Patriotic Picnic Picks

Red, white and blue potato salad, homemade pimiento cheese, tomato olive bread, corn salad and watermelon comprised our July 4th picnic menu on an extremely hot holiday.  We thoroughly enjoyed our South Carolina pimiento cheese, so I thought I'd give it a try.  I made my favorite tomato olive bread to go with it.

Pimiento Cheese

(1 cup)

Mix mayonnaise, ground pecans and goat cheese with pepper and salt.  Add pimientos.  
1/4 cup mayonnaise with olive oil
2 tablespoon ground pecans
Fresh ground pepper
1/16th teaspoon salt
2 ounce goat cheese
2 ounce diced jarred pimientos, drained

Stir in shredded cheeses.
3 ounce extra sharp white aged Cheddar, shredded
2 ounce Gouda, shredded
  
Tomato Ciabatta with Olives

(2 Loaves-16 Servings)

Saute peppers and onions until soft.  Add:
1 tsp. Olive Oil
1/4 cup Yellow Onions, diced
1/4 Sweet Red Pepper

Add tomato paste, olives, tomatoes and cayenne.  Set aside to cool.
2 Tbsp. Tomato Paste
Dash Cayenne
1/3 cup diced Kalamata Olives
1/2 cup Tomatoes, diced 

Mix in bowl of electric mixer
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 Tbsp. rapid rise yeast
1 tsp. sugar

Slowly add water.  Beat at medium speed 2 minutes.
1 3/4 cup Water (125 degrees)
Add 1 cup flour. salt and oil.  Beat at medium speed 2 minutes.
1 cup whole wheat Flour
2 Tbsp.olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
 
With dough hook, continue to beat at low speed, adding
Tomato olive mixture
3/4 cup semolina flour
1 cup all purpose flour
Knead until dough leaves side of bowl.
Cover and let rise for 1 hour. 
Punch dough in half.  On pastry cloth sprinkled with flour, shape with hands into long loaves. Place in double baguette type pans sprayed with Pam.
Bake at 450 degrees for 25 minutes.  Remove from pan and cool on rack. 

Red, White and Blue Potato Salad

(Serves 4)

Scrub and cook in boiling water.  Remove from water according to size when done.  Peel when cool.  Dice.  Add diced celery and tomato.  Toss with cooked salad dressing.

12 ounce red, white and blue Potatoes, diced uniformly

Cooked Potato Salad Dressing

Combine sugar, dry mustard, flour and egg in double boiler.  Cook until thick.  Remove from heat.  Stir in water and vinegar.  Return to heat to thicken.

2 tbsp sugar

1/2 dry mustard

1 1/2 tbsp  flour

1 beaten egg

1/4 cup water

2 tbsp. vinegar

In place of a double boiler, use 2 pans that fit together, heating water in the bottom pan and the ingredients in the top pan.

 

Corn Salad

(Serves 4)

Mix ingredients and chill.
1 ear of corn, cooked and cut off the cob
1/3 cup diced fresh tomatoes
1 mini cucumber, diced
2 tablespoon fresh snipped chives
Fresh basil and parsley, snipped
1 tablespoon vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil

Our picnic today was at Teter Creek Wildlife Management Area near Philippi, West Virginia.  It was a very hot day, but we found a favorite spot in the shade with a little breeze.  Our cold picnic foods were delicious.  We stopped on our trip back to town for ice cream!