Lucky us, Colorado offers perfect picnic weather from spring through to fall and many places to do it, too. Whether you head to the park (especially during a concert or movie!), to the mountains (sitting among the flora and fauna), or even just in your back yard, there’s something about the fresh air and novelty of it all that just makes everything taste even better. Here are some ideas we’ve found for a great Colorado picnic menu.
Everything can, and should be done in advance so that all you have to do is pack up and picnic.
Colorado Picnic Menu Main Dish: Pressed Sandwich
Serves 2-4 depending on appetite and size of bread
Core Ingredients:
1 Loaf Italian or French bread that’s neither too soft nor too crusty, sliced in half, lengthwise (round or oblong)
1-2 Thinly-sliced bell peppers of your liking (green, yellow, red, or orange)
1 English cucumber, cut in half, then thinly sliced lengthwise to create long slices versus circles
2 Roma tomatoes, sliced lengthwise with seeds removed
1-2 TBS mayonnaise
Vinaigrette made from 2 parts olive oil to 1 part red wine or balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper to taste and dried herbs of your liking including oregano, basil, and rosemary (don’t worry if you make too much dressing – you’ll use it another time)
Suggested additions:
Eggplant that has been sliced thinly, lengthwise and sauteed in olive oil until softened – cool before adding to the sandwich
Zucchini or yellow squash, treated the same as the eggplant
Avocado slices or mash
Canned tuna, salmon, or mackerel (drained of liquids)
Deli or Cured meats, thinly sliced
Cheese of choice such as provolone, brie, or crumbled feta or goat cheese
Hard boiled eggs, thinly sliced. Here’s a great boiling how-to from the Colorado Egg Producers.
Assembly Method:
1. If your bread is just too thick, pinch out some of the center (dry it to make bread crumbs for another use).
2. Place the bottom half of the bread near one edge of a big piece of plastic wrap that you’ve eye-balled so that it’s long enough to wrap around the sandwich when it’s done.
3. With a pastry brush (we like rubber ones), put some of the mayo and vinaigrette on both of the cut sides of the bread.
4. Start laying down your veggies, cheeses, and meats/fish of choice but with wetter ingredients like tomatoes and fish in the middle layer. Carefully pour more dressing over the fillings. Add another layer of the dryer ingredients like peppers and eggplant.
5. Put the top of the bread on the sandwich and, with your fingers on top of the bread but your thumbs under the plastic wrap, start to roll the sandwich up in the plastic wrap, tightly, tucking the ends in as you go (think burrito!) until the entire sandwich is wrapped up and enclosed. Use more plastic wrap if you need it.
6. Promptly refrigerate the wrapped sandwich. If you used a firmer bread, like a French baguette, press it down with a couple of heavy cans in the fridge. If it was softer bread, this isn’t as necessary because having wrapped it tight will help smush everything a little, letting the vinaigrette make its way around.
7. Keep the sandwich refrigerated until it’s time to leave. Take a serrated knife to the picnic to cut off portions (cut through the plastic and remove it as you eat. Or, cut portions before leaving but wrap the sandwich up again in another layer of plastic wrap to keep it together. Another option is to make individual sandwiches with squares of focaccia and wrap/press them.
What else is In Good Taste? This Smoked Deviled Egg recipe.
Colorado Picnic Menu Side Dish: Street Corn Salad
Recipe courtesy of Chef Brett Newman of Project Angel Heart. Hear our podcast interview with the founder.
Ingredients:
6 Whole corn cobs
2 TBS olive oil
1 Red bell pepper, diced
1 Bunch fresh cilantro, chopped
1 Jalapeño, diced (discard seeds)
1/2 Large red onion, diced
2/3 Cups cotija cheese
Dressing:
3 TBS sour cream or Greek yogurt
2 TBS mayonnaise
4 TBS lime juice (or two limes, squeezed)
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp chili powder
Method:
1. Rub corn with olive oil and grill or roast in the oven at 400-450 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until tender. Cut corn off the cob once cooled.
