spring Salad with Asparagus and Peas 47

Quick Summertime Gazpacho 48

Old-Fashioned Coleslaw with Apples 50

Melon Skewers with Lime and Mint 51

Mangoes with Chile, Lemon, and Salt 52

German-Style Potato Salad with Bacon and Mustard 54

Cajun Potato Salad 55

Cold Soba Noodles and Snap Peas with Sesame Dressing 57

Roasted Chicken Salad with Red Grapes and Pecans 58

MAIN COURSES 59

Cold Slow-Roasted Salmon with Cucumber-Cumin Raita 61

Spanish-Style Tortilla with Potatoes and Spinach 62

Grilled Shrimp, Zucchini, and Tomato Skewers 64

Grilled Beef Skewers with Black Pepper–Lime Dipping Sauce 65

Grilled Sausages with Sweet Roasted Pepper Relish 67

Spicy Turkey Burgers with Tequila 68

DIVINE DESSERTS 69

Moist Chocolate Walnut Cake 70

Lemon and Crème Fraîche Loaf Cake 71

Nectarine Tart 73

Brown Sugar Blondies with Pecans 75

Coconut Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting 76

Toasted Almond Bundt Cake with Raspberries 78

English Berry Summer Pudding 81

Ultimate Chocolate Chip–Oatmeal Cookies 82

REFRESHING DRINKS 83

Honey-Ginger Lemonade 85

Watermelon-Lime Agua Fresca 87

Mojitos 88

Shandy Beer 88

White Wine Sangria with Cherries 90

MENUS 91

INDEX 94

TABLE OF EQUIVALENTS 96

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Thanks to everyone that gave feedback on recipes for this book, including Alan and Jina, the 7x7 potluck team, and my husband, Colin. Thanks to Leslie and the Chronicle Books staff for calling me up, and I can never say enough to Dad, the dishwasher, and Mom, my silent partner, who developed, shopped, cooked, and tested ten variations of a peach crisp before we decided on a nectarine tart!

INTRODUCTION

THERE’S SOMETHING ABOUT ABANDONING THE FORMALITIES OF THE dining room and taking it outdoors that just makes food taste better. Utensils are optional; so are tables and chairs. Suddenly, what matters most isn’t a pressed linen tablecloth or crystal goblets, but a beautiful vista and the shade of a tree. Maybe it’s the fresh air, but with the kitchen far away, appetites seem to grow even more ravenous.

One of the joys of picnicking is that there are no hard rules. The idyllic scene you see in movies (you know, the one with a wicker basket and red-and-white checked blanket laid out in a breezy meadow dotted with poppies) is just one of countless scenarios. In real life, a picnic is just as likely to be a reward at the end of a long hike, a backyard barbecue under a low-slung oak, or a romantic brown-bag lunch for two in a city park. It’s a tailgate party, a beach cookout, and a playground potluck.

And there are so many good reasons to take it outside. Picnics make the most of a stunning summer day and the view of a setting sun. With no confines of a