Another Picnic!

Once again, yours truly will probably
win the annual croquet game.

Once again, it is May, and with the advent of spring comes picnics and celebrations. This year, I'm off (once again) to the Grand Ledge Victorian Days celebration, and have resolved to provide a completely different picnic luncheon experience to my friends and companions who will be joining me.

As with last year, we shall once again be taking part in that great Victorian tradition of picnicking by a battlefield, enjoying the great sport of war! It's never caused us any trouble before, you see: We go down, watch the battle from an encampment, and go home, the war concluded in an afternoon of glory and honor. There's no way it could go any differently, is there?

We are provided, as mentioned in last year's post about this very event, with some picnic luncheon menus by the Buckeye Cookery cook-book, and these are quite lovely, but Mrs. Beeton also offers two menus for picnics that I had not previously paid much attention to—so it is to them that I intend to look first.

Mrs. Beeton's Picnic Luncheon Menus are provided in quantities and with prices suitable for a twelve person luncheon. I'm not sure I'll make it for quite that many, so I've omitted the quantities of various items and their prices and reduced the list to the items themselves:

• cold salmon
• mayonaise sauce, cucumber
• quarter of lamb, mint sauce
• chickens
• tongue
• salad
• fruit tarts
• custard
• jellies or creams
• strawberries & cream



Cold roast Capon, one of last year's dishes.

• cheese, butter, bread, biscuits

OR

• sardine/fish sandwiches
• pigeon pie
• cold beef
• horseradish sauce
• cucumber salad and dressing
• fruit or jam puffs
• blancmange
• cheese biscuits
• strawberries
• cherries
• bread + butter

As is my custom, I shall be tearing these menus apart (and re-combining them with the suggestions from Buckeye Cookery) and creating something new and delightful for my friends and I to devour. More to come soon! I promise.