All time favorite picnic food

[Smileelisa]

With Labor day fast approaching and so many good food to choose from this year my menu consists of slow cooked bbq boneless ribs, crock pot mac and cheese, 3 bean baked beans, sweet corn, and last but not least homemade peach pie!

What is your fav picnic food?

[schrutefarms]

Cold fried chicken, potato salad and wine!

[pinkprimp]

Ditto, plus creamy coleslaw.

[schrutefarms]

And lots of fresh fruit!!

[meatn3]

Yes! Count me in and I'll bring deviled eggs too!

[schrutefarms]

Daaaang! Another one of my favorites!!!!

[meatn3]

If I get in the car now, I can be there for the picnic on Monday!

[zzDan]

Well made potato salad that isn't drowning in mayo and has some hard boiled egg in it. High quality char-grilled frankfurters with a good array of condiments to choose from.

[cycloneillini]

Amen to the grilled hot dogs, as my family has always called them. Roasting sticks were a family picnic necessity. First for the hot dogs and then for the marshmallows.

[lynnlato]

Good baked beans. My mother was named the "Bean Queen" many years ago and so we were spoiled with from scratch beans cooked low and slow for hours and topped with many strips of bacon. Mmmmmm.

I think it wouldn't be a picnic/bbq/cookout without deviled eggs - the universal picnic food. They are usually the first thing to disappear. I like them very basic, no "fancy" ingredients. They don't need jazzed up - simplicity is best.

[kubasd]

are you my sister? lol. My mom gets special requests for every family gathering to make her slow cooker baked beans.... that take hours to cook.

And deviled eggs! I never can resist those..... ever.

[TomSwift]

Deviled eggs! Our go-to recipe is with sun-dried tomatoes. 6 eggs, yolks forced through a sieve (sp?), 1/4 cup mayo, 2 T sour cream, finely diced SDT. Pipe into the egg whites with a pastry bag and put 3 capers on top with tweezers. No matter what else we have, these disappear first.

[lynnlato]

I have a sister who has been missing for years... could it be? LOL

[KiltedCook]

Kahlua Pork for sandwiches
Shrimp & Shells Pasta Salad
Fresh-cut cole slaw (green cabbage and some jicama) with just enough lemon-mayo

[laliz]

had a picnic yesterday, so that is what comes to mind.
cold roast beef w/avocado sandwich
corn on cob
sliced tomatoes or caprese salad
fresh fruit -- grapes, peaches, watermelon
and the all important chips and dip

[KristieB]

This is the menu my mother fixed for the three different family reunions we attended each summer:

Cold Shake-n-Bake chicken
Homemade baked beans
Macaroni salad
and either pie or waky cake

Now you must understand our first house had very little insulation. Thus it was hellishly hot in the summer. And three of the four dishes had to go into the oven for at least an hour. I'm begining to think my mother might be a saint.

[KristieB]

Now, other favorite picnic/cookout menu is:

BBQ chicken (and for nostalgia's sake it MUST be either Kraft or Open Pit original.)
Corn roasted in the husk in the coals of the fire pit
Potato and Macaroni salad
a fresh veggie and fruit tray
pineapple or peach upside down cake.

This is the menu we had every year for my grandfather's birthday August 1st. Oh, grandma might try one of those new fangled Suddenly Salad kits, or one year my mother made spice cake, but the corn, chicken, and veggie tray remain constants.

[meatn3]

What is waky cake?

[lynnlato]

Wacky cake is a chocolate cake made without eggs or butter. They substitute vegetable oil and vinegar. It was popular during the war, when rationing limited eggs, butter, sugar, etc.

My daughter loves it and its easy to whip up with kitchen staples.

[BamiaWruz]

That cake is SOOOOOO good!! I used to make it in my early teens, with a good frosting you just don't know what you're missing.

[KristieB]

Along with the vinegar there is baking soda. Together baking soda and vinegar leaven the cake.

[Harters]

Scotch egg.

[mtngirlnv]

My grandmother's sour cream raisin pie.

[DonShirer]

Baked Beans or Macaroni Salad...take your pick.

[janetofreno]

Some friends are doing a Labor Day weekend pool party/potluck. So far on the menu are ribs, chicken, potato salad, green salad, fruit salad, and peach cobbler. I'm bringing the apps: veggies with home made hummus dip and deviled eggs. Sounds like a perfect picnic to me! Of course, there will be plenty of beer.....

[Allice98]

For me it's got to be vegetarian baked beans and also potato salad. Please don't ask me to pick between the two! Baked beans though is a family recipe and the only think that i make at all this is a doctored up version of something. It does have a can of baked beans but more beans and other things are added.

What is think is funny is that all the women in my family have a different version of potato salad. You would think that we might all make the same thing or something very similar, but it is all different. Strange huh? We all rave over the others but make our own.

[HillJ]

Watermelon. Cool, refreshing and the easiest item to pack.

[Hombre]

Egg salad sandwiches
Braunshweiger on Saltines

[schmoopy]

You are an Hombre after my own heart! Love egg salad sandwiches, LOVE Braunschweiger!! As a kid my favorite sandwich was braunschweiger on white bread (Wonder), cut in quarters... Braunschweiger on saltines is just the poor man's version of pate on a fancy cracker. Also, macaroni salad (not too mayonnaise-y) is a favorite for picnics.

[sheideroth]

Braunschweiger!! Mix it with an envelope of lipton onion soup and one cup of sour cream...it makes the best pate' ever...enjoy!!

[schmoopy]

Yum! I'm trying it this weekend! Thanks for the suggestion!

[KristieB]

I mix braunschweiger with cream cheese, Lowery's season salt and a little onion to make a cracker spread. Or toast spread, or filling for stuffed celery.

[cycloneillini]

OMG! I love braunschweiger, and I can't believe I never thought of making a spread out of it. I can't wait to try this.

[Mister F.]

Onion sandwiches: Good, dense, grainy bread, homemade mayonnaise, thinly sliced sweet onions (preferably Noonday or 1015), and lots of salt and pepper. Fabulous.

[marietinn]

We had a picnic for the 4th of july this year. I love a fresh baguette and a variety of things to match with it. Plus, crostini toasts and bruschetta. Fresh fruit is also particularly good!

[bulavinaka]

Wine. A great bottle of wine.

[BamiaWruz]

A big pot of rice and herb stuffed grape leaves with a yogurt mint dipping sauce..

That's about it!

Or a gourmet muffaletta sandwhich, I like easy to eat food and something I didn't slave over forever, which means it can be made in advance and eaten at room temp.