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Wednesday, May 2, 2012

The Picnic Luncheon: The Plan

Last Year's Picnick, by Blue Dragon Media
Having gazed at Mrs. Beeton's picnic menus (see my last post,) and at the menu suggestions provided by Buckeye Cookery, to wit: 
Cold roast chicken; ham broiled on coals; fish fried or broiled; sardines; tongue; hard-boiled eggs; eggs to be fried or scrambled; Boston corn bread; buttered rolls; ham sandwiches prepared with grated ham; orange marmalade; canned peaches; watermelon and beet sweet-pickles; euchered plums; variety or bottled pickles; chow-chow; quince or plum jelly; raspberry or other jams; Scotch fruit, rolled jelly, chocolate, Minnehaha, old-fashioned loaf, and marble cake; coffee, chocolate, tea; cream and sugar; salt and pepper; oranges.
I have thus come up with a somewhat simple plan for our own picnic. I'm hoping to stay away from fish, simply because it's an expense and a process that I don't want to engage myself in right now (as much as I'd like to smoke a side of salmon for my friends, the cost might be a bit prohibitive, even with a good job such as I have right now.)

A simple luncheon, then, to serve roughly 12 people:
  • Chicken Pie (2)
  • Cold Roast Beef with Appropriate Sauce (1 large joint)
  • Cucumber Salad (1 quart)
  • Pickles and Relishes (1-2 quarts)
  • Hard-Boiled Eggs (1 dozen)
  • Fresh Berries and Fruit (2 quarts)
  • Fruit Tarts (12 small)
  • Cheese, Butter, Bread, Biscuits, Jam
  • Iced Tea (4 bottles)
  • Wine (2 bottles)
You may as well put away your picnicking-baskets, I think this will win the all-time award for 'best picnic ever.'

3 comments:

  1. I like this quote: Pack provision basket as full as the law allows, or as the nature of the occasion and the elasticity of the appetites demand. One piece of good advice to picnickers is to try to get under the wing of some good farm-house, where coffee may be boiled, and nice rich cream, green corn, good water, etc., may be readily foraged; and for a Fourth of July picnic, nothing will taste better than a dish of new potatoes, nicely prepared at the farm-house. -Buckeye Cookery

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Indeed—the genteel Victorians advised trespassing and theft as a good afternoon's fun!

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Your opinions and comments always are welcomed, but do be civil... this isn't a kitchen, after all.