Some friends and I recently went to a free concert at Chicago’s beautiful Millennium Park. The forecast was for a gorgeous night with great picnicking weather! It was a perfect night for laying down a blanket on the lawn and kicking back to hear what turned out to be a great concert.
I didn't know what our friends Emily and Ryan had planned for food, but we all love great food so I wasn't worried. I actually didn't decide until the day before the concert what I would bring to eat. But you can be more prepared for your next picnic with these tips!
Advice for Preparing for a Picnic
My first thought went to the beverages. I immediately thought of Margaritas because they are sweet, citrusy, icy cold and of course, there’s tequila. What could be more refreshing for a night out under the stars?
Muddled Strawberry Margaritas
½ pint of strawberries, tops removed and cut into quarters
4 to 6 lime halves
1-2 tablespoons sugar
1 sprig fresh cilantro
1/2 Serrano pepper, seeded and finely diced
Muddle all ingredients together in a large container and strain into a pitcher. Add the tequila.
When making a Margarita such as this one, I prefer using ‘silver’ or ‘blanco’ tequila, like the Vivanco Tequila Cabeza we carry at The Chopping Block as part of our new craft spirits program. Blanco tequila should be used because its citrus tones better reflect the citrusy aspects of a margarita.
What does muddling do for a cocktail?
By crushing ingredients together using the handle of a wooden spoon or a muddling tool, you combine and blend the citrus, sweet, aromatic, sometimes spicy, and fruity ingredients of the cocktail, which gives it a sophisticated level of complex flavors. Most muddled drinks have mint as the primary herb, but I’ve used basil, cilantro and even rosemary. Each herb adds something completely different to whatever citrus and alcohol that is used.
I also squeezed the juice of 4 limes into the pitcher along with either a dash of agave syrup or ¼ cup of simple syrup. Stir it well and using a funnel, pour the mixture into a bottle with a cap that will close tightly to help in transporting. I have several bottles that I purchased at Cost Plus World Market - perfect for carrying any beverage. But you can also use an empty wine bottle that has a very secure cap or even a thermos.
Now that the Margaritas are taken care of, it’s on to the food. I decided to take a couple of salads that I thought would work perfectly for the night. Picnic food should be simple to eat, so these salads needed to fit on a small paper plate, be easy to pick up using plasticware and require no knife.
Israeli Cous Cous Salad
Vinaigrette: garlic, lemon juice, Dijon mustard and red wine vinegar
Cous cous, cooked to package directions
¼ cup of halved kalamata olives
½ cup of crumbled feta cheese
8 leaves of torn or diced basil
½ a pint of halved grape tomatoes
½ of a diced English cucumber
3 scallions sliced thinly on the bias
Fold ingredients together and pack into a light container with a tight fitting lid. I mention a light container, because when packing for a picnic you want to lighten that load as much as you can. Sometimes finding the perfect picnic spot involves a lot of walking.
Potato Salad
8 yukon gold potatoes, unpeeled, cut into medium dice and boiled in salted water until tender
Chipotle pepper mayo, see note below
Cilantro, chopped
Scallions, thinly sliced
½ a pint of halved grape tomatoes
2 celery stalks sliced on the bias
Zest and juice of one lime
¼ of a red onion diced small
5 hard boiled eggs, cut into quarters
Fold all ingredients together and season to taste with salt and pepper.
To make the chipotle mayo, you'll need a can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. Chipotle peppers are jalapeno peppers that have been smoked and placed in a sauce of adobo, which is a fiery, peppery, vinegary and herbed sauce. Take 2-3 chipotle peppers and mince very finely. Gradually add those to ½ cup of mayonnaise and taste after each addition for the heat of your liking. Add a bit of the adobo sauce, about a teaspoon and a couple of tablespoons of sour cream. This will add a nice sharp tang to your mayo.
Italian Sandwiches
Sandwiches are perfect for picnics, so I chose a sandwich with a variety of several sliced Italian meats. I used slices of sweet cappocollo, prosciutto, salami and provolone cheese, roasted red peppers, pesto and arugula greens, placed between a loaf of ciabatta bread cut in half lengthwise and wrapped very tightly in plastic wrap.
Once your large sandwich is wrapped, place a heavy weight on top of it to press down heavily on the sandwich. You can use a heavy cast iron pot, or a sheet pan with a heavy pot or a couple of bricks on top. Refrigerating the sandwich overnight will really meld all the flavors together. Right before packing for the picnic, slice the sandwich loaf into individual size portions and wrap tightly once again in plastic wrap.
Cookies
Lately I’ve been on a cookie kick, so I made chocolate cookies with peanut butter, chocolate chips, roasted peanuts and topped with a light sprinkling of Maldon Sea Salt. They can be easily packed into Ziploc bags for easy transport.
Pack it Up
Now for the hard and most difficult part: packing everything up for transport!
After years of lugging around a giant plastic cooler on wheels to Ravinia every summer, it was time for an upgrade. We needed something easier to carry and transport, especially if it’s going to be carried on public transportation. After doing a bit of research, we found a collapsible cooler that was lined with insulation to keep things cold or warm. It was also made from a canvas-like material that’s water resistant. It also had a nice strong handle that goes over the shoulder making it easier to carry.
To keep those items cool, we froze bottles of water and packed those in the cooler, along with several Ziploc bags of ice. The cool thing about taking bottles of frozen water is that after arriving at your destination, you can let them thaw and now you’ve got bottles of water to drink.
Gallon-sized and quart-sized storage bags are a lifesaver when packing for a picnic. They will hold your paper/plastic plates, plastic flatware, napkins and your serving utensils. We also packed a couple of light, enamelware metal plates, each painted with a different 50’s retro color. Those worked out perfectly! Again, something light that will help lighten that load is the way to go.
We packed plastic cups for the margaritas and ice packed in quart size storage bags, doing double duty. To be used not only as ice for the Margarita’s but also as a means to help keep things nice and cold in the cooler. We also took along a bottle of very chilled white wine with a screw cap, that way there is no need for a corkscrew. We placed the bottle of wine in a thermal wine bag. We also took a couple of bottles of really cold beer along with small, very inexpensive, wine glasses without stems, wrapped between sheets of paper towels, each wrapped separately to avoid breakage. I much prefer the taste of wine out of a glass, but I wouldn’t turn down a good glass of wine in a paper or plastic up either.
Last thing to pack in the cooler was a storage bag with grapes and one with cherries. Now it’s time for some picnicking, but don't forget that blanket you’re going to need to lie down on to watch the starlit sky. I took a strong, heavy wool blanket and packed it in a backpack. This will be the only time I will use the words strong and heavy when it comes to packing for your picnic. Light is always best, but I prefer having a heavier blanket on the lawn for more comfort.
Finally, the chairs! I realized after seeing Emily and Ryan’s portable chairs, that it’s now time for an upgrade. They had the coolest chairs that were low to the ground, heavy duty, and very light in feel. They also brought a sturdy, collapsible, table that rolls up for easy transport. Very cool!
Emily and Ryan added to the festivities with their fantastic wine, amazing snacks and the most lively conversation and best company ever!
That's really what a picnic with friends is all about. It was a comfortable night under the stars, with perfect weather, listening to a great band, great people watching, good food, drink and great friends. It was a pretty magical night.
For more tips and a complete picnic-friendly menu, recipes and even a shopping list, download our new Perfect Picnic Guide.
