A Presidio Picnic, with Italian Pressed Sandwiches

Remember when I told you that I looove to have dinner parties?  Well, that same passion applies to picnics, barbecues, and brunch dates with friends; anytime I can put together a little meal to feed someone, I am a happy camper.  So imagine my delight when I realized I had advanced to Round 6 of Project Food Blog (woo hoo!!!) and that I had the pleasure of packing up a picnic lunch to take on the road that will travel well and still look great!  To celebrate the end of picnic and barbecue season I decided to kick my usual picnic fare up a notch. I hope you really enjoy the picnic lunch I planned, and that you will continue to show your support and vote for me in this round! 

Before we officially get into my menu, here are a few things I keep in mind when planning to take food anywhere on the go:


-Food that is compact and self-contained (ie. does not have lots of sauces, condiments, etc.) transports best, and creates the least amount of mess.  This also means you don't need to worry about 'assembling' dishes after you arrive at your picnic or party.
-When appropriate, I use high-quality prepared foods that I know are as good as 'homemade.'  This saves time and energy.
-If possible, I like to stick with foods that don't need much cutlery or serving utensils; since it is a picnic, it is more fun to eat with your hands anyway!
-I always think about the aesthetics of my food, and try to keep things festive, fun, and colorful, or use packaging that translates into ease of transportation.   
-I choose dishes that are relatively easy to make, or that I have made before and loved, so there are no snafus and everything tastes fabulous and fresh! 


Keeping these things in mind, I formulated my picnic menu:

Drink: Pomegranate Berry Spritzer

Snack: Parmesan and Gruyere Cheese Straws

Main: Sopressata and Provolone Italian Pressed Sandwiches

Side: Shredded Red Cabbage Salad with Pistachios

Dessert: Spiced Pear and Cranberry Pocket Pies

I got all my food and drinks ready to go, I loaded up my Project Food Blog cooler, and I headed out to meet my good friend Jill at the Presidio of San Diego for an afternoon picnic.  

To start out my menu and wash down all these delicious picnic treats, I decided to go with a refreshing Pomegranate Berry Spritzer.  The good folks over at POM had sent me some awesome POM wonderful and I was eager to try it out!  Pomegranates are loaded with antioxidants, so this drink not only tasted great, but also was healthy too.  Since pomegranates have a sweet-tart flavor, I decided to boost the sweetness factor by making a simple syrup from blueberries and blackberries.  The simple syrup combined with the POM and lime sparking mineral water was a perfect combo and was so easy to make by just bringing along the bottles of POM, a bottle of mineral water, and the syrup in a small container.  Plus, who can resist the deep ruby color of pomegranate juice!   

Next, I decided to include a little 'snack' with my picnic lunch, mostly because I started thinking about Parmesan and Gruyere Cheese Straws and just couldn't get them out of my head.  I mean, if any of you have ever been lucky enough to try these savory treats, then you know what I am talking about.  Picture parmesan and gruyere melted to perfect golden perfection on top of crunchy pastry, and then add just the slightest hint of thyme and garlic.  They are beyond good.  By using frozen puff pastry and this super easy recipe from Ina Garten, you can have yourself some fancy-looking cheese straws without any fuss.  This is a recipe I have used for parties and picnics for years now, so I know it is a winner!         

My main dish for this picnic was really the 'piece de resistance' of my whole menu, and my most favorite dish as well.  These Italian Pressed Sandwiches combine several factors of ideal picnic food all in one perfect little package.  

First, this sandwich is silly-easy to make because there is no cooking or baking.   I took a cue from Ina Garten (I just love her!) and followed her principle that some of the best dishes are made by simply 'assembling' high-quality ingredients.  For starters, this sandwiches uses fantastic ciabatta from local Bread and Cie.  Next, the bread is topped with freshly-made, purchased pesto (from a deli, not a jar) as well as amazing garlic and herb roasted tomatoes.  To add more Italian flair, I chose to use Fra Mani sopressata, which is handmade salumi of excellent quality.  This particular one was only slightly spicy and sliced paper thin.  Lastly, I used high-quality provolone and fresh basil leaves from the farmer's market to add extra flavor.  

To make these into 'pressed sandwiches,' basically all you do is assemble all the ingredients, wrap the whole loaf tightly with plastic wrap, and then weigh it down in the refrigerator overnight.  This compresses all the ingredients together, really infusing the flavors, and also creating a tight compact sandwich where none of the ingredients will fall out and make a mess.  

Once your sandwich is 'pressed,' you can slice your loaf into larger sandwiches, if perhaps you have several hungry Italian men coming to your picnic. 

Or if you are like me, and just planning a small picnic lunch for two petite gals, you can slice the loaf into smaller squares or rectangles that make perfect finger food.  Slicing all four sides of the individual sandwiches also showcases the beautiful colors of each layer of ingredients.

And then, if you are feeling really special and want to take your picnic to the next level, you can individually wrap each sandwich in parchment and tie them up with some cute string.  These might not be totally appropriate for those hungry Italian men I was mentioning earlier...but who cares, because they are adorable!  Wrapping each sandwich also provides for easy transport for picnics, work lunches, plane food, etc, because they are self-contained and easy to serve.  (And who knew?  Those cute strings also make great headbands and bracelets!) 

