Cookaholics Bulletin Board

Well, it's not exactly a picnic, but that's the closest thing I could think of to describe it.

We have a friend who moved to memory care unit in an assisted living facility last month. They have a pleasant little private dining room that family & friends can use if they want to have a family style meal with their loved one. We've reserved the room, and I'm making dinner to take to Larry.

Here's the difficulty. All the food has to be 'picnicable'. That is, they must be able to be carried in, need no refrigeration or last minute cooking, able to be served at room temperature or at best, cooled in an ice chest. I don't own a crockpot or any other keep-warm device, so that precludes foods that need to be served hot. I'm not good at this.

The one certain is that I'm poaching a salmon and making a lemon-dill mayonnaise for it. A picnic cooler will keep it for transport, and a thermos will hold the sauce. Salmon has always been Larry's favorite - he requests it for his birthday every year, so it's a done deal.

My dilemma is in what to put with the salmon. I don't want anything mayo-based, since I have the mayo sauce for the fish. I usually love asparagus with salmon, but I don't know what to do with them cold. Would marinated artichokes & red peppers overpower the salmon? Any ideas for a rice/pasta/potato dish that is served room temp, doesn't use mayo, and wouldn't duplicate a marinated veggie? Or maybe a veg that doesn't need a marinade?

Since it's such a structured environment, there is no cocktail hour and no appetizers are necessary. Dessert's easy. Larry swoons for chocolate, so I'll just make a cake or cookies and leave the leftovers for the staff.

I'm usually not a picnic or a pot-luck kinda gal. Planning this menu is taxing my creativity. Any ideas?

When I think picnic I think bean salad.
We really like this salad, it's a feta/lenil salad with cucumbers and cherry tomatoes. Keeps extremely well for 2-3 days in the fridge (add almonds as you serve) and is yummy.
http://www.canadianliving.com/food/lentil_feta_salad.php
And this bean salad is meant to have salmon in it. It's also very good and I can't see why it wouldn't be just as good w/out the salmon IN it but next to it.
http://www.lifestylefood.com.au/recipes/8998/salmon-and-chickpea-toss

What a lovely idea.

These are 2 of our favorite salads that can, and should be, served at room temperature.

Black Bean and Edamame Salad

1 tablespoon oil
3 tablespoons sherry or white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 whole shallot -- minced
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon hot pepper sauce, optional
2 tablespoons jalapeno peppers, optional -- finely chopped
1 15 ounce can black beans -- drained and rinsed
1/2 bag frozen edamame – thawed*
1 small sweet red pepper -- diced
1 package equal or splenda

Blend all ingredients, toss and chill or serve at room temperature.

*Or 1 can corn, drained

Spinach-Pear Salad w/Gorgonzola, Mustard Vinaigrette
Recipe By: Cooking Light November 2004
Serving Size: 6

Salad:
2 Bosc pears -- thinly sliced
1 10 ounce pkg fresh baby spinach
------------------------------------------
Mustard- Vinaigrette:
3 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
5 teaspoons olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons stone-ground mustard
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
------------------------------
Topping:
1/4 cup gorgonzola -- crumbled
OR pecorino romano -- shaved

Combine pear slices and spinach in a large bowl.
Combine all vinaigrette ingredients, stirring well with a whisk. Drizzle over salad and toss gently to coat. Sprinkle with cheese.

And our fav Asparagus recipe which we usually eat room temp. Just mix the browned butter with the asparagus and wrap in foil. Best to undercook a tad if you're going to hold it in foil.

Roasted Asparagus with Balsamic Browned Butter

2 pounds asparagus spears (about 40) -- trimmed
Cooking Spray
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

Preheat oven to 400.
Arrange asparagus in a single layer on baking sheet; coat with cooking spray. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake for 12 minutes or until tender.

Melt butter in a small skillet over medium heat; cook for 3 minutes or until lightly browned, shaking pan occasionally. Remove from heat; stir in soy sauce and vinegar. Drizzle over asparagus, tossing well to coat.

NOTES : Serving size: 5 spears

Nance

Actually, roasted asparagus tossed with a little vinaigrette are really good at room temp. I can't really improve on the above, but if you are going to be making a habit of this, you might check out some sites or books on Bento foods. They are pretty much all meant to travel and be eaten at room temperature.

Or a French potato salad of red new potatoes and a nice vinaigrette ... best served at room temp
fitzie

For the future (when you are not making salmon) a nicoisse salad is a great picnic item....everything is served at room temp and no mayo base for the vinegrette.....You can use good canned tuna in oil or sear fresh tuna (and of course you can use salmon). Take all of the components in separate containers and compose the salad there. Julia and Ina both have great recipes.
It is a lovely thing for you to do this and want to make it special.
Ilene

Great ideas. They all sound good - now I just have to choose. These will get me through a couple of visits.

Jes, thanks for the Bento suggestion. We probably will do this occasionally for as long as he seems aware of what's happening.

Nancy - Your recipes look great, as always.

"1 package equal or splenda" -- what is the reason for using this in the Black Bean and Edamame Salad? Is sugar an acceptable substitute?

Definitely not necessary when using edamame. The first years when I made the recipe and used fresh corn sometimes it was lacking the right amount of sweetness. Now that I subbed edamame I never add it and I thank you for pointing that out. Time for a recipe edit

Alternative to "cooled in an ice chest" is "warned in an ice chest" Vacuum seal or simply ziplock with as much air removed as possible (freezer bags work best) your food, put hot water in the ice chest and it will stay warm quite a while. We do this for both BBQ-style ribs and our Piri Piri pork chops. They travel and can be served nicely warm, if not oven hot. No on-site cooking required but you can serve food almost like you just pulled it off the grill.

We heat the bagged food in our slow cooker so it is warm. We add water to the cooler, aiming for a temperature of 145F or so when it stabilizes. We drop the hot bags so there isn't a big thermal drop, close the top, and travel. Good for awhile though our travel distances are relatively short ... maybe half an hour generally. It is a handy way to hold food.

Steve