A HARTE APPETITE: CELEBRATE TASTES OF SUMMER WITH A PICNIC

Though Southeast Missouri's muggy summer climate may occasionally test it, I've always held the conviction that there is something special about alfresco dining where, as Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, one of the high priests of gastronomy, put it, the universe is your drawing room and the sun your lamp.

Perhaps it's because the great outdoors enhances the appetite and produces, as Brillat-Savarin observed, "a vivacity unknown indoors."

Whatever the reason, I don't think I've ever been to a picnic I didn't enjoy, even if, as was the case last year when we picnicked with our son at Boreas Pass more than 10,000 feet above sea level in the Rocky Mountains of Breckenridge, Colorado, the affair ended in rain.

It makes perfect sense to me that Webster's defines a picnic as "a pleasure outing at which a meal is eaten outdoors," but notes that the word has become slang for any pleasant experience. For the word picnic to me has always connoted celebration, even when there was really nothing in particular to celebrate -- other than the fact, of course, that the weather, as now, has changed sufficiently to permit outdoor dining in the first place.

A good picnic doesn't have to be elaborate or fancy to be successful, though as Julia Child has argued, a little luxury can make a lot of difference.

"Paper plates and plastic forks have their place," she says, "in a brown bag. At a real picnic I like real cutlery. . . ." No wonder that the best picnic she ever heard of, as she reveals in her cookbook, "Julia Child & More Company," was the one given by the Duke of Suffolk during World War II. The Duke and his squad were returning to London after a trip to one of the Channel ports to defuse some bombs following a Nazi air raid. Unbeknownst to the men, the road took them near Suffolk's country home. Suddenly, as Child tells the story, the Duke signaled the convoy to halt. "He then blew a whistle and lo, out from behind a hedge purred his Rolls Royce, laden with hampers, crystal, silver, damask, and a butler who unpacked and served a noble feast."

It would be hard to top such a scene, I'm sure, but in my experience downscale outings can be just as memorable. Probably my favorite picnic was a relatively modest affair consisting only of crusty French bread, pate, and wine, but the setting made all the difference. My companions and I sat on a log in the woods adjacent to Chenonceau, one of the great French chateaus in the Loire Valley. At that point I grasped fully what Sander Wolf must have had in mind when he said, "It's never been the food that makes the picnic, it's always been the attitude."

Still, the food is important. It must be able to travel well, resist spoilage outdoors, and be relatively easy to eat, perhaps even out of hand. But most importantly, as with any meal, it ought to taste good. The following recipes, I believe, meet all of these criteria and should serve you well whether your picnic is elaborate and carefully planned or simple and impromptu and whether your destination is the riverfront, a meadow, Capaha Park, or your own back yard.

Picnic Chicken

This recipe from Bon Appetit magazine is easy to prepare and, though it is excellent hot, it's just as flavorful when served cold, hence its name.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice

6 garlic cloves

1 bay leaf

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram

1/2 teaspoon dried summer savory

1 (5 pound) roasting chicken

Directions:

Combine first 6 ingredients in blender and blend until garlic and bay leaf are finely chopped. Transfer mixture to bowl. Add chicken to bowl and turn to coat. Marinate chicken in bowl in refrigerator, breast side down, overnight. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place rack in roasting pan. Remove chicken from marinade, reserving marinade. Place chicken on prepared rack and season with salt and pepper. Roast in oven until chicken is cooked through, basting occasionally with reserved marinade, about 1 hour and 20 minutes.

Technicolor Bean Salad

This recipe, from the now classic Silver Palate Cookbook by Julee Rosso and Sheila Lukins, goes considerably further than the traditional three-bean salad. The fact that it shouldn't be served chilled makes it more likely to arrive at the picnic site at the right temperature. The fresh green beans are a nice touch, but if you're in a hurry canned ones could be substituted. If you're concerned about the raw egg yolk in the dressing, you can substitute two hard cooked yolks, but the texture of the dressing will not be the same.

Ingredients:

1 can (1 pound) garbanzos

1 can (1 pound) white kidney beans

1 can (1 pound) red kidney beans

1 can (1 pound) baby lima beans

1 can (1 pound) black-eyed peas

1 pound fresh green beans (or half green and half yellow wax beans)

1 egg yolk

1/3 cup red wine vinegar

1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon chopped garlic

salt and pepper to taste

1 cup olive oil

1 cup chopped green onions

1/2 cup chopped Italian parsley

Directions:

Drain canned beans, rinse thoroughly in water, and drain again. Cook fresh beans uncovered in boiling salted water until done but still crunchy. Cool beans in ice water. Drain, pat dry, and cut into 2-inch lengths. Toss canned and fresh beans together in large bowl. Combine egg yolk, vinegar, sugar, garlic, and salt and pepper in bowl of food processor fitted with a steel blade. Process briefly. With motor running slowly dribble in olive oil. Pour dressing over beans, add onions, and toss. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Garnish with parsley and serve at room temperature.

Chocolate Syrup Brownies

These moist and chocolatey brownies make a perfect ending to a summer picnic. When Professor Janice Rainwater, now retired, would bring a batch of them to the teachers' lounge on the second floor of the Grauel Building on the university campus, as she often did, word spread quickly. You only have to take one bite to know why. Though there is a recipe for chocolate syrup brownies in Hershey's recently revised 1934 keepsake cookbook, this one is better. The real secret to its success, however, is the wonderfully fudgy icing which, by the way, can be used on other cakes and cookies too.

Ingredients:

14 tablespoons margarine, divided

2 1/3 cups sugar, divided

4 eggs

1 large (1 pound) can chocolate syrup

1 cup flour

2/3 cup nuts (optional)

6 tablespoons milk

1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Cream 1 stick (8 tablespoons) margarine and 1 cup sugar. Add eggs and syrup and beat thoroughly. Blend in flour and nuts. Pour batter into a large greased jelly roll pan (sided cookie sheet) and bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Cool. Bring remaining 6 tablespoons margarine, milk, and remaining 1 1/3 cups sugar to a boil and boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat and add chocolate chips. Beat until chips are melted and icing is slightly thick. Rapidly spread on cooled brownies.

Got a recipe you'd like to share with our readers? Are you looking for a recipe for something in particular? Send your recipes and requests to A Harte Appetite, c/o The Southeast Missourian, P.O. Box 699, Cape Girardeau, MO., 63702-0699 or by e-mail to tharte@semovm.semo.edu.

~Tom Harte is a professor at Southeast Missouri State University and writes a food column every other week for the Southeast Missourian.