Posh Picnics

Sherry Knott knows food.

The Spokane resident is on the board of governors of the International Wine and Food Society and regularly indulges in gourmet multicourse meals with other culinary enthusiasts.

But that doesn’t mean she can’t enjoy a more down-to-earth meal – like a picnic.

For almost 20 years, Knott has attended the Spokane Symphony’s annual Labor Day concert in Comstock Park. Thousands of people descend on the park for the event each year, most packing a portable dinner. While many are content with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and potato chips, several groups go beyond the basics. Their picnics often include carefully planned, gastronomically interesting courses, and it’s not uncommon to see floral arrangements or candles adorning the spreads. One party goes so far as to wear Renaissance costumes.

Each year, Knott and her friend Jan Wigen take turns marking their territory at the park at 11 a.m., seven hours before the concert begins.

“We take a big blue tarp and stake out what we call our front row seats,” Knott says. “It’s big enough for 20 people, and it’s been the same cast of characters over the years.”

Knott and Wigen used to be specific about what should be served, assigning side dishes so all the food groups would be represented. The rules have relaxed over the years, though, and she says everyone remembers with fondness the time one friend arrived with what he called “proper picnic food.” In other words, he brought hot dogs.

“He preboiled hot dogs and put them in a hot Thermos,” Knott says. Everyone laughed when “he wriggled the hot dogs out.”

Knott’s group foregoes the décor and period costumes, though.

“We don’t do candelabras,” she says. “Some people haul a lot of stuff down there and really make it a thing, but our claim to fame is that we get front row seats.”

Knott shared her formula for her famous curry chicken salad. First, she combines either white or brown cooked rice, roasted chicken cubes, a can of mandarin oranges, green grapes, chopped celery green onions and slivered almonds. Then, she mixes about two tablespoons of curry power into homemade vinegar and oil dressing or a store bought dressing and tosses it into the salad. Knott serves it at room temperature on whole lettuce leaves.

Over the years, Knott has picked up some tips for hassle-free picnicking.

She recommends using a cooler on wheels, for one. She says it’s especially handy for the Labor Day concert because she returns to Comstock just before the concert starts and thus, like most attendees, must park several blocks away and haul her dinner in. Knott’s cooler is soft-sided, perfectly fits a set of stackable food storage containers and has a pocket on the outside that holds plates and utensils.

“Having a good mobile system is really important,” she says. “The big heavy coolers just don’t work.”

Debbi Irvine-Collins knows a thing or two about transporting food, too. She and Jennifer Witting own CaPear Inc., a catering company they formed two years ago after going through cooking school together at the Inland Northwest Culinary Academy.

“We were the only ones who wanted to cater. Everyone else wanted to be next Food Network star,” Irvine-Collins says.

CaPear caters a variety of events, including a Roaring ’20s-themed picnic held recently for a retirement community.

Irvine-Collins remembers picnicking in Mission Park with her family as a child. That was back when macaroni salad and potato salad were standard picnic fare.

Today’s picnics often are more sophisticated, Irvine-Collins says, and while potato salad might still be on the menu, it’s often made with a mustard vinaigrette instead of mayonnaise.

Irvine-Collins says there are steps you can take at home to make a picnic successful.

Most importantly, keep your cool. She recommends cooking meals in advance so there’s enough time for them to chill completely in a refrigerator before transferring them to a cooler.

If there’s room in your cooler, use block ice, which lasts longer than crushed ice, Irvine-Collins says. But some foods can act as ice cubes themselves. For example, she suggests freezing skewered meat after cooking it or freezing beverages, then moving the frozen items to the cooler before you head out the door.

In short, “don’t make the ice in your cooler do all the work,” Irvine-Collins says.

Picnicking doesn’t have to be a once-a-year production.

Vicky Rosier and her boyfriend, Rich Greinert, picnic at least once a month, usually in the gazebo at Arbor Crest Wine Cellars, in Spokane Valley.

