my picnic guide

summer '24 is all about good food, great views, and even better company

As summer comes into full swing, being outside as much as possible is a non-negotiable.

Summer is all about having good food with great views and even better people.

And what better encapsulates that than a picnic.

I’m sure it’s not a surprise that feeding the people in my life is my love language. And so, it shouldn’t be a surprise that I vouch so hard for picnics come summer time.

To the friends who are the planners of the group, and to the fellas who want to pull out all the stops for that special girl, this one’s for you.

Here’s my guide to curating the perfect outdoor summer picnic that’ll impress anybody:

To start, we need to talk about the most important aspect: the spread.

SPREAD (MAIN):

I’m a big believer in having a center piece dessert, something that’ll show that we put in a lot of effort when in reality we didn’t.

When I think of high-yield, low-effort picnic desserts, what comes to mind is 1) a simple olive oil cake with frosting, 2) an almond cake with powdered sugar, and 3) any pie with a high-quality store-bought crust and filling.

And when I say “store-bought”, I’m fairly adamant on not making anything from scratch.

Baking is a lot of work, and we want to reserve our energy output for our people and be present. After all, a picnic is only as good as the company you’re around.

So I say scratch the “from scratch”.

I use this olive oil cake mix from ELIA that also came with a bottle of olive oil, and all I had to do was mix it with milk and eggs to get the batter.

I baked it according to the package directions, and the cake came out perfect.

I divided the batter into two 6-inch cake pans lined with parchment because I wanted to make a layer cake, but you could also do it in one 9-inch cake pan.

Once the cakes have cooled (I popped them in the freezer for 20 minutes), we can frost them. I used Cool Whip to save myself from having to whip up my own whipped cream. Also because it’s processed, it can withstand the summer heat better and not melt as quick as real whipped cream.

Also, if you decide to do a single layer cake (which I recommend to make it easier on yourself), you can also bring the tub of Cool Whip separately and just dollop it on your slice when you’re ready to eat.

And that’s our center piece.

SPREAD (ACCOMPANIMENTS):

After that’s done, we can prep our accompaniments.

If you’re familiar with charcuterie boards, an easy option would be to select items that usually belong on that - cured meats, olives, crackers, cheese, fruits, and nuts.

You can go tropical with the fruits, like mango, pineapple, and kiwi. You can go fresh summer berries, like strawberries and black berries. You can do a mix of both.

A good store-bought dip, like hummus, could be good with crackers. Dried fruits could be a good substitute for fresh if you want to avoid anything fresh on a hot summer day.

What’s so great about picnics is the creative freedom you can have mixing and matching different snacks to curate your own unique picnic spread. It’s really all about having fun with it, and there are certainly no rules.

DRINKS:

For drinks, good options could be prosecco, hard cider, white wine, champagne. Think light, bright, and white. I probably wouldn’t go beer, liquor, or any red wine.

Great non-alcoholic options could be canned mocktails/spirits, sparkling cider, sparkling water, soda..

PACKING ESSENTIALS:

Once we have our food and drinks, we need to make sure everything has a container, drinks have a glass, food has a plate.. and of course, we need to have our setup.

Here’s a quick checklist that I made:

• picnic blanket - make sure it’s big enough to have the entire spread laid out plus seat everyone in the party (I used a 50x60” throw blanket for two people, including myself)

• small blanket - good to have for a potential chilly evening, maybe even cuddle up with the person you’re with.. but also just a good accent to the picnic blanket that can make the setup look even prettier

• picnic basket - to hold all the food, utensils, plates, cups.. some even come with special compartments for each of those things (if you’re traveling a distance to the location and want to keep everything as fresh as possible, you can use a cooler instead)

• tote - to carry the blankets, maybe a card game or two

• pillows - practical if you’re thinking you might lay down at any point, but also just again a good accent to have to make the whole setup that much more aesthetic

• flowers - no-brainer for the girl

• card game - great to bring as a fun activity - it can be a get-to-know-you game for a group, a questions game for a one-on-one, or a deck of cards

  

• plates

• forks

• knife - for slicing cake

• cloth napkins

• glass flutes (for champagne, prosecco)

• wine glasses (for white wine, sparkling wine) (can also use them to scoop the cake and eat straight out of, instead of cutting it with a knife and eating it on a plate; makes eating way more playful and fun)

• glass cups (for water)

• mini serving board (for sharing the snacks)

• cake carrier (for the cake/pie)

• tupperware container #1 (for fruit)

• tupperware container #2 (for dry snacks)

• tupperware container #3 (for wet snacks)

90% of everything I listed above I picked up at Target. Big s/o @target.

LOCATION:

Lastly, we need to scout a great location.

Parks with a view - on a waterfront or any body of water facing the west around sunset - would be lovely. A large field that’s open to the public and surrounded by trees and greenery could be great for people watching.

Beaches (my personal favorite) that are more secluded would be nice to bring a date. On a calm day with not too many people around, it would be perfect to impress that special someone.

Wineries and vineyards are a great option. These are likely not as populated as a park or a beach.

Botanical gardens or historic sites are also calm, quiet, and offer a different scenery.

Countryside hills, vistas, and valleys are also cute settings, far far away from all the noise.