RECIPES:
Chicken Salad Sandwiches
Corkscrew Pasta Salad
Apple Dumplings
Minty Limeade
When I was around ten years old, a few of my neighborhood friends had pools in their backyards, and my pool-less friends and I would come up with long lists of why pools were better than the ocean: They were warmer, less sandy, less salty, and free of sharks and jellyfish. As valid as our arguments were in our small world, we couldn’t comprehend how lucky we were to live so close to a beach—less than a ten-minute drive. We had nothing to compare it to, other than the fortunes of our pool-owning neighbors.
As I grew older, I started to appreciate the beauty of living by the ocean. I learned that a swim in the icy Atlantic was the perfect remedy to a hot and muggy day. I loved going there with friends, or taking long walks with my mom as the sun set. Sometimes, my mother would hear of a great beach on Cape Cod, and we’d venture the long drive to search for it. We’d spend hours on the quiet shores, uncrowded by tourists, looking for sea glass and perfectly sun-bleached clamshells.
Between trips back East, my kids tell me how much they miss the ocean. I guess they haven’t spent enough time around the sea to take it for granted like I did. Living inland has some advantages.
For our little party on the beach, I kept thinking of Prince Caspian by C. S. Lewis. When the four Pevensie children discover themselves in Narnia, they spend much of their first day exploring the beach near Cair Paravel. Only Edmund manages to carry his effects with him to Narnia, and his lunch of two sandwiches is the only food they have to share among the four of them. Eventually, they find an orchard of apple trees, which they had planted when they had reined as kings and queens there in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
To picnic on the beach, we brought our food in individual wooden baskets. We don’t live on the coast, so we found a small beach on a reservoir near our home. The kids enjoyed themselves by skipping rocks and walking along the small shore.
When you have your celebration at the beach, you can take a walk in the evening (like we did) or make it a more traditional beach trip and visit on a hot, sunny day. Try to do all your activities together instead of splitting up. Swim together, read together under a sun umbrella, or comb tidal pools for sea life together.
Chicken Salad Sandwiches
Tarragon is a mild, leafy herb that pairs well with chicken, so I added it to this salad. If for some reason you can’t find it, just add a pinch more dill. Makes 6 sandwiches
1⁄2 cup raisins
1⁄2 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
1⁄2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon
1⁄2 teaspoon dried dill weed
Pinch of cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons sliced almonds
4 cooked chicken breasts, cut into 1⁄4-inch cubes
6 sandwich rolls, sliced in half
- Cover the raisins with water in a microwavable container, and microwave on high for 45 seconds. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, vinegar, honey, salt, herbs, and cayenne pepper. Drain raisins and add to the bowl, along with the almonds and chicken. Stir to combine. Spoon onto sandwich rolls.
Corkscrew Pasta Salad
Isn’t pasta salad fun? You start with whatever vegetables you have on hand, and just when you think it’s going to be too healthy to really enjoy, you douse it with a good helping of vinaigrette and pile on curlicues of pure white carbohydrate bliss. Perfect picnic food. Serves 6
1⁄2 pound pasta, such as fusilli bucati or another favorite pasta shape
1⁄2 English cucumber, cut into 1⁄2-inch pieces
1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, cut in halves
2 cups broccoli florets, cut into bite-size pieces
3 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
8–10 large basil leaves, rolled and cut into thin slices
Balsamic Vinaigrette (recipe follows)
- Cook pasta until it is al dente. Drain and rinse with cool water.
- Toss with all the other ingredients in a large bowl. Serve chilled or at room temperature.
Balsamic Vinaigrette
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons very good olive oil
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
2–3 chives, finely chopped
Pinch of kosher salt and black pepper
Whisk together all the ingredients, and taste for proper seasoning.
Apple Dumplings
These apple dumplings were inspired by the line in Prince Caspian when C. S. Lewis mentions roasted apples aren’t very good without sugar. These have plenty of sugar—and butter, for good measure. Makes 6 dumplings
For the pastry:
21⁄4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1⁄4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 sticks (16 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
6 tablespoons ice-cold water
For the rest:
2 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons almond flour
1⁄3 cup brown sugar
1⁄2 cup quick oats
Pinch of salt
1⁄2 teaspoon cinnamon
1⁄4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 tablespoon orange zest
4 tablespoons cool unsalted butter
6 small Granny Smith apples
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1⁄4 cup sanding sugar or granulated sugar
- To make the pastry, combine flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor fitted with the steel blade, and pulse once or twice. Add butter to the flour mixture. Pulse a few times until it resembles coarse meal, but some of the larger pieces of butter remain. Add the water, a little at a time, and pulse until the dough almost comes together. Pour out onto a lightly floured board, and gently knead the dough a time or two to ensure everything comes together. Divide the dough in half, and wrap each half in plastic wrap. Refrigerate at least 20 minutes.
- For the filling, combine the flours, brown sugar, quick oats, salt, spices, and orange zest in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or in the food processor again). With the mixer on low, add the butter and mix until all ingredients come together.
- Preheat oven to 400ºF. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and cut each ball in fourths. Roll a piece of dough out to make an 8-inch circle. Peel and core the apples. Stuff the middle of an apple with as much filling as will fit. Place in the center of the circle of dough, and pull the dough up the sides of the apple, using water to make the dough stick and seal in the apple. Repeat with the remainder of the apples, and place on the prepared baking sheet.
- On a lightly floured board, roll the remaining dough to a 3⁄4-inch thickness. Use a cookie cutter, such as a medium-size star shape, to cut dough into 6 shapes. Use a little bit of water to press the shape onto the top of each apple. Brush with cream, and sprinkle with sanding sugar.
- Bake for 35–40 minutes, or until tops are golden brown. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Minty Limeade
A friend once gave me a slushy made from all the same ingredients, and it was the most refreshing drink I’d ever had. Since the ice wouldn’t last very long at the beach, I adapted the recipe to a simple drink. Serves 4–6
Juice of 6–8 limes, about 1⁄3–1⁄2 cup
3 cups white grape juice
10–12 fresh mint leaves, bruised
2 cups crushed ice
Combine juices and mint, and pour over crushed ice in individual glasses.
