Picnics for the people
Regina Murphy
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
It’s officially picnic season!
What a great time of year, before it gets too hot and too buggy, to lay out a spread in some quiet grove near a small pond and enjoy the beautiful weather.
Andy and I were the guests of Keith and Jane King for a picnic trek through the Flint Hills over Memorial Day weekend. What a time we had! It’s one thing to see the hills from the turnpike, and quite another from Rancher Bob’s pasture.
We saw so many wonderful sites, including a big fat snapping turtle, a flock of prairie chickens, and nighthawks feeding at Teter Rock. Just as wonderful was our al fresco spread of grilled chicken salad on parmesan garlic rolls, sweet potato and mango salad, and lemon blueberry cookies.
Andy Houchins is a really good cook. He just throws things together and they turn out so well. Of course, since he’s my sweetheart, I’m prejudiced. The measurements on this salad are really good guesses, and on the conservative side. You can mix and match your spices however you like to!
HOUCHINS’ GRILLED CHICKEN SALAD
6 chicken thighs
1/2 lg. red onion, chopped
5 or 6 garlic cloves, smashed
1/2 cup mayonnaise, give or take
1/2 Tbsp. ea. paprika, chipotle powder
S & P to taste
A couple dashes of Worcestershire
Marinade:
1/2 cup beer
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup Tabasco
1 Tbsp. ea. pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, cumin, fresh thyme, fresh oregano
Wash and skin the chicken, and place in a heavy-duty zip-close bag or other airtight container. Whisk together the marinade ingredients and pour over the chicken. Marinate at least 2 hours or overnight, tossing occasionally. Andy does not de-bone the chicken because he feels the flavor is better.
Grill the chicken until done and discard the leftover marinade. Allow the chicken to cool a little, then tear it off the bone and shred it into chunks with your fingers. This makes a heartier texture than chopping it does. Toss the chicken with the onion and garlic, whisk together the mayonnaise, spices and Worcestershire and combine the two to finish. Keep refrigerated.
Andy sliced some artisan bakery rolls, spread them with goat’s cheese and stuffed them with chicken salad. We wrapped them tightly and put them in an insulated bag with cold packs. They kept very well the three hours we traveled with them. It’s important to keep cold things cold on a picnic!
I adapted these next recipes from the www.foodtv.com, a great place for inspiration and it takes up less room than a cookbook. For this salad I used the mangos in a jar to save time, and Vidalia onions since they’re available now. A red onion would have been just as good.
SWEET POTATO AND MANGO SALAD
2 lbs. sweet potatoes
2 sweet onions
2 mangos
1 red bell pepper
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp. fresh lime juice
1/2 tsp. ea. cinnamon, cumin
1/4 tsp. ea. ground nutmeg, salt, cayenne
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
Peel and cut the potatoes in pieces about an inch square. Cut the onion, mango and bell pepper likewise. Combine everything in a large bowl. Whisk together the oil, lime juice and spices, and toss well with the veggies to coat evenly.
Stack two large pieces of heavy aluminum foil on the counter. Mound the sweet potato mixture into the middle and wrap in the foil, folding up the edges to make a tight, well-sealed package. Place directly on the grill and cook until the vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes. The sweet potatoes will still be firm, and, as Keith said, that’s a good thing. You don’t want mushy potato salad.
Remove veggie package from the grill and let it cool a bit before unwrapping — it needs some extra steam time. Transfer to a large bowl and adjust the seasoning, to taste. Sprinkle with fresh cilantro and serve at room temperature. Delicious!
These cookies are really good. They have a light lemony color punctuated by the blueberries. I stuck some extra blueberries on top before baking to enhance the visual affect. The original recipe called for toasted almonds, which would be fabulous, but I just used the nuts I had on hand. I was also out of milk, so I used half-and-half.
LEMON BLUEBERRY COOKIES
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 stick unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1/4 to 1/3 cup milk
1 tsp. almond extract
Zest of 1 lemon
1/2 cup chopped almonds or pecans
1 cup blueberries
In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. In another medium bowl, cream together the butter and sugar using a hand mixer. Add egg and beat to incorporate. Add milk, almond extract, and lemon zest. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Fold in the nuts, then the blueberries (if you use frozen blueberries, thaw and drain them first). Chill the dough in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Using two small spoons, dollop cookie mix onto cookie sheets. Depending on the size you’ll get a little over a dozen. Bake until golden brown around the edges, about 15 minutes.
Cool the cookies on a wire rack. Place between sheets of waxed paper in a storage container to take to the picnic.
That’s just the tip of the picnic iceberg — I hope you can get out and enjoy Mother Nature a bit this summer at our area lakes and parks. It’s that much nicer with a homemade gourmet spread.
It’s time for the Murphy’s Menu Learning Connection Cook-Off series! There are going to be three contests which will take place at the Emporia Farmer’s Market at 7th & Merchant. If you can cook, you can compete! The winner gets a nifty culinary gift bag, including a signed copy of “The Best of Murphy’s Menu,” and will be featured in the Wednesday food section. Give me a call at 342-4800 if you would like to know more. We will start off with Quick Breads on June 23.
Next week’s column is on Summer Sippers, and the week after that it’s part two of Aunt Sammy’s Radio recipes. What else would you like to see in this column? Send your food ideas to Murphy’s Menu, The Emporia Gazette, PO Drawer C, Emporia or e-mail to murphysmenu@yahoo.com. Let’s get cooking!