A sunny weekend — or a Summer Friday — is the perfect excuse to pack up a picnic basket and enjoy the great outdoors. Whether you head down to a local park or embark on a long hike, you want your summer picnic food to arrive as perfect as it was when you loaded it in. From hearty salads, to classic cookies and brownies, and some of our favorite sandwiches, this collection features a summery array of dishes that won’t suffer from being jostled around, and are at their best eaten cold or at room temperature.
Simply seasoned and fried, with a thin, crisp coating and tender, juicy meat, the fried chicken at Martha Lou’s Kitchen is some of the best we’ve ever tasted.
Barbecue chips’ smoky, tangy flavors are easy to create at home with a simple mixture that combines classic barbecue sauce spices such as chile powder, garlic powder, and onion powder, with the added kick of cayenne pepper. The beauty of making barbecue chips yourself is that you can alter the amount of heat, spice, or saltiness depending on your preferences.
Molly Stevens often serves this egg salad on slices of brown bread made according to the classic recipe found in James Beard’s Beard on Bread (Knopf, 1973), though it’s equally delicious atop any bread or even eaten on its own.
Ham and eggs may be a breakfast classic, but they’re even better for lunch: try sliced or quartered hard-boiled eggs layered with a salty ham and a bit of mayo on a hearty white bread. Get the recipe for Ham and Hard-Boiled Egg Sandwich »
Incorporating an interesting array of ingredients, such as rolled oats, chopped pecans and flaked coconut, this hearty recipe is a favorite of former first lady Laura Bush. Oatmeal chocolate chip cookie fans, this one’s for you.
The noodles in this recipe add crunch, texture, and sweetness to this terrifically versatile Hawaiian-style slaw. As the salad sits and the noodles soak up the intensely flavorful sesame dressing, they soften slightly, so be sure to serve this salad straightaway.
Creamy avocados and sweet mangoes are marinated in a citrus dressing, composing a bright and refreshing salad that’s the perfect counterpoint to rich and savory stews.
Summer peaches pair remarkably well with sweet caramelized onions and crisp green beans in this salad from Deb Miller of Lawrence, Kansas.
Ruccolapesto med Cashewnötter (Arugula and Cashew Pesto Salad)
A chunky cashew pesto made with sharp, pungent Västerbotten cheese is tossed with chopped arugula to yield an unctuous salad with a robust umami flavor. Swedish home cook Asa Johanson prepared this nut-enriched side dish for her Midsummer celebration in Vickleby, Sweden. See the recipe for Ruccolapesto med Cashewnötter (Arugula and Cashew Pesto Salad) »
