What would you pack for a breakfast picnic?

June 13, 2017 7:32 PM

Mr. McGee helped create a new park/naturalized area with restored prairie habitat that has just opened to the public this spring (he's been working on it for about 10 years), so we thought for Father's Day it'd be really nice to go have a fancy breakfast picnic there and then go for a hike, at the newly-opened picnic area and trails. But this requires me to come up with a slightly fancy breakfast picnic! What should I pack???

Two adults, two kids, and a baby (the baby eats everything) -- no alcohol (park rules) -- leaning towards a variety of "bites". We'll be driving to the park and can stash things in a cooler before and after, but can't heat things there. (The park is 10-15 minutes away, so basically it can go from fridge to cooler to table, no worries about things sitting a long time with questionable refrigeration!) So far I'm at pancake mini muffins (basically, pancake batter mixed with maple syrup cooked in mini muffin tins to make little muffins) and mini-quiche of some variety.

It probably has to be prepped in advance because the chances of me getting up two hours early to cook picnic food before a breakfast picnic are between slim and none!

posted by Eyebrows McGee to Food & Drink (20 answers total)

Fruit kabobs! Fun! Healthy! Pointy!
posted by ersatzkat at 7:34 PM on June 13, 2017 [7 favorites]

Best answer: Crusty bread, brie, and good thick jam is one of my very favorite picnic items. It feels rustic and classy at the same time.
posted by phunniemee at 7:46 PM on June 13, 2017 [10 favorites]

Charcuterie!
posted by emeiji at 7:47 PM on June 13, 2017 [2 favorites]

Breakfast sandwiches- there's infinite options of biscuit/bread/roll/meat/egg/cheese/etc. There's some morning prep required but not too much beyond heating them.
posted by raccoon409 at 7:51 PM on June 13, 2017

Best answer: Bacon. Roasted asparagus (asparagus, olive oil, salt, roast) can be made ahead, warmed up before you go.
posted by theora55 at 7:58 PM on June 13, 2017 [1 favorite]

Honeycomb always feels fancy to me, and is fun at a picnic. Put it on good bread with good butter, or cheese, or apples...

Seconding deviled eggs, for all occasions and all meals.

Stuffed avocado halves are yummy and fancy.
posted by rhiannonstone at 8:00 PM on June 13, 2017

Best answer: My wife makes breakfast pouches filled with eggs, ham or sausage, and cheese, using the Pillsbury baking triangles that come in rolls. The triangle envelope itself has nearly zero nutritive value, but it does make for handy travel food.
posted by megatherium at 8:15 PM on June 13, 2017

Spanish Tortilla w/ Saffron and Potato.

Dice some yukon gold potatoes and a nice white onion. Simmer these together in a sauce pan with enough good extra virgin olive oil to cover. Low and slow, you might be able to do this in your slow cooker if the low setting is low enough. Start the onions first and add the potatoes second. When the potatoes are tender, gently drain the oil through a sieve and save in the fridge for next time or other uses. Like pasta. Because that olive oil now tastes AWESOME.

Return the potatoes and onion dripping in olive oil to a large saute pan. Low heat, season with salt and pepoer, sprinkle in some saffron and stir. Whisk 5 or 6 eggs, pour them into the pan. Mix gently. Grate some asiago cheese on top and sprinkle some parsley. Let set. Place in the oven or under the broiler to get a little brown. .

It's great cut into wedges, served room temperature. It will ruin you for all other egg dishes, none will compare after this. Congratulations and enjoy!
posted by jbenben at 8:18 PM on June 13, 2017 [13 favorites]

I would straight-up go with Polish-style breakfast: various homemade breads, used to make open-face sandwiches with various savory cream cheeses, hummus, mayo if you like it, high-quality butter (e.g. Kerrygold), good-quality cold cuts, sliced Polish sausages, good cheese, hard-boiled eggs, fresh tomatoes/cucumber, and also sweet cream cheese and jam so you can have both savory and sweet. Serve with fresh fruit, tea (lapsang souchong?) and coffee. This is my favorite style of breakfast in any situation and would make a beautiful picnic.
posted by snowmentality at 8:40 PM on June 13, 2017 [6 favorites]

Fresh bagels, nice lox, capers, cornichons, sliced tomatoes, cucumbers, and red onions. Even if the kids don't like lox, a tomato and cucumber sandwich with cream cheese on a bagel constitutes a delightful breakfast. Add a good assortment of berries and one of those pourable cardboard containers of coffee and I think you're good.

