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06/29/2016 06:00 AMOne of Marc Deaton’s favorite food events is a picnic.
“At the beach, in the woods, at a park, or just under a tree, I love enjoying some of my favorite foods and sitting with a group of people or just a special friend,” says Deaton, who lives in Madison. “I remember, as a child, very formal picnics with my mother that included a butler, a hamper, and table. I can also enjoy a typical beach picnic with a blanket on the ground and a six-pack of beer or inexpensive bottle of wine. I prefer something in between...the semi-formal picnic...a feast that is beautiful and memorable and most of all easy!”
Deaton’s love of picnics is shared by many on the shoreline and Connecticut River valley. Sometimes it’s a blanket on the beach. Other times it might be a decked-out table complete with tablecloth, candelabra, and the works on the banks of the Connecticut River. Some opt for a quick grab-and-go meal from the local cheese shop or market. Others opt to cook for days in advance. But, when you talk with people about picnics, one common element is that, the occasional candelabra notwithstanding, they are generally informal come-as-you-are gatherings outside in lovely weather with people you enjoy.
Beth O’Bymachow, who lives in Clinton and runs the gift and clothing store Flutterby in Guilford, likes to drive up to Harkness Park in Groton with her family with a “goody basket” of homemade guacamole and chips, fresh wraps, bananas, wine and water. “Bam! You got a picnic,” she says.
Bita Taubes and her husband Chris, who live in Madison, love to picnic at Hammonasset State Park in Madison.
“We Feel Like We Are Away”
“We bring some shrimp to grill, and all the sides. We bring some pasta salad, crudites, and cut fruits. And, of course, a delicious chilled rosé wine to go with it,” she says. “We set up, start the grill, and then we go for a short bike ride around the park and then we eat. Later we go and take a dip in the Sound. We have such a great time and it is about 10 minutes from our home and we feel like we are away at the Cape.”
Kara Pierson, who lives in East Haddam and works at Shore Publishing in Madison, likes to head out to Gillette Castle State Park in East Haddam on the Connecticut River, home to a picnic area, a visitor center, and a real-deal castle that looks like a medieval fortress. She likes to keep it simple, packing fresh fruit, cheese, and a bottle of wine in a cute basket. She says cupcakes are a favorite dessert option, since they’re small and easy to pack.
Robyn Collins, the publisher at Shore Publishing who lives in East Haven, likes to visit wineries on the Connecticut Wine Trail with a basket filled with cheese, crackers, soppressata, and other meats, grapes, and hummus and pretzels. If she’s in the mood to cook, she might also pack a grilled chicken pasta salad, with a recipe from Food.com (www.food.com/recipe/grilled-chicken-pasta-salad-285058). Wineries along the shoreline on the Connecticut Wine Trail include Bishop’s Orchards Winery and Farm Market In Guilford and Chamard Vineyards in Clinton. For more information about the wine trail, visit www.ctwine.com.
“And then, of course, when the garden is ready with my basil and cherry tomatoes, I like to make my homemade pesto, tomato, mozzarella tossed with wheat pasta! And the mozz has to come from Liuzzi. It’s the best mozz I’ve found,” she says.
Grab-and-go Options
Mozzarella from Liuzzi can be found this time of year at many area cheese shops, and supermarkets, and, also at the Liuzzi Gourmet Market, 322 State Street in North Haven, which also stocks a wide variety of other cheeses, meats, and items that are ideal for a grab-and-go picnic. Other cheese shops that are a great place to stop before a picnic include Foxglove & Madison Cheese in Madison, Fromage Fine Foods and Coffees in Old Saybrook, and the Cheese Shop of Centerbrook in Centerbrook.
When Rafael Palma of East Haven is in the mood for a picnic, he looks no further than Robert’s Food Center on Route 80 in North Madison, where he’s worked for almost 18 years in the deli and bakery. He says his favorites for a picnic are the classic trio of potato salad, macaroni salad, and coleslaw. Sometimes he also might add in a tortellini salad, or an orzo salad with spinach, feta, sliced olives, and Italian dressing. He also likes to bring barbecue and buffalo chicken wings or chicken tenders, fresh fruit, and cheese.