2. In a large bowl, add red bell peppers, jalapenos, cilantro, and onions with grilled corn and mix.
3. In a small bowl, add all the dressing ingredients and mix well until smooth.
4. Add dressing and half of the cotija cheese to the corn mixture and mix well.
5. Top the salad with the rest of the cotija cheese.
Colorado Picnic Menu Side Dish: Grilled Asparagus
Recipe courtesy Chef Jason K. Morse, C.E.C., 5280 Culinary, LLC and Ace Hardware Grill Expert of through the Colorado Department of Agriculture
Ingredients:
1 bunch (about 12oz.) fresh asparagus
2 TBS olive oil
Seasoning spice blend of choice, to taste
2 TBS honey
1 lemon, cut into wedges
Method:
1. Rinse and air dry asparagus and trim off woody ends.
2. Place into a mixing bowl or aluminum disposable pan, then lightly coat with oil and season to taste with seasoning blend. Mix well to ensure asparagus are fully coated with the seasoning and oil and let sit for 10-15 minutes.
3. Heat grill to 550-600 degrees F.
4. Add the grilling pan and heat for 5 minutes before adding the asparagus.
5. Lightly toss the asparagus again to coat once more then place it onto a perforated grill pan in a shallow layer and close the lid (don’t over-fill or they’ll steam instead of grill).
6. Cook for 3 minutes and turn/toss the asparagus once to get more grill flavor on all sides, then cook for another 3 minutes.
7. Remove the pan using a towel to protect your hands (IGTD loves oven gloves).
8. Finish with a squeeze of fresh lemon.
Note: If Asparagus isn’t in season, we’d suggest using various squash such as zucchini and yellow squash, cut into fourths, like spears. Use the same method although they may take less or more time to grill than asparagus.
Colorado Picnic Menu Dessert: S’mores in a Jar
Serves 4-6
Ingredients:
1 Table Mountain Farm S’mores Kit (which contains amazing, slightly soft yet crunchy grahams dusted with cinnamon sugar, hand-cut marshmallows with flecks of vanilla beans, and Salted Dark Chocolate caramel sauce)
A Mason-type jar with tight-fitting lid
Skewer to roast the marshmallow if desired
Method:
1. Using a scissors, cut the marshmallows in half.
2. Crumble or crush (your preference) half a graham cracker into the jar and drizzle some of the chocolate sauce over it.
3. If you don’t want to toast your marshmallows, you can chop them up into smaller pieces and layer them in with graham crackers and sauce, alternating. If you want to toast them, just know that, because Table Mountain Farm’s marshmallows are housemade, as a sheet, they don’t have that odd powdered coating store-bought marshmallows do. So that means they get a little more melty when you heat them. If you have a gas stove, you can try toasting them over the flame, moving them pretty fast because they melt. Amanda Adare, owner of Table Mountain Farm has also baked them in the oven or toaster oven or used a creme brulee torch.
4. Keep layering graham cracker / sauce / marshmallow to fill your container. If you did heat the marshmallows, allow the contents to cool before putting the lid on. If you didn’t, put the lid on you’re ready to pack up.
What else is In Good Taste? 10 Reasons to Love Table Mountain Farms
Colorado Picnic Menu: Beverage Suggestions
NSFW White from Carlson Vineyards in Palisade, Colorado, one of our favorite local wineries.
Aperture Chenin Blanc 2020 from Aperture Cellars which produces Bordeaux varieties in the cool climate regions of Sonoma County.
Hooch Booch hard kamboocha using spirits from Boulder Spirits to make prohibition-era cocktails.
Our favorite non-alcoholic option is Gruvi which makes non-alcoholic beer and wine. Pick some up at Whole Foods, Natural Grocers, Total Wine & More and at their new pop-up tasting lounge running through the summer on 1455 S. Pearl St.
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