“It’s a wonderful setting and view,” says Rosier, who usually buys a bottle of wine from Arbor Crest to accompany the meals. “It’s really peaceful and beautiful up there, and so underutilized. Not that nobody’s up there, but it’s never crowded.”

More than once, strangers have seen the couple enjoying their meal and say, “ ‘Oh, why didn’t we think to do that?’ ” Rosier says.

Knott picnics often, too, and as long as the weather cooperates, she and her husband eat dinner outside their home in southeast Spokane every night.

“I’m in the office all day,” Knott says. “And food just tastes better in the open air.”

Chilled Summer Gazpacho

Courtesy of CaPear Inc.

This cold soup takes advantage of several vegetables that are in season. Debbi Irvine-Collins, of CaPear, suggests transporting it to a picnic in a recycled milk or juice carton.

2 pounds fresh and ripe heirloom tomatoes

1 English cucumber

1 red onion

1 each, yellow and red bell pepper

3 slices day old French bread, with crusts removed

3 cups tomato juice, divided

2 tablespoons minced garlic

3 cups vegetable broth

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon cumin

1 tablespoon smoked paprika

For the garnish:

2 tablespoons each chopped mint and cilantro

1 tablespoons lemon zest

Balsamic syrup

Salt and pepper, to taste

Peel, seed and dice the tomatoes, cucumber, onion and the bell peppers.

In a large glass bowl, combine the torn bread pieces and 1/2 cup of the tomato juice, and then let it stand for 10 minutes. Stir in the diced vegetables, garlic, broth and the remaining tomato juice. Add the oil, cumin and paprika, mixing well. Loosely cover and let stand for one hour at room temperature. Transfer the mixture to a blender and process until smooth. Return to a bowl, cover and refrigerate it for at least four hours, or overnight.

To garnish, mix the fresh herbs and lemon zest and sprinkle on top of each bowl of soup. Drizzle with the oil and balsamic syrup.

Yield: 6 servings

Nutrition per serving: 173 calories, 6 grams fat (less than 1 gram saturated, 29 percent fat calories), 6 grams protein, 28 grams carbohydrate, no cholesterol, 4 grams dietary fiber, 605 milligrams sodium.

Gougeres

Courtesy of CaPear Inc.

Gougeres, pronounced goo-ZHAIR, are a savory French pastry. The puffs are bite-sized, making them easy to eat away from the dinner table.

5 tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 teaspoon grated nutmeg

1 cup water

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup grated Gruyere cheese

4 large eggs at room temperature

1 large egg for egg wash

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Add butter, salt, pepper and nutmeg to the cup of water in a medium saucepan and then bring it to a boil over medium-high heat. When the butter has melted, reduce the heat to low.

Add the flour to the butter mixture all at once and stir with a wooden spoon for 1 minute, or until the mixture pulls away from the sides of the pan. Remove it from the heat.

Add the cheese and stir until it is incorporated. Transfer the mixture to a mixing bowl. Add one room-temperature egg at a time and beat until each one is thoroughly absorbed. Continue beating the mixture until it is smooth, shiny and firm, approximately two to three minutes. Drop by small spoonfuls onto a lightly greased cookie sheet to form the Gougeres. Beat the remaining egg with 1/2 tablespoon water and gently brush the tops of the uncooked Gougeres.

Bake in upper third of the oven for 15 to 18 minutes or until the Gougeres are golden and double in size. Don’t remove them too early or they will become soggy. Allow them to return to room temperature and put in a plastic zip-top bag.

These will keep for three to five days.

Yield: Makes about 5 dozen

Approximate nutrition per serving, 2 each: 57 calories, 4 grams fat (2 grams saturated, 60 percent fat calories), 2 grams protein, 3 grams carbohydrate, 37 milligrams cholesterol, less than 1 gram dietary fiber, 98 milligrams sodium.

