Mother's Day Picnic Food Ideas

Chances are if you go on picnics, it's often Mom that does the planning and preparation. Picnics often seem like a snap (but that can also be because you just show up and someone else does all the work). There are many alternatives to whipping out a ton of cookbooks, and frankly, if you're not comfortable in the kitchen, a picnic might not be the best place to start. There are many alternatives for a wonderful afternoon that are available ready-made at your local bodega or even grocery store. The following is a list of the go-to ready-made picnic ingredients at our house. They can be supplemented with your own favourites, but are great on their own:

1. Assortment of cold cuts

2. Selection of cheeses

3. baguette, focaccia or assortment of fresh rolls

4. jar of your favourite mustard (grainy or hot are nice) - optional

5. assorted olives (from the deli section - not canned)

6. roasted red peppers (also from the deli section)

7. fresh fruit like grapes, apples

8. for dessert - cookies are a great picnic choice. Most grocery stores have a fresh assortment.

If you're not in an Italian mood, the next best choice for a quick picnic is still available at the grocery store. The traditional Southern picnic food fried chicken is normally found in most grocery stores now and while it may not be as great as if you made it yourself, a grocery store purchase is much easier (and you won't have to break out the deep fryer). Adding salads like potato (without egg), coleslaw and possibly a pasta salad will certainly round out the deli counter purchases and help fill your basket. For this picnic, I'd add some ready prepped vegetables and a salad dressing for a veggie platter option that is a bit more original than plain old carrots and celery. The dessert choice for this picnic is fresh fruit (remember, we just had fried chicken). Berries in season are a near perfect choice for any dessert. If you're feeling decadent, you can add whipped cream.