CALIFORNIA 101 Randy’s Recipes
CA 101
SUMMERTIME IS PICNIC TIME
By Randy Graham
58
Summer 2021
Summer is the perfect season for picnics at the beach or at your favorite Central Coast park. Time to start planning your picnic! To keep the stress level to a minimum while I prepare picnic fare, I like to keep things simple. By simple, I mean keep the menu simple: one sandwich recipe, one side dish recipe, and some store-bought potato chips, cookies, or brownies. My favorite picnic sandwich is a sub sandwich. I remember mom making subs for picnics and to take to baseball games at Candlestick Park. She cut the rolls in half. Then she slathered mayonnaise on both sides of the roll and piled in slices of Gallo salami. I can still taste it to this day! My version is different, and I think you’ll like it a lot. Chicken salad sandwiches are my wife Robin’s favorite. She likes the chicken shredded and folded into a creamy dressing with celery, roasted almonds, and dried cranberries. I like to make it with pretzel buns, but you can make it with your favorite sandwich bread. The Ploughman’s Lunch Sandwich is an open-face sandwich that features a generous slice of garden-fresh tomato, Kerrygold Dubliner cheese, and an herbal vinaigrette dressing on multigrain bread. My version of a Bánh Mì sandwich is vegetarian and takes a little more time to make, but it is worth the effort if you want something spicy and different. One sandwich makes an entire meal. Its ingredients include mushroom pâté, marinated jalapeño slices, cilantro, and Sriracha sauce. Choose one of the sandwiches below or make your own favorite sandwich. Add a side dish such as my Three Bean Salad and pack it to go with plenty of your favorite beverage. In case you don’t have a favorite picnic beverage, I’ve made a few suggestions.
What to pack in addition to sandwiches and side dishes: Picnic blanket Sunscreen Bug spray/repellent Knife (for cutting sandwiches) Spoons and forks Unbreakable drinking glasses Napkins Bottles of water Bottle opener
Hand wipes and/or baby wipes Trash bags (for cleanup) First aid kit (in case of bee stings, cuts, or scrapes) Condiments (relish, ketchup, mayonnaise, salt, pepper) Fun packaged stuff (brownies, cookies, potato chips, trail mix) california101guide.com
