Any Ideas for Picnic Food?

I love doing picnics with friends but seem to run out of ideas for easy-to-make and transport dishes that are something other than the normal sandwich stuff. I like to do dishes that don't require a lot of fancy ingredients. Any ideas?

katiebakes
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12 Comments

allans April 12, 2012
Fruit kabobs with Greek yoghurt
 
Lynnht April 12, 2012
Sushi (not the raw fish kind) or rice balls make a good picnic w/ chicken teriyaki. (Simple chix teri - equal parts soysauce, sugar, sake, & a tablespoon of fresh grated ginger - heat until bubbling - longer you heat on low, it will thicken up a bit.) Marinade chicken pieces in some sauce & then bbq. Reserve some sauce for serving/dipping.
ALSO, I found a great picnic meal from Giada @ foodtv.com. If you search their site, you can find some suggestions. The one I liked was Penne w/ Beef & Argula. (instead of popovers, i like mini gougeres - google tartine gougere recipe & you'll find a great one!)
 
davidpdx April 11, 2012
Paupiettes (French) or involtini (Italian) stuffed beef rolls make elegant and unusual picnic fare. Can be prepped days ahead of time with a variety of simple stuffings, transported chilled, and cut into slices for serving at the picnic site. Or, try wrapping prosciutto or smoked salmon around stalks of barely-cooked asparagus. When tomato season starts, you can't go wrong with a caprese salad.
 
davidpdx April 11, 2012
Paupiettes (French) or involtini (Italian) stuffed beef rolls make elegant and unusual picnic fare. Can be prepped days ahead of time with a variety of simple stuffings, transported chilled, and cut into slices for serving at the picnic site. Or, try wrapping prosciutto or smoked salmon around stalks of barely-cooked asparagus. When tomato season starts, you can't go wrong with a caprese salad.
 
MTMitchell April 11, 2012
My friends and I always get an assortment of good bread, cheeses, some crackers, some fruit and/or crudités, some charcuterie of one sort or another, olives, almonds or pistachios, wine and prosecco/cava/champagne, and really good chocolates or cookies or cupcakes. And we often also have a giant Caramello for reasons that have long been forgotten. Keep it in the cooler though. Lessons learned. I love the idea of an assortment of different salads (pasta, quinoa, veggies) served in individual take out containers.
 
sstiavetti April 11, 2012
Also, mini quiches or fritatas made in a muffin tin are excellent hand-held dishes.
 
sstiavetti April 11, 2012
Small galettes filled with fruit and cheese!
 
Esther P. April 11, 2012
A nice homemade scotch egg, or pork pie with a tasty chutney is always a winner here....
 
SallyBroff April 11, 2012
Make some quinoa, cool, and add some thawed frozen green beans cut small, chopped walnuts, and dried cranberries. Add a splash of balsamic and of olive oil and chill. Can be served at room temp.
 
SKK April 11, 2012
In today's article called Too Many Cooks here is what Nozlee had at her picnic, picture at this link
http://food52.com/blog/3209_too_many_cooks_behind_the_scenes
"And on Sunday, two friends and I had a picnic in McCarren Park to celebrate the warm weather with rosé, crackers, Italian lard bread, charcuterie (including something called "Baby Jesus salami," which was unexpectedly delicious), and cheese."
- Nozlee
 
HalfPint April 11, 2012
Pasta Salad like an Orzo, feta, basil, tomato combo dressed with citrus vinaigrette.
Hummus or bean dips and crudites & chips
Fruit salads or kebabs
 
hardlikearmour April 11, 2012
Last summer food52 had a picnic dish contest which generated a lot of entries: http://www.food52.com/contests/244_your_best_picnic_dish
 
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