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Are you searching for picnic cook books?
A few recommendations
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Although I have a good selection of picnic cook books, I think my all-time favourite must be “Picnics and other outdoor feasts” by Claudia Roden.
It’s a 1981 classic cookery book, which was re-issued in 2001. I don’t know if it’s available in hardback but I’ve got the new paperback version and it’s worth every penny of its £12.99.
Claudia Roden is a leading food writer, who has won numerous awards and this book is a joy to read, as well as cook from.
It’s basically divided into four sections; the first being meals to serve in the garden with easy access to the kitchen and the second, larger section, meals to be prepared in the kitchen and transported. Then there’s part devoted to barbecues and lastly an interesting section on holiday cooking for the traveller.
All in all a stimulating read, firing the imagination with both conventional and exotic recipes. Highly recommended!
With much less reading to do than some other picnic cook books, but with fabulous pictures to pour over and be inspired by, is ”Picnics” by David Herbert, with photography by David Loftus.
A colourful book to have on your kitchen shelf, this cost me £6.99. It’s divided into nine small sections, including lunch on the road, picnic on a boat, teatime in the park and bike ride picnic. Each section has about half a dozen recipe suggestions for the outing described.
I can also recommend a kitchen or coffee table book, simply called - ”The Picnic” by Jane Pettigrew.
This hard-back book, which cost me £9.99, hardly merits the name “picnic cook book” as it only contains 8 recipes among its 80 pages. However, it does have interesting pictures and the history of picnics is explored well.
Jane begins by defining the word picnic, telling us that it did not enter the English language until 1748. It is thought, she says, to have derived from the French pique-nique. This marries the notion of piquer (meaning to nibble or peck at) with nique (a small trifle).
She then goes on to describe the first picnics - Georgian, Regency, Victorian, and Edwardian ones as well as a picnic with Mrs Beeton.
Various kinds of outdoor meals are accounted for, such as picnics with purpose, hunting, shooting and fishing picnics, a day at the races, at Henley Regatta, and at the opera.
The scene is set for pleasing al fresco events with colourful photographs and descriptions of furniture, tableware and hampers.
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