::DEPARTMENTS:: Su Cuisine

a perfect day for a picnic

By Cathy Robbins

Whether your picnic is in the backyard, at a family gathering, on a walk in the woods, or at your campground under the stars, the meal can range from a loaf of bread and a hunk of cheese to a gourmet entrée with wine. Rancho de San Juan, a bed and breakfast in northern New Mexico, makes up picnic baskets for guests who don’t want to venture—gastronomically—too far from civilization. Because the inn’s restaurant does not serve lunch or Sunday and Monday dinners, owner and chef John Johnson frequently puts together picnics that guests can eat in their rooms or reheat in the casita kitchens. Rancho de San Juan’s scenic 225 acres in the middle of Black Mesa, between Española and Ojo Caliente, affords views of the Jemez Mountains and a landscape dotted with spectacular rock formations, chamisa, and piñon: land just made for walking—and picnics.

“Views are what we’re about,” says Johnson as he bustles around readying a picnic. His is no ordinary picnic menu: game hens marinated in honey and chile, grilled asparagus with warm potato salad, strawberry and cream cheese tart, and a bottle of wine. Johnson also suggests a cold melon soup to quench a summer thirst.

If you think the menu is a challenge for just a picnic, take some comfort from Johnson, who has never taken a cooking class in his life. “I learned through Julia Child’s cookbook, beginning with Volume I,” he says. He adds other culinary influences—Italian, Asian, New Mexican—to that base. When Johnson plans a picnic, he wants the food to taste as good and look as inviting as it does in Rancho de San Juan’s award-winning restaurant. “I’m a color freak in food,” he says. “I like food to have brightness.” Trained as an architect, Johnson builds a dish from bits and pieces.

Those principles drove his planning for this picnic. The marinade for the game hens borrows from the cuisines of Asia, the Mediterranean, and the New Mexico village of Chimayó. The colors are brick red, white, and green. The chile turns the hens red. “Don’t use cloth napkins or a white tablecloth for this picnic,” Johnson warns. “You’ll never get the chile out.” The oil-and-vinegar-based dressing for the salad keeps the potatoes fresh and pale-looking rather than a soggy mayo mess. Blanching, “shocking” with ice water, and roasting help the asparagus retain its bright green color.

Johnson also recommends a picnic that’s easy to prepare. “Stay away from anything complex,” he says. All the dishes for this picnic are simple, requiring few steps to prepare and cook. Among the foods Johnson avoids are rare roast beef and mayonnaise. Beef can dry out, and mayonnaise can spoil too easily.

“Your taste buds are heightened outdoors for certain things,” he says. Fowl, especially chicken with a highly crusted skin, is Johnson’s meat of choice for a picnic. Other good options are apples, hard cheeses, pasta salad (but avoid butter in preparation), and cold soups, which can be tasty served tepid.

• 2 tablespoons white vermouth
  
• 2 tablespoons chicken stock
  Pour over warm potatoes and toss gently. Set aside until potatoes absorb juices.
  
• 2 tablespoons Champagne vinegar
  
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
  
• 6 tablespoons olive oil
  
• Freshly ground black pepper
  
• 2 tablespoons shallots or green onions, minced
  
• 2 tablespoons chopped red bell peppers
  

  Beat ingredients until mixed. Stir in shallots or green onions. Check the seasonings. Pour over potatoes and toss gently.

Copyright 2002
Hacienda Press