His favorite place? Chatfield Hollow State Park in Killingworth, not too far from where he works, which, in addition to picnicking areas, has hiking trails, a swimming beach, trout fishing, mountain biking, and rock climbing. “That’s a pretty good place,” he says.
Al Lauro Jr., of New Haven, likes to cook out when he picnics. His only problem is deciding what to cook. He works as general manager at Ferraro’s on Grand Avenue in New Haven, which has plans to open storefronts soon in Branford and Madison. In addition to a wide array of grab-and-go prepared items, Ferraro’s stocks seven different kinds of gourmet burgers, including original sirloin, “black and blue” (which includes blackening season and blue cheese), buffalo chicken, jalapeño, broccoli rabe and garlic, mushroom and mozz, and bacon and cheddar. They also have many different kinds of hot dogs including, for those with a big appetite, “big bites,” the three-pounders, with flavors that range from natural to Georgia hots.
“It can be hard to choose,” he says.
Fresh and Local
Michael Hafford, the pastry chef and innkeeper at Scranton Seahorse Inn in Madison, often packs picnics for his guests, or for his own friends and family. He often bases his menu off of what he gets in his farmshare from a local farm.
“What makes a really great picnic is fresh local ingredients,” he says. “I’m always a big fan of as many salads as I can pack away. If I were to do a picnic this time of year, I would focus on fresh local spinach and strawberries.”
In addition to the spinach and sliced strawberries, he would add in some thinly sliced onions and feta, and then make a dressing from White Balsamic Vinegar or Strawberry Balsamic Vinegar with mild Frantoio/Leccino Virgin Olive Oil from Chile, all of them from Shoreline Vine in Madison. “I typically would mix three to one of olive oil to vinegar, so to keep it simple, I put in a quarter cup of the balsamic to three quarters cup of the olive oil. I dress the salad lightly, and store the leftovers for later,” he says. Sometimes he might add in grilled chicken marinated in a little olive oil and herbs from his garden, including thyme, parsley, and rosemary. “I would just slice that up and serve it alongside the salad.”
For dessert, he adds in fruits like watermelon, pineapple, strawberries, or cantaloupe, which he says is really ripe and fresh right now. Or maybe a combination of all of those, with no added sugar, “just a little bit of lemon over it.”
To drink, he likes to keep it simple with a lemonade. If he’s feeling more ambitious and the picnic venue allows for alcohol, “maybe a lemonade with Limoncello,” he says. “Or, maybe even a lavender Margarita. There’s a lavender liqueur they sell at the Madison Wine Shop, and it’s called Wild Moon Lavender Liqueur. Mix that with tequila and simple syrup and fresh lavender, and that’s fantastic over crushed ice.” The company that makes Wild Moon Lavender Liqueur, Hartford Flavor Co. out of Hartford, also makes other flavors of liqueurs including rose, cranberry, birch, and chai spice.
David Ferguson, a chef and owner of Family Meal in Guilford and a food columnist for Shore Publishing, says it’s important to set yourself up for success when it comes to packing the picnic.
“Don’t chose anything too elaborate or unwieldy to bring along. Instead, go for recipes and items you know will transport well and are self contained, or don’t require any work on site,” he says. “Also, go for food items that are good at room temperature. Sandwiches that have all their components separate and ready to assemble once you arrive are a good idea, as are simple dips, spreads, and toppings for a baguette. If you do decide to go with transporting something cold, you might want to look into dry ice as a cooling method as opposed to regular ice. It’s less messy, lasts longer, is more easily transported, and it won’t melt and make everything soggy.”
