This is the perfect diary series for any foodie's dream weekend: the Fourth of July weekend in which all sorts of meats, fish, veggies, and breads are put on the grill. It doesn't matter what kind of a grill you have, or if all you have is a oven rack over a hot fire, what matters is the quality of the food you put on the grill and the flavors you coax through the grilling process.
Below in the diary and in the comments, you'll find recipes that involve the grill and doesn't involve the grill.
Here in Texas, the perfect picnic food is hamburgers, hot dogs, barbecue, and tacos. I also have my own twists on the perfect picnic food. Here's one recipe, which is vegetarian:
Pressed Mozzarella, Tomato, and Pesto Sandwiches
1 ciabatta
Fresh mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced
Heirloom tomatoes, sliced
Pesto (jarred or homemade)
Olive oil
Pine Nuts
Proscuitto (optional)
1. Slice the ciabatta lengthwise, spread the pesto on both inner sides of the bread. Add a few toasted pine nuts to the bottom bread slice.
2. Put the mozzarella cheese on bottom with the sliced heirloom tomato on top, and cover with mozzarella cheese. Add a few pine nuts on top, then cover with the top bread slice.
3. Put the sandwich on the oiled panini press or grill, and grill for about three minutes on indirect heat. You can add a brick or a panini press on top to flatten the sandwich.
4. Once the cheese has gotten a bit melty and the panini is golden brown, serve immediately to happy guests.
If you don't want to use the grill or cook at all for your picnic, here are a couple of recipes that you can throw together that will still wow your picnic guests with their simplicity and deliciousness:
Hacked caprese salad
Mozzarella boccini balls
Tomatoes, quartered
Basil, julienned
Aged balsamic vinegar
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt
Pepper
1. Quarter the tomatoes, slice the mozzarella balls in half. Add to the bowl, and toss in the julienned basil. Throw in a pinch of kosher salt, and add a few grinds of coarse black pepper to the caprese salad. Toss everything together.
2. The longer you let the salad sit in the fridge, the better it gets. Right before you're ready to serve the caprese salad, add in a few glugs of aged basalmic vinegar. This salad will go very quickly.
Proscuitto-wrapped cantaloupe chunks
1 cantaloupe, cut into 1 1/2 inch chunks
20 slices of proscuitto or serrano ham
1. Just wrap each cantaloupe chunk with enough proscuitto or serrano ham to cover. Continue doing this until you have all the melon chunks wrapped, and then refrigerate until you are ready to serve.
And here are my grill recipes to go with ribeye steaks, hamburgers and hot dogs that are commonly found at picnics. I usually use this grilled vegetable dish to go with gourmet hamburgers.
Grilled asparagus, eggplant, and zucchini
1 bunch asparagus, stems cut off at the point where they break
1 large eggplant, sliced
2 small zucchini, sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 lemon, zested, and juiced
1 tbs Olive oil
2 tbs chopped parsley
1 tsp red pepper flakes or aleppo
1. In a large plastic bag, add the chopped veggies along with the rest of the ingredients, and let marinate for about an hour or so.
2. Add the veggies to the grill over indirect heat.
3. Grill the veggies for about two to four minutes per side, until you see grill marks and the vegetables are tender.
4. Arrange the vegetables on a platter, and serve immediately or refrigerate to bring along for a picnic.
Grilled Corn With Chile-Lime Butter
1 tsp cayenne powder
1 lime, zested and juiced
1 garlic, minced
1 stick of butter
Salt
Pepper
2 corn cobs
1. Let the butter come to room temperature until it is softened. Add in the cayenne powder, lime zest, lime juice, garlic, a pinch of salt, and several grinds of black pepper. Mix all the ingredients together.
2. Slather all over the corn cobs, and cover with aluminum foil. Add to the grill over indirect heat, with one burner on high heat, and cover for about ten minutes. Remove the cover, and let the corn be grilled for about twenty minutes or until tender. Serve immediately.
And here's the tacos part that I love for the picnics I put together when the temperature goes below 95 degrees. Right now in Austin, the temperature is over 100 degrees, and likely will be that way throughout the July 4th weekend.
Quick n' Dirty Chicken Tacos
1 rotiserrie chicken, shredded
Pickled red onions (recipe here)
6 corn tortillas or flour tortillas
2 tbs cilantro, chopped
Tomatillo-avocado salsa (recipe here)
2 limes, quartered
1/2 iceberg lettuce, julienned
Monterrey jack cheese
1. Grill the tortillas for a minute each on the grill over indirect heat. Take off the heat, and add in the lettuce, then the chicken, tomatillo-avocado salsa, pickled red onions, cilantro, and cheese. Serve immediately.
Grilled Ribeye Tacos
This is what I use when I'm feeding four to six people on a picnic with a grill nearby, and two one-pound rib-eye steaks are what I have on hand. You can use the same ingredients as above in the Quick N' Dirty tacos, without the chicken, lettuce and the cheese.
2 one-pound rib-eye steaks
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp coarse black pepper
1 tsp cayenne powder
1 tsp garlic powder
Extra virgin olive oil
Ingredients from Quick N' Dirty Chicken Tacos, minus cheese, chicken, and lettuce
1. Mix together the spices to form a dry rub. Drizzle olive oil all over the ribeye steaks, and then add the rub, coating it all over the meat.
2. Let come to room temperature for about half an hour or so before going outside to add it to the grill, first on high heat for the sear. You can grill for about three to four minutes each side on high eat, before removing it to indirect heat to grill for about two to three minutes. Test the doneness of the steak by holding it with your tongs. If it flops over too easily, it's rare. If you can feel a slightly firm resistance to the meat when you hold it, and it's not too floppy, then it's medium rare. Take the meat off the grill, and let it rest for about ten minutes before you slice the meat thinly for the tacos.
2. On corn tortillas, layer the lettuce, then the steak, tomatillo-avocado salsa, pickled red onions, and cilantro. Serve immediately.
I hope these recipes in the diary and in the comments will inspire you to go all out for your picnic this July 4th weekend! What are your favorite recipes to have on hand for a picnic? Are there any unusual recipes you do?
Share it with us below in the comments!