Picnic Ideas

DH and I are going to have a picnic on the 4th. Since it's pretty much impossible to bbq in any public space in this entire country, I'm looking for sandwich or wrap ideas that are good for picnics. I'll probably make a couple of salads and some deviled eggs. Any ideas?

If you like tuna, I make what I consider really 'posh' tuna sandwiches:

French stick type crusty bread, split in two
Spread both sides of the bread with black olive tapenade (or you can get a jar of kalamata olives & smoosh them up, if you can't find tapenade)
Mix the (white, albacore, drained) tuna with salt, pepper, Hellmans mayo (easy on the mayo) & squeeze of lemon
Spread the tuna stuff on the bread
Then add sliced ripe tomatoes (if you like tomatoes, I don't!), thinly sliced red onion & salad, maybe some cucumbers?

Wrap them up tightly in foil.  

(It's fancy tuna mayo, but the tapenade, the squeeze of lemon, red onion, etc give it a little extra something!)

You lost me at olive tapenade.    I could leave it out, but then it's just a plain ol' tuna sammich! 

Oh well, if you don't like olives/tapenade, then it wouldn't do anything for you, as you said! 

How about making your own submarines/hoagies/grinders?

I really like those sandwiches when you hollow out an entire loaf of bread and stuff it with yumminess (normally italian stuff, grilled veg, mozzarella etc) then cut into slices at the picnic.

Basically you get a crusty french round cob loaf or whatever, and cut the top off, hollow it out and layer the insides with grilled vegetables, olive oil drizzles, meats, cheeses etc and lots of yummy pesto, then put the top on and put something heavy on it.
Then you put it in the fridge to cool before your picnic, they're SO yummy and easy to transport on picnics as it's all sealed inside the thick bread crust.

Here's some examples, but I just use whatever fillings I have.

http://www.allaboutyou.com/food/Mozzarella-pepper-pesto-loaf/recipe
http://www.allaboutyou.com/food/Stuffed-picnic-loaf-recipe/recipe
http://www.notquitenigella.com/2008/11/19/muffuletta-stuffed-picnic-loaf/

Are you a long way from the beach? Do they let you barbecue on the beach over there?? I'd go mad if we couldn't!!

I'm not really good on sandwiches, but what about a Spanish tortilla? You can easily cut it into pieces and it's nice cold so it's good picnic food. Or little mini pies of some kind? Chicken, maybe?

I'm not sure where we can find a sandy beach near us. There are beaches, but they're grass.    Since posting this we've discovered that the Phoenix Park has let up a bit on their rules, but you can't have a bbq that sits on the grass. If only we had some bricks.... The beach is a good idea though, I'll have to look into it!

DH started salivating when I showed him the mozzerella, pepper, pesto loaf! But the Spanish omelette is a good idea too....so many good options!

Or you could make this!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/gallery/2010/apr/07/how-to-make-shooters-sandwich#/?picture=360719874&index=0

*salivates*

Or you could make this!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/gallery/2010/apr/07/how-to-make-shooters-sandwich#/?picture=360719874&index=0

*salivates*

Wow!  That looks fantastic.  Mr. K and I have been invited to join some friends at a concert/picnic at the end of the month.  I think I am going to make this as part of my contribution to the picnic.  Thanks for posting.

I'm a big fan of Italian pasta salad for picnics, you can sub whatever kind of ingredients you like, but I usually use rotini, Italian dressing, pepperoni, carrots, grated cheese, olives, broccoli, mushrooms, cherry tomatoes.  It tastes better if you make it the night before and let it sit over night.

tabbouleh is great for picnics and sometimes we add chopped up grilled chicken to it so it's more like a meal in itself.

I don't like having to lug bowls, knives, forks, etc. on a picnic, so it's finger-food all the way for us!

Bmore, what did you end up taking?

Nothing because it was ridiculous gale force winds!