I picked up my friend from the airport on Mother's day. After "very little" searching, we found a nice, quaint spot to set up. I just tried to make things easy to eat and that would hold up well in the heat (so little dairy). Needless to say, I had a great time.
The Food:
One of my favorites foods in the world is bacon-wrapped dates. It's super easy to make, surprisingly tasty, and very versatile. There are several types of dates out there but I prefer Medjool dates since they usually have a good size and are widely available.
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| From Amicus Curry |
Why did the banana ask out the prune?
The experience of biting into a delicious and juicy date with a seed is the pits! Speaking of, be sure to take the pits out of the dates. It's as easy as taking a paring knife and cutting half way into the date and then digging out the seed.
Take some good thick cut bacon and wrap it around each date. Use a toothpick to secure the bacon around the date. Make sure you soak the toothpicks in some water so that they don't catch on fire or char.
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| From Amicus Curry |
Take some good thick cut bacon and wrap it around each date. Use a toothpick to secure the bacon around the date. Make sure you soak the toothpicks in some water so that they don't catch on fire or char.
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| From Amicus Curry |
Variations: You can stuff the dates with blue cheese or fruit marmalade. I prefer the blue cheese since the marmalade can make the dates too sweet. I didn't use blue cheese here since my guest doesn't eat moldy cheese (know your audience).
Pesto-Chicken Sandwich
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| From Amicus Curry |
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| From Amicus Curry |
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| From Amicus Curry |
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| From Amicus Curry |
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| From Amicus Curry |
After putting on all the veggies, place the pesto chicken (preferably refrigerated for a couple hours) on top.
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| From Amicus Curry |
To Drink:
I took pineapple cubes and mango slices and soaked them in vodka. I put the mix into the freezer for a couple of hours.
The pineapples and mango would act as "ice cubes" and keep the drink cold.
When it was time to drink, I combined the pineapple/mango mix with an orange soda (I actually used a drink that was very similar to Orangina).
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| From Amicus Curry |
The pineapples and mango would act as "ice cubes" and keep the drink cold.
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| From Amicus Curry |
No picnic would be complete without dessert. I admit I don't have a sweet tooth so I really don't know how to make desserts. Because my lack of desserting diligence, I picked up a serving of banana pudding (or nana pudding as it was called) believe it or not at a local gas station. It was my first time ever having it and hopefully not my last.
All in all---a good first attempt at picnic-ing. Would love to do it again....in Hawaii.
What a spread! You must really like this girl if you were willing to put forth so much effort to feed her, though I'm sure she was worth all of that and more.
ReplyDeleteIn your drink, did you use fresh or frozen fruits? And where did you purchase the orange soda? I'd like to try and replicate the recipe for my friend's pool party this coming saturday.
As an avid reader of your blog and a HUGE admirer of you personally, I'd like to thank you for all the time and effort you put into the literary work of art you call amicus curry.
Wowza...that is some work of art.
ReplyDeleteFresh fruit always trumps frozen, but if you are in a "squeeze" frozen works just fine. Either way alcohol and for that fact alcoholics usually won't know the difference.
ReplyDeleteThe spread was big, but the smile on this girl's face was even larger. It was one of those smiles where you thought to yourself..."man a baby angel just got their wings somewhere out there."
I digress--- fresh over frozen, classical over country, and Saturdays over Sundays....
As Always,
Dan
as always, awesome post. Can't wait to try it out. Where do you get pesto? Is it pre prepared? Also, where did you get the date bacon idea?
ReplyDeleteSaira- the Pesto i get at Trader Joe's and I have used it for pizza and pastas. They do make a very good one. You can make your own if you are feeling up to it with salt, pepper, parmesan cheese, a ton of basil, roasted pine nuts, garlic cloves, and some good olive oil. Just throw all of it in a blender.
ReplyDeletethe Bacon-wrapped dates was a dish i tried in Sevilla, Spain after a night of watching Flamenco dancing. I channeled the inner tourist in me that night.