Romantic Picnic Ideas

[Salsera]

I have just started seeing this fabulous guy. We are going to a concert next week and we have lawn seats. Naturally, we want to take a picnic and wine & dine under the stars. Can you guys help me think of a menu? I have never cooked for him before, so I really want to WOW him. I am a vegetarian though, so please keep that in mind. Thanks!!!

[Jewel]

You're a vegetarian, but is he?? http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/biggrin.gif Might need to throw in some meatier selections for him?

[Salsera]

Oh I don't cook meat either, which he knows. So bring on the veggie ideas, thanks!

[Vanessa]

I am not vegetarian but considering its outside and picnic could a spanakopita work served room temperature?
I would start with bread, cheese, or some artichocke spread. You can get a pretty picnic basket and a cute tablecloth you can either put on the grass. Try to pack stuff in tupperware containers & you can carry a little cooler for wine or champagne.
After wine and crostini or a spread you can have a great salad, pack it indivisdually in those containers that can be disposed of. Then spanokopita, you can have from the cL website the picnic section the fruit skewers?
You can have awsome cookies or brownies or some other dessert. You can end with dessert and a small bottle of bubbly. Good luck on your date..........
Vegetarian Spanakopita
3 pkg. chopped frozen spinach, thawed & very well drained in a sieve
1/2 lb. butter, melted
4 eggs
pinch of parsley
1/2 lb. feta cheese
1/2 lb. cottage cheese
salt (optional)
minced onion for flavour
1 tsp. dill
1/2 lb. phyllo leaves
melted butter for phyllo

Mix first 8 ingredients together. Butter the bottom of a 9" x 13" pan.
Place 4 phyllo leaves on the bottom, buttering after each. Place 1/2
spinach mix on phyllo leaves , then place 4 more phyllo leaves on top,
buttering each leaf. Place remainder of spinach and place 4 more leaves on
top, buttering each layer. Turn edges of phyllo under, toward the rim of
the pan. Butter top layer. Bake moderately hot 375F oven for 30 minutes or
until golden.

Watermelon-and-Kiwi Skewers with Starry Strawberry Cream

The watermelon and kiwifruit can be cut up one day in advance. Thread the fruit onto skewers a few hours before the party. The strawberry cream is best when prepared only a few hours prior to serving.
3/4 cup sliced strawberries
1/2 cup vanilla low-fat yogurt
1 tablespoon 1/3-less-fat cream cheese
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon powdered sugar
24 (1/2-inch) watermelon balls
2 kiwifruit, each peeled and cut into 12 pieces


1. Place first 5 ingredients in a blender; process until smooth. Cover and chill.

2. Thread 1 watermelon ball and 1 kiwifruit piece onto each of 24 skewers. Serve with sauce. Yield: 8 servings (serving size: 3 skewers and 2 tablespoons sauce).

Note: To shape kiwifruit, cut a thin vertical slice off both ends of fruit, revealing flesh. Peel by cutting vertical strips from one end to the other. Cut each kiwifruit lengthwise into quarters. Cut each quarter crosswise into thirds.

[Jessica]

This is a wonderful salad and even my meat-and-potatoes, bean-disliking FIL likes it. I posted it earlier and copied it here.

This is from Steven Raichlen's High-Flavor, Low-Fat Cookbook, one of my absolute favorites. You can use an equivalent amount of dried beans (cook them first, of course). This is one of our summer staples and I have given the recipe to many friends, who have made it one of their staples. It is esp. good after the mint in your garden goes nuts.

Black Bean Salad with Feta and Mint

2 15-oz cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 c. chopped red onion
1/2 c. tightly packed mint leaves, finely chopped (I use closer to 1/4 c.)
2 oz . feta, crumbled
2 T olive oil (I use 1 or 1 1/2)
3-4 T fresh lemon juice (I use 4)
salt and pepper to taste

Combine beans, onion, mint and most of cheese in a bowl. Drizzle lemon juice and olive oil over beans and toss. Let it sit for 10 minutes and then season to taste. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top. Serve at room temperature or cold.

We eat this as a main dish but it is a good side salad, too. Also good in pitas with a bit of hummus.

333 calories per serving (the recipe only says it serves 4-6); 18 g. protein; 11 g fat; 44 g carb; 162 mg sodium (more for canned beans); 12 mg cholesterol

[browneye]

When my dh and I were dating, we went to a concert on the lawn, and it was most memorable!!!

It was very, very simple, appetizer was a bruschetta with fresh tomato, then I prepared a combo of marinated, then grilled mixed veges...i.e. various colored peppers, red onion, eggplant, zucchini, I packed them in a little container, with leftover marinade, cut some pita bread in half, and packed some varieties of cheese- to stuff in along with the veges...I took goat cheese, feta and smoked Mozzarella. We built these pita sandwiches, and drank wine, and ate these little cookie bar things for dessert.
A most romantic evening!!!
He still comments on how good that picnic was!
Have fun!! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/biggrin.gif

[Nancy171]

What about the romantic picnic ideas from April '01? Although I'm not sure if any of those were vegetarian...

[erinyyc]

Just a few things I always pack for a picnic:
* salad- marinated veggies OR couscous salad
* pate and crusty bread- veggie pate of course (can usually find at the deli)
* fruit and cheeses
* wine or sparkling cider and mineral water

There are some wonderful couscous salad recipes, but I tend to stay with cukeumber, tomatoe, red onion, garlic, lemon juice and herbs in mine (as far as DH will go right now, but the fact he even eats couscous is a great accomplishment!! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif )

Have fun!
Erin

[BosunsWife]

DH and I used to picnic all the time when we were dating and before we had DD.

We would pack things like pasta salad with crusty french bread, fruits, cheeses, pepperoni (we're not veggies lol), crackers, cookie bars, wine. Don't forget the corkscrew, we had to use DH's buck knife once and had to sieve the cork out with a napkin LOL!

We would hike to the bluffs in Magnolia (any Seattlites out there?) and watch the sunset. When we lived in Saugerties, NY, we would pack a picnic in the summertime and go watch the Shakespeare outdoor theatre in Woodstock. Memories......

[BethH]

The French Picnic Tart from Mollie Katzen's Vegetable Heaven looks fabulous. I haven't made it, but it is on my list.

It does involve making a crust, etc. and may be more trouble than you want to go through. But, if you are interested, I, or someone else with the book, would be happy to post it. (When I get home from work) There is nothing I love more than a picnic concert--so fun! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif