Humboldt fog mini at whole foods skin#

And if you’re worried about keeping food and drink cold, go shopping. First, Malarkey said, bring real silverware and utensils. Depending on the sweetness of the fruit, you can enjoy it without additional sweeteners, but if they’re needed, add honey or agave nectar.įinally, all this terrific food needs to come together in a compelling package. (And, he added, make sure you know the local liquor laws before you bring alcohol to any location.) Want to skip the alcohol? Make an agua fresca, a flavorful fruit-forward blended drink, and add soft herbs like tarragon, basil or shiso. If you’re planning a romantic picnic with wine, Malarkey advised a light red wine instead of white or a rosé, so you have a light summery wine that doesn’t require chilling. Or you can skip the sugar altogether and have a cheese course that includes fruit compote. And, to keep your hands from staining red, wear gloves.įor dessert, Malarkey said cookies are always a safe bet, and if you want to bring chocolate, a good chocolate chip cookie is the best delivery vehicle since chocolate can melt.

Humboldt fog mini at whole foods skin#

Let the beets cool and, Malarkey said, the skin will come off more easily. And when preparing the beets to make the salad, roast them until they’re fork tender, testing the largest piece, since if that’s done all the rest will be as well. In fact, in general, dressing on the side for picnic prep is a must. In the case of Malarkey’s beet salad, keep the lettuce and beets separate before serving and the dressing on the side. You want breads to stay dry, and crisp ingredients - like lettuce - to stay crisp. You want the food to taste fresh and keep their textures. There are definitely tricks to putting together a successful picnic meal, Malarkey explained. And finger food is always a great idea, as long as you bring plenty of napkins and wipes. If you’re bringing an ice chest, it opens up even more possibilities, like cheese and other dairy items. That means cold cuts or charcuterie, sandwiches, salads, cold chicken and the like. “It’s usually around cold or room-temperature food so you don’t have to rush to enjoy it. “A picnic for me is something you prep beforehand and enjoy at a destination,” he explained. Malarkey serves up cheese, crackers and salami - basically foods that won’t get the boat dirty. Today, Malarkey, who recently opened Herb & Wood and Herb & Eatery in Little Italy, makes up picnics for his young family, and both the setting - the family boat - and the food are different. We’d eat up that buttery, lemony shellfish, then rinse off in the ocean.”

My grandma made rolls and blackberry pies. The grownups would grill clams, salmon and shrimp. “We’d fill a big pot with water and put it over a fire made with driftwood. “Every summer, we’d go to the Oregon coast to visit my grandma, and she’d have these big beach barbecue picnics,” he recalled with a smile. Now, as a San Diego resident, my picnic experiences have been far more laid back - going to the beach and grilling burgers or chicken or sausages, accompanied by a spicy coleslaw, bread and butter pickles, olives and watermelon and/or lemon bars for dessert.Ĭhef Brian Malarkey has very different memories of picnics dating back to his childhood in Gearhart, Ore. (Eduardo Contreras / San Diego Union-Tribune) Back then, my friends and I would make or bring pasta salads, lobster and cheesecake - and be the envy of surrounding concertgoers. As a young adult, I enjoyed the competitive preconcert picnics first on the Great Lawn in New York City’s Central Park and when I returned to L.A., at the Hollywood Bowl, at which attendees would vie for the most decadent or elaborate collections of food and picnic décor. There were many other picnics in our life as a young family, including the big gatherings at L.A.’s Griffith Park with extended family. Then she would send my brother and sister and me out to the backyard with a blanket or towel so we could have a “picnic.” Strawberry Kool-Aid may have been involved back then, too. In the heat of the summer when I was a kid growing up in L.A.’s San Fernando Valley, my mom would often make a collection of sandwiches - peanut butter and jelly, bologna or tuna fish -that she would wrap up and package with carrot and celery sticks, whole peaches or plums and cookies.