When I thought about the side dish I wanted to serve for my picnic lunch, I knew right away I would go with my Shredded Red Cabbage Salad with Pistachios.  I personally say this salad is a winner, but I have had several other readers tell me they love it too!  Check out my original post with the recipe, and you will see that I have numerous reasons why I love this salad (especially because it has pistachios.  I love them!).  To make this salad even more special for my picnic, I had a lightbulb moment and decided to serve it in the leftover leaves from the whole red cabbage.  Edible plating!  

And finally, for dessert, I wanted to go with something seasonal and appropriate for a lunch for two.  This ruled out making whole cakes or pies, but I realized making individual pocket or 'hand' pies would be a perfect solution.  Plus, they are darn cute.  For the filling I used a mixture of spiced pears and dried cranberries, specifically the orange-flavored ones from Trader Joe's; this gave the filling a citrus-kick that was unexpected and really lovely. I also chopped up all the ingredients really finely because I didn't want to have to cook the filling and it worked out perfectly.  

These Spiced Pear and Cranberry Pocket Pies are absolutely made for transport on their own because they are sturdy and self-contained (I took the red eye flight to Ohio last night and and I brought home three for my family, they held up beautifully); but, to make them pretty and perfect for picnics as well as gift-giving, I packaged them in bags tied with raffia and a sprig of thyme.  My friend Jill thought they were so awesome that she squealed when she saw them. (This is precisely the reaction I was hoping for.)  Look for my post this week to get the recipe for these Spiced Pear and Cranberry Pocket Pies! 

All around San Diego, from beaches to inland parks, there are incredible places to have a picnic; Jill's husband Tristan suggested the Presidio because it is high on a hill overlooking the city, and on a rainy Saturday afternoon it seemed the best place to go to try and catch the few rays of sunshine peeking through the clouds.  The Presidio is a really beautiful and unique location, because it provides panoramic views, and it was also the first permanent European settlement on the Pacific Coast.  From a botanical perspective, it is an interesting place because there are palm trees, eucalyptus trees, pine groves, and also plenty of flowers all within close proximity.  For us, it proved to be the perfect spot for our picnic with a clean, cool breeze and just a hint of sunshine.    

All in all, the picnic turned out to be fantastic.  Each dish that I prepared exceeded my expectations, and the lunch was a wonderful meal with an even more wonderful friend.  We even managed to sneak past the rain and get a little fresh air while we caught up on life.  I wish I could have picnics everyday, but this was definitely a great way to welcome in fall with some color and celebration. 


***This is my sixth entry for Project Food Blog challenge.   We were asked to make a meal that travels well and still looks good for eating food on the go.  For my entry I wanted to take typical picnic fare and make it more special and I hope you like each one of my dishes!  I am an especially big fan of the Italian Pressed Sandwiches and the Pocket Pies, and I hope you will give them a try.  If you liked this post I would love it if you would vote for me!   You can check out my profile on Foodbuzz and vote starting 8AM PST, on Monday October 25th.   Thanks SO much for your support and encouragement!  


   

POM Berry Spritzers 
(makes 4)


16 oz POM wonderful, or 100% pomegranate juice
16-18 oz sparking mineral water (I used lime flavored)
1/2 cup berry simple syrup: (3/4 cup blueberries, 1 1/4 cup blackberries, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup water)
Ice


First make berry simple syrup.  In a medium saucepan, combine all ingredients and stir over high heat until all the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is boiling.  Reduce heat to low, and simmer for 30 minutes, uncovered.  Remove syrup from heat, strain to remove solids (save for a later use, if desired), and cool before using.  


To make spritzers, add ice (about 3/4 cup) to a medium tumbler; add 8 ounces of POM or pomegranate juice, about 2 tablespoons berry simple syrup, and about 4 ounces of sparkling mineral water.  Stir to mix and drink cold. 






Sopressata and Provolone Italian Pressed Sandwiches


1 loaf of ciabatta bread
1/4 lb very thinly sliced good-quality sopressata (hot or sweet depending on your taste)
1/3-1/2 lb sliced provolone cheese
8 oz roasted tomatoes, purchased (or use this recipe, minus the thyme)
About 3 tbsp pesto, purchased (or use this recipe, or your own) 
1 large bunch, or 2 small bunches of basil, leaves torn from the stems


Slice the ciabatta loaf horizontally to make two large halves.  On the top half, evenly spread the pesto in a very thin layer (don't over saturate the bread).  On the bottom half, first place the roasted tomatoes in a single layer, then top with a layer of sopressata.  (Place the thin slices of meat on top of each other to form a thicker layer.)  Top the sopressata with the sliced provolone, and then place a layer of basil leaves over the top of the cheese.  Place the top slice of bread over the basil layer, and press down to bring all the layers flat.  Continue pressing down, and wrap the entire loaf tightly in plastic wrap.  Place the wrapped loaf in the fridge overnight (or for at least 3 hours), and put something heavy on top of the loaf to compress it.  I used a cast iron skillet and placed a couple of soup cans on top of the skillet. 


The next day, unwrap the loaf and slice into large sandwiches or small squares, depending on your preference.  Serve immediately, or keep chilled until needed.