Panzanella

From “Barefoot Contessa Parties!” by Ina Garten

3 tablespoons good olive oil

1 small French bread or boule loaf, cut into 1-inch cubes (6 cups)

1 teaspoon kosher salt

2 large, ripe tomatoes, cut into 1-inch cubes

1 hothouse cucumber, unpeeled, seeded, and sliced 1/2-inch thick

1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1-inch cubes

1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1-inch cubes

1/2 red onion, cut in half and thinly sliced

20 large basil leaves, coarsely chopped

3 tablespoons capers, drained

For the vinaigrette:

1 teaspoon finely minced garlic

1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard

3 tablespoons champagne vinegar

1/2 cup good olive oil

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Heat the oil in a large sauté pan. Add the bread and salt; cook over low to medium heat, tossing frequently, for 10 minutes, or until nicely browned. Add more oil as needed.

For the vinaigrette, whisk all the ingredients together.

In a large bowl, mix the tomatoes, cucumber, red pepper, yellow pepper, red onion, basil, and capers. Add the bread cubes and toss with the vinaigrette. Season liberally with salt and pepper. Serve immediately, or allow the salad to sit for about half an hour for the flavors to blend.

Yield: 12 servings

Nutrition per serving: Unable to calculate.

Curried Chicken Wraps

From Ina Garten, of “The Barefoot Contessa” television show on the Food Network

3 split (1 1/2 whole) chicken breasts, bone in, skin on

Olive oil

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 1/2 cups good mayonnaise

1/3 cup dry white wine

1/4 cup chutney

3 tablespoons curry powder

1 cup medium-diced celery (2 large stalks)

1/4 cup chopped scallions, white and green parts (2 scallions)

1/4 cup raisins

1 cup whole roasted, salted cashews, chopped

6 tortillas

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Place the chicken breasts on a sheet pan and rub the skin with olive oil. Sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. Roast for 35 to 40 minutes, until the chicken is just cooked. Set aside until cool enough to handle. Remove the meat from the bones, discard the skin, and shred the chicken in pieces.

For the dressing, combine the mayonnaise, wine, chutney, curry powder, and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Process until smooth.

Combine the chicken with enough dressing to moisten well. Add the celery, scallions, and raisins, and mix well. Refrigerate for a few hours to allow the flavors to blend. Add the cashews to the chicken.

Fill the center of each tortilla with the chicken mixture. Fold the 2 sides of the tortilla over the filling so that the sides overlap. Roll the tortilla from bottom to top, and cut in half diagonally.

Yield: 6 servings

Approximate nutrition per serving: 936 calories, 62 grams fat (12 grams saturated, 60 percent fat calories), 32 grams protein, 59 grams carbohydrate, 99 milligrams cholesterol, 878 milligrams sodium.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars

From Ina Garten, of “The Barefoot Contessa” television show on the Food Network

1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature

2 cups (18 ounces) creamy peanut butter

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 1/2 cups (18 ounces) raspberry jam or other jam

2/3 cups salted peanuts, coarsely chopped

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Grease a 9-by-13-by-2-inch cake pan. Line it with parchment paper, then grease and flour the pan.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on medium speed until light yellow, about two minutes. With the mixer on low speed, add the vanilla, eggs, and peanut butter and mix until all ingredients are combined. In a small bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the flour mixture to the peanut butter mixture. Mix just until combined. Spread 2/3 of the dough into the prepared cake pan and spread over the bottom with a knife or offset spatula. Spread the jam evenly over the dough. Drop small globs of the remaining dough evenly over the jam. Don’t worry if all the jam isn’t covered; it will spread in the oven. Sprinkle with chopped peanuts and bake for 45 minutes, until golden brown.

Cool and cut into squares.

Yield: 24 bars

Approximate nutrition per serving: 378 calories, 21 grams fat (8 grams saturated, 48 percent fat calories), 9 grams protein, 42 grams carbohydrate, 38 milligrams cholesterol, 2 grams dietary fiber, 238 milligrams sodium.