A Prize Winning Picnic
Hafford likes to go to the beach for a picnic, and one of his favorites is the Surf Club in Madison. “I would just pack a basket, go to the beach, and eat,” he says. “I might include a tablecloth, and some nice unbreakable summer plates, and silverware, things that aren’t so precious in case they break or they’re lost. Sturdy things. I don’t like the paper plates. Find a great place to spread the blanket, or sit at the tables, and watch the sun set.”
Another great place to picnic is along the banks of the Connecticut River, says Chris Dobbs, the executive director of the Connecticut River Museum in Essex, that recently hosted a performance of Shakespeare’s Edward III overlooking the river on a balmy spring evening.
Many people in attendance brought picnics and Dobbs awarded a prize to the picnic with the best presentation of food and the quality/aesthetic appeal of the food being served. The prize was a $100 Boater Level membership the museum, which includes free admission to the museum for the family, a 3-hour tie up at a designated floating dock during museum hours, and reciprocal museum privileges to more than 40 museums in the Council of American Maritime Museums.
Dobbs says he’s seen many magnificent picnics during the events along the river including one with antique chairs and a candelabra. He plans to give out another prize to the best picnic at the upcoming performance of Theater Along the River’s production of Taming of the Shrew on Friday, Aug. 5 at the museum.
When Food is Love
Helen and Jack Davis, of Madison, have traveled all over the world, to more than 100 countries in fact, and have had many adventures, but one of the things they look forward to most, every year, is the July Fourth Weekend in their hometown, and picnicking on the Madison Green with family, friends, and 5,000 to 7,000 other people who come for the annual Concert on the Green.
Helen usually brings fried chicken (this year she’s bringing chicken made by Gayle Dufour of What’s Cookin’ in Madison) and brownies (Helen’s recipe includes raisins to make them extra moist and sweet), Jack says he’s bringing olives this year. He says someone else brings a salad. Someone else brings a cake. Someone else brings...
“Oh I don’t know exactly what,” he says of the food, waving his hand dismissively. “It’s not really about the food.”
If not the food, then what is this picnic about?
“It’s about a miraculous transformation of this property into a community of family and friends. Everyone sets up their own space and it’s like a neighborhood,” he says, adding that he particularly enjoys going from one spot to the next, visiting old friends, checking up on them to see how they are doing, and meeting new friends. He says it’s like a party with open arms where no invitations are needed, and everyone is welcome, no matter where they live or what they do or who they are. The event is run by dedicated volunteers and, while donations are requested, it’s otherwise free.
“The only price of admission we have is to be happy,” he says. “How do you get happy? Yes, that’s where the food comes in. That helps. People always have more food than they need and they share with others. When I walk around, it’s ‘Hey Jack, have some of this, have some of that.’ People are free and easy and having a good time.”
Food is love at this picnic, he says.
“And then the music plays, and the guns are firing and the bells are ringing. And then it comes time for the clean up, and there’s a civil exit,” he says. The volunteer firefighters from The North Madison Volunteer Fire Company shine their fire truck lights on the green. “And then people start picking up. There’s garbage all over the place, but then it’s 11 o’clock, midnight, and all the buckets are filled.
“It’s a joyous thing. It’s the joy of sharing food with others. And you don’t need a formal invitation. You want to come? So what, come!” he says, throwing his arms in the air. “Bring a chair. Join us.”
The 34th annual Concert on the Madison Green, presented by Madison Cultural Arts, begins at 5 p.m. on Saturday, July 2 with the Shoreline Youth Symphony Orchestra, the Caribbean band Moto at 6:15 p.m., and Philip Ventre and the Wallingford Symphony Orchestra at 7 p.m. presenting “Shakespeare’s Playlist, “music brought to life by artists interpreting Shakespeare through history on the 400th anniversary of his death. Donations are welcome, but admission is free, and picnickers can start to set up beforehand, but no earlier than 6 a.m. on the day of the event. Blankets, tables, and chairs welcome, but tarps are not. The concert is an alcohol-free event. For more information, visit www.madisonculturalarts.org.