Let’s talk about picnics again. If you missed part one, you can find it by clicking here.
I want to show you a few more menus from different sources. I have a cook booklet called “Wartime Entertaining” and it has all sorts of menus and ideas for any kind of party you can think of, and some you’d never even dream of. (That sounds like a great future blog post!)
Here are their menu suggestions for outdoor meals.
There is a corresponding cookbook with the recipes for these dishes. I’ll see if I can hunt down a copy to share later.
The July 1939 issue of Woman’s Day had a two page spread about picnics. I’m going to show you the entire article because the photos are fantastic and a really good way to learn what an ideal picnic spread would look like. Keep in mind these were styled by the magazine, but they still represent what the reader would have expected a picnic to possibly look like. I love looking at the dishes and food containers as well as the way the food is presented.
Here is a close up of one of those recipes.
Results
We used bacon instead of salt pork. These were really flavorful baked beans that would make a great side dish for any meal. This is the type of dish that you would have to cook onsite or take in an insulated bottle. We eat beans like this often in the summer, especially with hot dogs or hamburgers. I’m not sure I’d want these beans on a picnic where I’m sitting on the ground, though. If I had a picnic table, great! But I wonder if they’d be a bit messy at a picnic where you are sitting on a blanket. I definitely recommend the bacon–it’s the best part!
The next recipe I have is from the July 1941 issue of Woman’s Day. The article was a little column at the very back of the magazine, but the tips and ideas in it are great. I’ll show the article and then the recipe.
Finally, the recipe!
Results
This was fantastic! It was an excellent stew. Every once in a while we find a new recipe that we put on a list of things we want to make again and this went on that list immediately. We added a little bit of salt and pepper, but otherwise followed the recipe exactly. All of the ingredients worked well together. I wish we would have made more so we could have had seconds. This would make a great dish for an outdoor meal in the fall. Again, with this recipe I’d probably only want to make it if I had a table or something similar to set things on. A tipped bowl of hot stew in your lap would not be a fun addition to a picnic.
How often do you picnic? When you think of picnics, do you include backyard BBQs? What kinds of foods you usually pack? Do you have any tips or advice for picnic-goers? I’d love to hear from you!
Until next time, and Happy August!
History in the Kitchen 