Recipes from the Picnics© cookbook

At the holidays, transportable food becomes important. You are contributing to a potluck at Aunt Lucy’s, or taking dessert for 8 to a dinner party, or sharing cookies at a committee meeting. At the Food Channel, we recognized that some of the same portability found in picnic recipes just might work for the busiest season of the year. We’ve chosen these three for you—whether you need an unusual treat for Christmas brunch, dinner or dessert. Enjoy!

Spanish-Style Tortilla with Potatoes and Spinach

This recipe is similar to a traditional Spanish tortilla, a thin omelet made with potatoes. The potatoes are poached in olive oil, then drained of the remaining oil, making them silken smooth and rich in taste. The omelet keeps well and is good the next day, too. Using prewashed and packaged spinach shaves off a lot of the prep time. If you don’t have a cast-iron skillet, make sure you use a skillet that can stand the heat of a broiler.

1 cup olive oil
1 pound large red potatoes, peeled and cut into ¼-inch rounds
1 ½ cups chopped onion (1 large)
2 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
8 ounces stemmed spinach leaves
7 large eggs
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Heat the olive oil in a 10-inch cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Add the potatoes, onion, and 1 teaspoon of the salt, stirring and turning occasionally, until the potatoes are tender but not browned, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain the potatoes in a colander set over a bowl, reserving the olive oil. Let cool.

In a large pot of lightly salted boiling water, add the spinach and cook for 30 seconds, or until the spinach is wilted. Drain in a colander and run under cold water to stop the cooking. Drain again and using your hands, squeeze hard to extract the water from the spinach as best as you can and roughly chop.

Lightly beat the eggs in a large bowl, then stir in the spinach, the remaining 1 ½ teaspoons salt, and the pepper. Add 1 tablespoon of the reserved olive oil to the skillet over medium heat. Fan the potatoes out to cover the bottom of the pan and add the egg and spinach mixture. Cook over low heat, covered, until the sides are set but the center is still loose, about 12 minutes. Preheat the broiler.

Remove from heat, uncover, and place the tortilla on the top rack directly under the broiler for about 2 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool for about 15 minutes. Using a spatula, gently loosen the sides and slide the tortilla onto a plate. Wait until serving time to slice.

Serves 6 to 8.

Green Beans with Almond Butter-Ginger Dressing

Green beans are often paired with toasted almonds, but tossed with this creamy almond butter dressing, it’s double the pleasure. Almond butter can be found in health food stores and gourmet markets; ideally, look for the kind that has already been emulsified and doesn’t have to be mixed by hand. Mirin, a Japanese sweet rice wine, is available in most gourmet markets. Don’t skip the toasted almonds strewn over the salad; they look beautiful and add a necessary crunch.

DRESSING
2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled
½ cup creamy, unsweetened almond butter
5 tablespoons mirin
¼ cup unseasoned rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon kosher salt

2 pounds trimmed green beans
1 cup sliced natural almonds (about 4 ounces)

To make the dressing: Using a small-holed grater, such as a Parmesan grater, grate the fresh ginger over a medium bowl in order to catch the juice and the pulp. You should have about 1 teaspoon. To the same bowl, add the almond butter, mirin, vinegar, soy sauce, and salt. Use a whisk or fork to combine well.

Add the green beans to a large pot of lightly salted boiling water. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes, or until crisp-tender. Drain in a colander and rinse under cold water to stop the cooking.

In a large dry skillet over medium heat, add the almonds. Stir constantly, about 5 minutes, until fragrant and lightly toasted. Remove from heat and let cool on a plate. In a large bowl, toss the green beans with the dressing, using as much dressing as desired, and scatter it with the almonds. Alternatively, bring the almonds and dressing to the picnic in separate containers and wait to toss them with the green beans until ready to serve.

Serves 6 to 8.

Moist Chocolate Walnut Cake

Pit some fancy chocolate confection against this quick and humble recipe, and I guarantee, this cake will win everyone’s favor. The oatmeal adds a mild, undetectable sweetness, and the brown sugar and melted chocolate chips make it moist and impossible to put down.

1 ¾ cups boiling water
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter at room temperature
2 large eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
One 12-ounce package chocolate chips
¾ cup chopped walnuts (about 4 ounces)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, Grease and flour a 9-by-13-inch cake pan.

In a large bowl, pour the boiling water over the rolled oats. Let stand for 10 minutes. Add the brown sugar, granulated sugar, and butter and stir until the butter melts. Add the eggs and vanilla and combine.

In another large bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. Add to the oatmeal mixture and stir until combined. Add half of the chocolate chips. Pour the batter into the pan and sprinkle the remaining chocolate chips and the walnuts on top. Bake for 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake (a part without a chocolate chip) comes out clean. To transport, leave the cake in the pan, wrap well with plastic wrap, and slice and serve at the picnic.

Serves 10 to 12.

Read the review of Picnics © by Chronicle Books

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Used with permission from Picnics © 2004 by Chronicle Books LLC (text) and Jonelle Weaver (photographs). Used with permission of Chronicle Books LLC, San Francisco. Visit ChronicleBooks.com.

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