Abigail's July Fourth Picnic

Picnic Basket Fried Chicken Recipes

Ol' Kentucky Fried Chicken Recipe

3 lb Chicken
2 pk Italian salad dressing mix
3 tb Flour
2 ts Salt
1/4 c Lemon juice
1 c Milk
1 1/2 c Pancake mix
1 ts Paprika
1/2 ts Sage
1/4 ts Pepper

Make a paste out of the marinade ingredients. Coat chicken evenly. Stack chicken pieces in a bowl. Cover and refrigerate overnight or at least for several hours.

Mix pancake mix with other seasonings. Dip pieces of chicken in milk, then in pancake coating. Dust off excess. Lightly brown in skillet with 1/2 inch vegtable oil in it. Brown for 4 minutes each side. Remove and place in a single layer on shallow baking pan. Seal with flour.

Bake for 1 hour at 350 Uncover and baste again with milk. Return, uncovered, for 30mins. Enjoy!!

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Buttermilk Fried Chicken

3/4 c Buttermilk
1 ts Salt
1/4 ts Pepper
2 1/2 lb Chicken fryer or broiler
1 c Flour
1 1/2 c Vegetable oil

Combine buttermilk, salt and pepper; stir well. Skin cut up chicken, if desired. Place chicken in a shallow container and pour mixture over top. Cover and let stand 20 minutes, turning once. Remove chicken. Discard buttermilk. Dredge chicken in flour, coating well. Cook in hot oil (350F.) until browned, turning to brown both sides. Reduce heat to 275F. Cover and cook 25 minutes. Uncover and cook an additional 5 minutes. Drain on paper towels.

Finger-Lickin' Fried Chicken

2 1/2 lb Fryer, cut into 8 pieces
1 c Flour
1 tb Salt -(sounds like a lot but - it's key to the taste)
1 ts Freshly ground pepper
Vegetable oil - to 1 1/2-in depth

WASH FRYER PIECES; pat dry with paper towels. Combine flour, salt and pepper in large plastic bag. Shake pieces to coat well.

Heat oil in large 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. When hot, add chicken pieces, being careful not to crowd pan. (It may be necessary to cook chicken in batches). Decrease heat to medium. Cook, uncovered, until well browned on underside, about 15 minutes. Use tongs to turn. Cook, uncovered, until browned on underside, about 12-15 minutes. Transfer chicken to double-thickness of paper towels to blot excess fat.

Southern Fried Chicken

18 Boneless chicken breasts, -skinned
2 c Flour
2 Eggs
2 c Milk
3 c Vegetable oil
1 tb + 1 tsp salt
2 ts Onion powder
1 1/2 ts Black pepper
1 1/2 ts Rubbed sage
1 ts White pepper
1 ts Thyme
1/2 ts Garlic powder

In a small bowl, combine salt, onion powder, black pepper, sage, white pepper, thyme and garlic powder to make the seasoning mix. Mix seasoning ingredients well. Sprinkle the seasoning on chicken and rub in. Seal chicken in a plastic bag and refrigerate overnight, if possible.

Remove chicken from refrigerator at least 1 hour before cooking. Place flour in a pie pan and set aside In a wide shallow bowl, beat eggs and milk and set aside. In a large deep skillet, heat oil to 375 degrees. Just before frying, dredge chicken in flour, shake off excess. Immediately place chicken in egg mixture and back into flour once again. Place in hot oil in a single layer and fry until crisp before turning. Turn only once.

Picnic Basket Potato Salad Recipes

Bavarian Potato Salad

4 c Potatoes
2 c Chicken broth
1/2 ts Salt
1/4 c Vegetable oil
1/3 c Onion; chopped
1/2 ts Sugar
2 tb Lemon juice
1 x Pepper; as desired

Potatoes should be peeled and sliced 1/4-inch thick.
** Chicken broth may be either home made or bouillon mix

Boil potatoes in broth with 1/4 t salt for 5 to 8 minutes, until tender. Drain. Toss warm potatoes with vegetable oil and onions. Dissolve remaining 1/4 t salt and the sugar in lemon juice. Pour over potatoes. Marinate salad 1 to 2 hours before serving. Serve at room temperature.

Best Ever Potato Salad

16 md Small Potatoes
3/4 c Mayonaise
1 1/2 ts Yellow Mustard
12 Eggs, hard boiled.
1 c Apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 tb Pickle relish
3/4 tb Dry parsley flakes
Pinch of Celery Salt
1/2 md White onion, diced
4 Celery stalks, split

Gather ingredients. The half cup of sprinkling vinegar should be just estimated from the bottle as you sprinkle. It's just a conservative guestimate and the exact amount will depend upon the amount of potatoes to sprinkle. Don't worry about it too much. Boil potatoes whole.