You may want to actually get the bagels and coffee that morning but everything else can be worked out beforehand.
posted by potrzebie at 9:21 PM on June 13, 2017 [3 favorites]

Best answer: Mmm, a nice quiche with goat cheese, sausage and sweet potato, with basil. Your choice of caffeinated beverage in a thermos. A big bowl of berries - strawberries, blueberries, blackberries -- paired with homemade whipped cream that you can dip your berries in.

Also, make sure to bring a bluetooth speaker and play some nice relaxing music, and the most epic-ally large picnic blanket.
posted by ellerhodes at 9:30 PM on June 13, 2017

Crusty bread, brie, and good thick jam is one of my very favorite picnic items. It feels rustic and classy at the same time.

I came here to say this, except camembert instead of brie.
posted by aubilenon at 9:32 PM on June 13, 2017

Trifle. Separately pack cake in chunks (it's supposed to be a little bit stale), custard, heavy cream in a big jar to whip on the spot by shaking, chopped up fruit, and a little liqueur. Maybe some toasted nuts or even bite-size meringues. Serve at will into individual bowls or Mason jars -- also works for a group if no two people can eat the same things.

Not that every idea here isn't a winner. Hail to Mr. McGee, friend of the prairie!
posted by clew at 11:26 PM on June 13, 2017

I was thinking mini waffle and french toast sticks because I like finger foods and those aren't things I eat often, but they might not be "grownup" enough for Father's Day.

Also - new park?! Wow! Does anybody else now think Mr. McGee is as awesome as Eyebrows?!
posted by Ms Vegetable at 4:43 AM on June 14, 2017 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Crustless quiche in mini muffin holders! I use the base for my quiches from Alexandra Cooks and have had great success. I vary ingredients of ham, gruyere, Swiss, mushrooms, and spinach. My 15 month old LOVES this quiche recipe. It's super easy to make it crustless and just pour the mixture into cupcake liners in a mini muffin tray - and poof! Mini quiches!
posted by Suffocating Kitty at 5:22 AM on June 14, 2017 [3 favorites]

Best answer: I'd pack mini-quiches, fruit and mini-scones or mini-muffins. I like the Costco premade appetizer quiches in the frozen section.
posted by sarajane at 5:23 AM on June 14, 2017

If this were me throwing this party, I would go to the staggeringly-delicious-but-correspondingly-pricey bakery and buy a selection of their pastries; they have all kinds but I'd focus on sweet, and because they're enormous chop them into mix-and-match two-bite pieces so everyone can have some of everything. And I'd make single-serve quiches - not bite-size 2" appetizers, but baked in my biggest muffin pan or in custard cups, or whatever gets you a 4-5" round serving. Whatever recipe sounds practical to you - make the crust, or do the Bisquick kind, or the line the cups with ham. But you can make the night before and underbake, then warm in the morning, and put in a small ice-free cooler to stay warm - doesn't have to be hot, room-temp quiche is delicious (but personally chilled quiche is yukky to me). Bonus with individual pies is twofold - for one, it's fancy, and for two, it gets personalized so you can have grownup flavors without worrying whether small goons will eat it.
posted by aimedwander at 8:13 AM on June 14, 2017

Ctrl-f croissants: 0 hits. WTF?

Fresh croissants with jam are one of life's great pleasures.
posted by rabbitrabbit at 1:01 PM on June 14, 2017

Response by poster: Okay, I've been cooking yesterday and today and SO FAR, I have mini pancake muffins; mini pancake muffins with M&Ms (kids helped cook); bite-sized pork-apple sausage rolls (like a homemade sausage wrapped in puff pastry); mini muffins with parmesan, proscuitto, and basil; mini-bagels with cream cheese; fresh berries with whipped cream; and Krispy Kreme donut holes. Tomorrow I'm going to make mini-quiches (store-bought, quiche lorraine); and bacon to serve cold. To drink we'll have Capri Sun lemonade (kids again) and hot tea in a thermos. So I still have to figure out how to pack that all, but I think the kids will be super-excited with the big assortment! I'll try to take a pinteresty picture of my many bites on Sunday. :)
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 10:29 PM on June 16, 2017

Response by poster: Prepicnic packing pic, clockwise from bagel: Mini bagel; mini pancake muffin; mini pancake muffin with M&Ms; mini quiche lorraine; mini bacon; mini fruit (berries!); donut hole; mini savory muffin, parmesan proscuitto and basil; and in the center, mini pork sausage roll with shredded apple and carrot.

Also whipped cream, cream cheese, and capri sun lemonade. :)
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 7:41 PM on June 17, 2017