Lazy Food - Picnic Talk With California’s Best Chefs

The first time Wolfgang Puck went to the Hollywood Bowl, a friend asked him to bring a salmon en croute. “I made a big one--usually they’re for six,” he says. “This one was for 16. When he arrived at the Bowl, he paraded the salmon all over the place--he had to show everyone. And he let each person taste a little bit of the puff pastry. Then he sat down and ate so much of the salmon he got sick.

“I don’t make salmon en croute very often anymore,” Puck says. “But my wife, Barbara, and I still go to the Hollywood Bowl. Now I bring a roasted leg of baby lamb that I can carve there. With that, I like a cold ratatouille made with balsamic vinegar and lots of basil and peppers--it’s both a vegetable and a sauce. That kind of food reminds me of eating outdoors in France or Italy.

“For dessert, I serve some kind of fresh summer fruit, like a peach cobbler or an apricot pie. I like to make some ice cream the day before so it stays frozen. That way it’s a little soft and just right when we serve it.

“During intermission we eat some cookies and drink a nice bottle of Muscat Canelli from Bonny Doon. Then I can go to sleep and go to heaven. I could do that every day.”

Michel Richard, owner of Citrus and possessor of the most delicately French cooking styles around, likes to go to Big Bear and recreate the rough-hewn picnics of his memory.

“When I was a boy growing up in the Champagne country, my mother would take us on picnics in the woods near Mont Bijoux,” he says. “We’d have jambon de campagne (like French prosciutto), salami with butter, cold chicken with mayonnaise, a tomato salad always made with hard-boiled eggs and a shallot-parsley vinaigrette, green bean salad with vinaigrette, strawberries marinated in red wine and lemon, and a big piece of Camembert cheese. We’d tie a bottle of red wine to a string and then let it sit in the stream to chill.

“That’s exactly what I would want to have in my picnic basket now. The only things I’d change would be maybe having a cold, cold beer in the stream, and maybe have a piece of Brie rather than Camembert. We never got Brie in the Ardennes and I never tasted it until I moved to Paris. And now that I’m grown up, I’d have a pear brandy and a cigar afterwards and play with my son and daughter in the stream all day long.”

Marion Cunningham, Bay Area author of the last two editions of “The Fannie Farmer Cookbook,” also longs for the picnics of her past--in Southern California.

“My favorite picnic spot is Woods Cove in Laguna Beach in Southern California,” she says. “Sitting high above the water on the cliff with trees and grass, one sees a vista of white foam, sand and an eternity of ocean disappearing into the horizon. There can’t be a more perfect sight or a more lovely niche for eating something simple and good.

“There is always a gentle breeze, so one doesn’t yearn for chilled food. I like grilled flank steak sandwiches and parsley salad. This is satisfying, filling fare, but it is not rich and weighty. Flank steak is almost fat-free and has lots of flavor enhanced by being marinated overnight in olive oil, thyme and lots of garlic. Quickly grilled and thinly sliced, it is served in a hollowed-out French roll that is buttered--and mustard for those who like it.

“I like to add my parsley salad to the sandwich, although it is nice served separately with crisp, raw onion rings and tomato slices. Parsley salad is made of the little bristly tops with the stems removed, dressed with a vinaigrette, lots of black pepper and Parmesan cheese. It is a salad that doesn’t wilt, hence perfect for picnics. Serve olives, pickles or chow chow on the side.

“Dessert is a fresh orange cake made with a whole ground orange, so the true orange flavor comes across with a refreshing zest. The wine should be in the style of an Italian Chianti or a California Barbera.”

Michael Roberts, chef/owner of Trumps restaurant in West Hollywood and author of “Fresh From the Freezer,” remembers a picnic watching the Sunday polo matches on the bluffs of Pacific Palisades.

“I pack only things to be eaten with hands--sandwiches, not the voluptuous American kind, but meager ones on thin, crusty country bread,” Roberts says. “I have the shop thinly slice the bread the length of the round loaf. On goes a sliver of Virginia ham with horseradish. The other sandwich is roasted peppers, watercress and Gruyere with hot mustard. I have whole artichokes and dip the leaves into a garlic mayonnaise. And I remove the chokes before packing the picnic so I don’t have to use tableware. There’s no table, so why have tableware? For pickles, little sweet gherkins. Marinated vegetables like yellow wax beans fill out the menu. Nectarines, berries and cookies finish the meal.”

MICHAEL ROBERTS’ MARINATED VEGETABLES

6 tablespoons olive oil

2 heads Belgian endive, halved lengthwise

2 large leeks (white parts only), cleaned, trimmed and cut in halves lengthwise

1 bunch celery, trimmed, topped and cut in quarters or sixths, depending on size

1 cup water

Salt, pepper

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1/2 pound yellow wax beans

Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in large skillet. Add endive, cut side up, and cook until browned. Remove from skillet and set aside.

Add leeks, celery and water to skillet. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add endive. Cover and cook until tender, about 3 minutes for endive, 5 minutes for leeks, 7 minutes for celery. Remove vegetables as done and set aside.

Add vinegar to liquid in skillet and cook until reduced by half. Pour into small bowl and cool to room temperature. Beat in remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil until blended.

Meanwhile, bring pan of salted water to boil. Add beans and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Plunge into ice water. Drain and dry on paper towels.

Combine vegetables and dressing in sealable plastic bag or plastic picnic container. Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Note: Recipe can be made day before, but do not combine vegetables and dressing until morning of picnic.

WOLFGANG PUCK’S CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

1/2 cup unsalted butter

6 tablespoons granulated sugar

6 tablespoons brown sugar, packed

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 egg

2 2/3 cups sifted pastry or all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon baking soda dissolved in 2 teaspoons hot water

1 cup chopped nuts

1 cup chocolate chips

Cream butter with electric mixer until light. With mixer running slowly, add granulated sugar, brown sugar, vanilla, salt, egg, flour and dissolved baking soda. Mix just until blended. Stir in nuts and chocolate chips.

If dough is too soft, chill to firm. Shape into 1-inch balls. Place on baking sheet, leaving 2 inches in between.

Bake at 350 degrees 15 to 17 minutes, or until golden brown and very slightly soft. Cool slightly on baking sheet, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely. Store cookies in airtight container. Makes about 36 cookies.

MARION CUNNINGHAM’S PARSLEY SALAD

6 tablespoons olive oil

2 cloves garlic

1 1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

Salt

Freshly ground pepper

4 cups parsley, stems removed, leaves torn into pieces

1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Combine olive oil and garlic in blender or food processor and process until garlic is smoothly incorporated into oil. Add vinegar. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Just before serving, combine parsley and Parmesan cheese in bowl and toss with dressing. Makes 4 to 6 servings.