The perfectly warm days of late spring or early fall never fail to lure us out to the beach, or sometimes onto the boat we keep at a nearby marina. Somehow, I manage to overcome Tom’s resistance to dining al fresco by promising him that ALL the prep will be done in advance, in our kitchen. And then I enlist the boys, i.e., Andy and son-in-law Mark, to load up the beach cart with the cooler, blankets, and picnic baskets. Designing an easy, interesting menu of mostly finger foods is another way to guarantee a fun picnic. I pack frozen bottles of water along with the cold drinks to keep everything properly chilled and a baggie of hand wipes for après picnic cleanup. Beachy Ceviche is a new but welcome addition to the picnic lineup. And the peach mustard for the Havarti and ham sandwiches is an oh-so-easy condiment you’ll want to make again to dress up grilled chicken or pork tenderloin. Presliced watermelon wedges sprinkled with a little sea salt are a refreshing palate cleanser. But the item everybody seems most interested in is dessert, and these sweet and nutty butterscotch brownies are the perfect bribe to enlist help to carry the picnic gear back home.
SERVES 6
Ham and Havarti Sandwiches with Peach-Mustard Spread
watermelon wedges