Southern Spoonful: Cherished Picnic Memories

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The story below is from our May/June 2020 issue. For more stories like it, Subscribe Today. Thank you! 

Spring is in the air, and with it comes a perfect picnic season. These recipes make for a tasty lunch while you enjoy the sunshine!

A-tisket, a-tasket, a green and yellow basket. My mother used to recite this nursery rhyme to us when we were young and sure enough, she had a green and yellow picnic basket. We knew that whenever that basket would appear, something magical was about to happen…a picnic! 

A big bowl of her potato salad, deviled eggs, watermelon, fried chicken and her famous lemon curd cookies would tumble out of the basket onto the blanket she would lovingly spread on the green grass kissed by the sunshine. 

It is in honor of that memory that I present to you some of my favorite picnic recipes.

Mom’s Herb Potato Salad

What made my Mom’s potato salad so special was that it not only tasted so delicious, she took great care to decorate the bowl with lots of pretty garnishes. 

 Makes 8 – 10 servings

  • 3 pounds small red potatoes
  • 2 ears fresh corn
  • 8 green onions, chopped
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 2 teaspoons pepper
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
  • 8 fresh chives, chopped
  • 2 stalks celery, chopped into small pieces
  • 8 ounces sour cream
  • 1 cup sweet pickle relish
  • 3 tablespoons stone-ground mustard
  • 1 cup mayonnaise
  • Garnishes: Boiled egg quarters, chopped fresh dill, sweet gherkin pickles or dill pickle slices, black olive slices, paprika, chopped green onion, celery leaves

Wash potatoes and place them in a large pot of boiling salted water. Husk corn and add it to the boiling water with potatoes. Boil until the potatoes are tender, drain. When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, chop them into cubes and place in a large mixing bowl. 

Remove corn from cob and add to potatoes. Add green onions, salt, pepper, dill, chives and celery to potatoes. Mix well. 

Place sour cream, pickle relish, mustard and mayonnaise in a mixing bowl. Mix well to combine all ingredients. Pour sour cream mixture over the potato mixture and stir to combine. 

Place potato salad in serving bowl. Place boiled egg quarters around the edge of the perimeter of the bowl. Place pickles in the same manner as the eggs, then the black olives and green onion, making a circular garnish. Place celery leaves in the center of the potato salad and sprinkle the salad with paprika. Chill in refrigerator until ready to serve.

Margarita Watermelon Slices

 Makes 4 servings

  • 2 (1 inch) slices watermelon (I use a small watermelon for this recipe)
  • 2 tablespoons lime juice (1 small lime)
  • 3 tablespoons Tequila
  • 3 tablespoons sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon salt

Cut each watermelon slice into 6 wedges. Place wedges flat in a plastic container. Combine lime juice, tequila, sugar and salt in a small bowl. Mix well to combine all ingredients. Pour lime juice mixture over the watermelon slices. 

Cover tightly and refrigerate for one hour. Turn container over and shake container lightly to cover the watermelon with lime mixture. Continue to refrigerate for one more hour. Serve very cold.

Pecan Chicken Tenders with Hot Honey

Makes 44 small tenders

  • 1¾ pounds chicken breasts
  • ½ pint buttermilk
  • Egg wash: 1 egg mixed with 1 tablespoon water
  • 2 cups flour
  • 4½ ounces chopped pecans
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 2 teaspoons black pepper
  • 2 teaspoons blackened seasoning
  • Mike’s Hot Honey or your favorite honey for drizzling (optional)

Place chicken breasts in a pan. Cover with buttermilk. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cover pan and place in refrigerator for 4 hours. 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Remove chicken from refrigerator and cut into ½’’ slices (11 slices per chicken breast). Cut slices in half to make tenders. 

Place flour, chopped pecans, salt, pepper and blackened seasoning in a bowl. Mix to combine. Place flour mixture in blender or food processor. Blend/process until pecans are incorporated into the flour. 

Dip chicken tenders in egg wash, then roll in flour mixture. Place chicken tenders on a baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes, remove from oven and turn tenders over with a spatula. Bake 7 more minutes. 

Refrigerate until ready to serve. Serve warm or at room temperature drizzled with Mike’s Hot Honey or your favorite honey.  

Note: If serving these on an outdoor picnic, honey may attract bees. Fortunately these pecan chicken tenders are delicious with or without the honey!

Hawaiian Dreams

 Makes 22 small sandwich cookies

  • 16-ounce package refrigerated Nestle Toll House white chip macadamia nut cookie dough
  • ¼ cup finely chopped macadamia nuts
  • ¼ cup sweetened shredded coconut
  • ¼ cup lemon curd

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Flour cutting board and roll out cookie dough into an 8”x10” rectangle. Cut into rounds with a 1 ½” cookie cutter. Gather scraps of dough and roll out again, continue cutting rounds (total 44 round cookies). 

Place cookies on ungreased baking sheet and bake 11 minutes, turning cookie sheet once halfway through baking. Remove from oven and cool.

Spread bottom half of 22 of the cookies with lemon curd (approximately ½ teaspoon for each cookie). Top with ½ teaspoon macadamia nuts and ½ teaspoon coconut on each cookie. Top with another cookie to make a small cookie sandwich. Refrigerate until service. May be made one day ahead and kept in the refrigerator. —

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