I'm eating watermelon for breakfast, and I'm fairly pleased about that, if only because watermelon here in the UK isn't really a big deal, and it's usually not very juicy or sweet. But it got me thinking about all of the quintessential picnic foods I love, and those I don't. You?

-- Anonymous, July 23, 2000

Answers

Okay, the other day, there was a recipe in this London newspaper for devilled eggs, as if devilled eggs were some exotic delicacy. And, while I would sooner eat my own fingers than eat a devilled egg, I found the sight of them a bit comforting, reminding me of my childhood, when my mother would make devilled eggs for picnics and totally stink out the kitchen. So, I guess you could say that I don't like devilled eggs.

The picnic foods I do kind of miss are green bean casserole (with the mushroom soup and french fried onions on top) and proper baked beans (mixed with ketchup, mustard, brown sugar and sometimes with strips of bacon on top). Also, barbecued anything.

-- Anonymous, July 23, 2000

Jackie, this should tell you how classy my family is... all those foods you just mentioned are my family's Christmas Dinner foods.

For picnics, someone just went and got a bucket of Kentucky Fried....

The Husband-Type Man and I have lots of picnics, though, and enjoy planning Theme Picnics (like when we had our weekly tix for the summer concerts at the Hollywood Bowl): we'd do the Wine, Cheese, Bread and Pate thing one week, PB&J and carrot sticks the next.... I also found a recipie for a sandwich made out of a hollowed-out round loaf of bread, layerd with meats, cheeses, herbs and dressings, and then sliced into pieces. Way yummy.

-- Anonymous, July 23, 2000

Eek! Well, Dwanollah, on my mother's side of the family, those foods would be at our Christmas dinner too, I'm sure. But we always had Christmas dinner with my Dad's side of the family, and it was always 100% Polish food. Yum.

-- Anonymous, July 23, 2000

Which reminds me: saurkraut with Polska kielbasa. Total picnic fare. (I bought some saurkraut this weekend, but it's in white wine instead of...whatever kind of juice saurkraut is normally in. It's okayish.)

-- Anonymous, July 23, 2000

Fried Chicken (I love it cold) Coleslaw potato salad bbq beans (see regional foods thread) pickles roll

I'm trying to think if we ever had a picnic that *didn't* involve those foods...

-- Anonymous, July 24, 2000

Potato salad (and macaroni salad) are at the top of my Most Loathed Foods list, along with devilled eggs. Soz!

I think someone tried to feed me cold fried chicken at a family outing to Cedar Point once, and I spit it out. Imagine the trouble I got in for that...

-- Anonymous, July 24, 2000

I don't like potato salad either, we just always had it at picnics. Cold potatoes are disgusting to me. However, I like cold chicken (you don't like chicken salad??). I went to Cedar Point once and rode that really high rickety one that has the apex point where you can supposedly see Canada. I don't know because my eyes where shut and I was screaming the whole time.

-- Anonymous, July 24, 2000

man, I just re-read my post and had to laugh. I apparently can't type Monday mornings. I meant I rode a *rollercoaster* and "where" is supposed to be "were." I'm sure there are other mistakes, but I'm still waking up.

-- Anonymous, July 24, 2000

Chicken salad -- as long as it doesn't have celery, eggs or anything else yucky in it -- is okay, but cold fried chicken is just nasty.

-- Anonymous, July 24, 2000

Ugh, there is nothing grosser than cold fried chicken. Except maybe potato salad. I'm with y'all on those two. That, and beet salad (or whatever they hell they call it). Nope, I usually didn't even eat anything at family picnics, unless there was fruit or bbq beans or potato chips. Potato salad used to literally make me gag. :-P

-- Anonymous, July 30, 2000

I love picnic food! My mum makes fabulous potato salad. She's always mashed the potatoes and the first time I ever had potato salad that had cubed potatoes, I thought it was kind of odd. However, I managed to adjust and can eat any style of potato salad. I love pasta salad and coleslaw, too. My mum would always also make caramel brownies for picnics. Mmm.

-- Anonymous, August 03, 2000

I had a lot of yummy picnic food today. I love potato salad and I really love macaroni salad. The kinds I had today both had lots of dill; despite my traumatic experience with it as a youth, it was yummy. The potato salad had eggs! Mmmmm.

Caramel brownies sound so good, Maggie.

-- Anonymous, August 05, 2000