Choose the right picnic foods to beat the heat

Although most local restaurants have opened their doors by limiting the number of tables and chairs available, many friends and colleagues remain hesitant to venture inside and sit down for a meal. I don’t think it’s an issue with the cleaning procedures we know are in place, but a continued sense of caution about the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

You must be wearing a mask to enter the restaurant, and the servers are expected to wear masks, but you can’t eat while wearing a mask. This is the point at which some of us worry we may be exposing ourselves to airborne droplets of the virus. So, until a vaccine or interim solution is devised, we’ll support the local restaurants in other ways.

We have become familiar with the carry-out and curbside delivery menus for all of our favorite places. We’ve experimented with Grub Hub and Door Dash, tried a few not-so-great brand-specific apps and have come to appreciate the places that use ChowNow for their online ordering process.

The one thing we hadn’t yet done was organize a summertime picnic by the pool, until now (see photo). By definition, a picnic has long been considered a jointly contributed meal shared outdoors – think of a community potluck. The term has its roots in the 17th century French word, pique-nique, which originally referred to a meal in a restaurant where the group brought their own wine.

After the French Revolution, when ordinary citizens gained access to the country’s royal parks, a pique-nique evolved into an elaborate outdoor meal. The English variation of the word and the event appeared in the 18th century with a new spelling, “picnic.” This derived from the tradition of the hunting party stopping their pursuit of fox or quail to enjoy an elegant buffet.

Today, a picnic can be as fancy as a woven basket packed with everything from a tablecloth to silver cutlery and wineglasses, or as simple as some plastic containers filled with finger foods to share in the sunshine. Depending on the heat of the day and how long the food has to travel, an important consideration will be how to keep your picnic from spoiling.

Among the key foods that don’t belong on a picnic menu are mayonnaise-based salads. Even though coleslaw and potato salad typically have some vinegar in the dressing, there’s not enough to protect the eggy mayo from heat distress. On the other hand, a cooked egg dish like quiche or strata will stand up fine (assuming it’s packed properly).

Excellent choices for a picnic platter can be seen in the photo: sliced summer sausage, brine-cured olives and a tomato feta salad in vinaigrette. For those not familiar with them, summer sausage is a variety of cured meat developed prior to the advent of refrigeration. The sausage earned its name because it would keep from spoiling into the summer months.
The process for making summer sausage includes curing (for a specific flavor profile), fermenting (to slow bacterial growth) and a long, slow smoking (more flavor and additional bacterial resistance). The signature flavor of summer sausage is a distinctive tanginess that comes from the fermentation step when the pH level is lowered well into the acidic range.

While there are several recipes online to make your own summer sausage, my advice would be to buy it already prepared from either your grocery or local butcher, or you can safely order online and not worry about spoilage during shipping. Here are a few treats to bring to your next poolside picnic.

Tomato & Feta Salad

1 pt cherry tomatoes
4 oz crumbled feta cheese
1 T chopped fresh basil leaves
1/4 C olive oil
2 T Balsamic vinegar
1/4 T lemon zest

Rinse and drain the the tomatoes; cut in half and place in a serving bowl. Add feta cheese and basil leaves; toss gently to combine. In a measuring cup, whisk together oil, vinegar and lemon zest. Pour over tomato mixture and toss to coat. Season to taste with pepper. Yield: 4 to 6 servings.

Couscous & Bean Salad

1 1/4 C water
1 C Israeli couscous
15-oz can black beans
15-oz can kidney beans
2 diced carrots
2 diced celery stalks
3 sliced green onions
1/3 C minced parsley
1/4 C minced cilantro
1/3 C olive oil
2 T rice wine vinegar
1 T lemon juice
1/2 t oregano
1/2 t basil
salt & pepper, to taste

Combine the water and couscous in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until the liquid has been absorbed and the couscous is al dente, about 10 minutes. Scoop the couscous into a serving bowl, breaking up any clumps. Add remaining ingredients and toss to thoroughly combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve lukewarm or chilled. Yield: 8 servings.

No-bake Cookies

1/2 C butter
1 3/4 C sugar
1/3 C unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 C milk
1 t vanilla
2/3 C peanut butter
3 C quick oats

Arrange 24 cupcake liners in a single layer on a baking pan; set aside. In a medium saucepan, stir together butter, sugar, cocoa and milk. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring regularly. Once it reaches a boil, allow it to cook undisturbed for about a minute. Remove from heat and stir in remaining ingredients until combined. Using a cookie scoop, transfer 2 T of the batter into each cupcake liner. Allow 30 minutes for cookies to set, then transfer to an airtight container. Yield: 2 dozen.