Every year I throw a picnic on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend. 25-30 people every year. So much fun but so much prep time. This year it looks like only 13 people will be coming. which opens up the food choices to things beyond hamburgers and hot dogs. I usually just do those because they are a fast and easy easy way to feed a large group.
I'm thinking a variety of seafood and meat kabobs, some coleslaw, a fruit salad, maybe some baked beans. Anyone got a good picnic idea for me this year?
How hot does it get where you are on Memorial weekend?
For hot weather pot lucks, we bring nice cold cucumber salad.
Watermelon I think is pretty standard and everyone enjoys it.
Quick and easy asparagus salad, you can make it ahead, one of our favorites:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/chilled-aspa...
I bring it out about an hour before serving so it will be more flavorful than absolutely cold. And it won't spoil in a day!
I don't have food suggestions, but I wanted to say that I adore your silver-lining attitude about having a smaller head count. I hope your picnic is amazing and fun!
What you have so far sounds great – classic BBQ dishes sure to please.
You could simplify things, though, by not doing kebabs to save the time threading skewers – just marinate some chicken tenders overnight, drain and throw on the grill. Honey mustard or teriyaki are popular with kids and adults. I recently tried a recipe with coconut oil (melt it) and pineapple juice – nice tropical flavor, and it would work on shrimp too if you’re doing that for the seafood part.
If you don’t want to do the whole fruit salad thing, you can just serve wedges of seedless watermelon and some clementines (mandarins) with a handy trash bin for the rind. Or, do kabobs with chunks of melon, pineapple, grapes (halved if large), berries. Use the 3-4 inch plastic picks with the arrowhead on the end - the last piece of fruit does't fall off like it does with regular toothpicks and that way no one is stepping in squashed fruit. Mix the fruits up so kids especially can avoid something they don't like. You can stick them in an inverted watermelon half if you want to (they're called fruit porcupines) - just poke holes with a metal skewer or a sharp knife point to make insertion easier. But this is more labor intensive.
I do a great alternative to pasta salad because this version is quick cooking and uses no mayonnaise so it keeps all day. Use Israeli couscous (sometimes called pearl couscous), which is a much larger grain than regular couscous. You can find it with the rice/pasta (sometimes), the natural food section (sometimes) or the kosher section (always). Sometimes it’s in a clear canister (like some brands of rice), sometimes a box, sometimes a bag similar to a candy or chocolate chip bag. Sometimes it’s plain color, sometimes tricolor – doesn’t matter. You can pretoast the grains in some oil if you want but you don’t need to (directions on the package of “toasted couscous”). If it’s a hot day, I just boil water in a Pyrex pitcher in the microwave and pour it over the dry or pretoasted grains, and then cover/cook for about 10 minutes. As soon as it’s done, mix with olive oil and some rice wine vinegar so the grains don’t stick. You can do this much ahead if you want to, then refrigerate. Then chop up typical pasta salad veggies (red/green peppers, carrots, celery, onion) but also do seedless cucumber and fresh parsley. Salt/pepper to taste. Quantities don’t matter. Mix and serve cold or at room temp. People love it because it’s different.
My neighbors have a big July 4th bash every year and they do a lot of the things you do. Some great shortcuts they do are:
- Separate, labeled coolers of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, with some ice cubes but also 2 inches of water in the bottom – chills things better. They attach an opener and a dish towel to string and tie the other end to the cooler handle
- open bin of wine with the same ice water in the bottom, and a corkscrew attached to the bin or just with the end tucked under the bin.
- Handy, labeled bins for recycling vs. trash at several locations with a couple of extra bags draped over the side
- Sharpies to label paper/plastic cups (or stickers to attach to coasted cups) so they can be located/reused.
- Sunscreen and bug spray
Hope you have a lot of fun and enjoy the time to talk to people since there will only be half the usual number. Maybe it will be even more fun that the bigger event!
Sounds great! I'd add some grilled corn on the cob, too. Have fun!
pasta salad - medium shells, ranch dressing, bacon bits (real bacon not imitation), grape tomatoes, sliced black olives, salt, pepper and about 1TB of Italian dressing
Cook pasta as directed - let cool - pour ranch dressing over pasta, stir well, let set for 5 to 10 minutes, add bacon, black olives and tomatoes, stir well, if dry - add more ranch dressing - then 1TB of Italian dressing.
Baked beans - chop up onions, add mustard, BBQ sauce, and bacon bits - yum.
Fruit kabobs are easier for picnics than salads.
Corn on the cob
Pigs in a blanket - you can even put them on a kabob stick
Deviled eggs
HAVE FUN!!
If you have time, a creative drink in a punch bowl can be a fun addition to the table - either a refreshing "mocktail" (deluxe lemonade, etc) or a nice mixed cocktail, depending on your group.
I think Memorial Day weekend, 4th of July and Labor Day are the only days I eat hot dogs.
Your new menu sounds good too but I like having a hot dog too.
Have fun!