If your potato size varies much, put in the larger ones first. A medium sized potato will take ABOUT 25 minutes total. A smaller one maybe 18 minutes. One of the keys here is to boil the potatoes till cooked but still a little firm. If they are cooked till soft, then the subsequent stirring will render the salad mushy. You don't want them crunchy, but just cooked and still firm. That's the first secret!

Peel the potatoes when they are still warm. The warmer the better. Peeling them AFTER they are cooked seems to make a difference in taste. They MUST not cool entirely or the vinegar will not be absorbed properly.

After you have cut up a potato or two, sprinkle them fairly generously vinegar and stir around a bit in the bowl..just a bit so you get the vinegar that fell to the bottom of the bowl on the potatoes.If you run out of the half cup, just use more. Each potato gets a fairly generous sprinkling of vinegar.

The importance of a generous sprinkling of vinegar while the potatoes are warm/hot can't be over emphasized. They will soak up the vinegar. I am always amazed at how much vinegar it takes and how when they are done, the vinegar is tasted, but the dish is not 'vinegary'

Stir in the other ingredients, leaving the eggs to last. Chop up the eggs, slicing, cutting in whatever size/shape you wish but we are not talking about whole or half eggs here. Cut them up. The yolks will fall apart when sliced up and that's ok. Stir all the eggs into the rest of the mix. The yolks will incorporate into the salad and you don't have to worry about them; don't stir forever or worry about being gentle or anything. Just mix it up. Add the other 1/2 cup of vinegar.

Cover and put in a fridge over night.Notice that the vinegar flavor is much softer. Add some more vinegar and let that absorb for an hour or two. You may well have used much more than the 1 cup total by this point. Salt to taste if needed. You can serve this without the over-night setting but it will truly be a noticeably better salad the next day. You will want to adjust the amount of mayo to suit your taste.

Garbanzo & Potato Salad

2 lb Red Potatoes
3 Italian Plum Tomatoes -- (red-ripe)
1/2 md Red Onion -- minced
16 oz Can Garbanzo Beans
1/4 lb Fresh Spinach

The Dressing

1 tb Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 tb Red Wine Vinegar
4 Cloves Garlic -- minced
1/2 ts Salt
1/2 ts Fresh Ground Black Pepper
1 tb Fresh Parsley -- minced
1/2 c Water
1/4 ts Crushed Dried Hot Red Chilies -- (or to taste)

First, mix all the stuff together for the dressing in a small bowl or a measuring cup. Let that sit for at least a few minutes usually, if you make it first, then do the potatoes and tomatoes, that's plenty of time.

Next, bring about 4-6 cups of water to a boil in a saucepan (more is better, but leave room for the potatoes), and add the scrubbed bite-sized potato pieces. Bring back to a boil, and boil for 4-5 minutes. Do not overcook! You don't want them to be hard, but you don't want them to be mush, either. Drain the potatoes, and rinse well under cold water (or cover with cold water, then drain and rinse).

Drain the garbanzo beans and rinse them thoroughly under cold water. Cut the tomatoes into bite-sized pieces, but smaller than the potato pieces. Chop up the spinach (if you're using it). Mix everything together, including the dressing, in a bowl that is big enough to stir it without dumping bits over the side. Cover the bowl, and chill for at least 4 hours, tossing it once or twice to make sure the dressing continues to coat things.

Deluxe Potato Salad

This recipe serves a crowd of up to 18

3 Green peppers
5 lb Potatoes; cooked, peeled, -and cubed
1 bn Celery; chopped
2 1/2 ts Salt
1 ts Pepper
3/4 c Mayonnaise
1 tb Mustard, Dijon
4 cn Artichoke hearts; chilled -and drained (8 oz. ea.)
2 tb Olive slices, pimiento-stffd
sm Pickles,
whole sweet Parsley springs, fresh

STUFFED EGGS

18 Eggs; hard-cooked
1/4 c Mayonnaise
2 tb Onion; minced
1/4 ts Cury powder
1/2 ts Salt
1/8 ts Pepper
Paprika
Parsley spring, fresh
18 sl Olives, pimiento-stuffed
Chop 2 green pepper; cut remaining pepper into rings

Combine chopped green pepper, potatoes, celery, salt, pepper, mayonnaise, and mustard; mix well, and chill thoroughly. Spoon potato salad onto a large serving platter. Arrange stuffed eggs and artichoke hearts around edge of platter. Garnish salad with green pepper rings, olive slices, pickles, and parsley. Stuffed Eggs: Cut eggs in half lengthwise; remove yolks. Mash yolks; stir in mayonnaise, onion, curry powder, salt, and pepper. Fill egg whites with yolk mixture; chill. Sprinkle half of stuffed eggs with paprika, and top with a small sprig of fresh parsley. Top with remaining stuffed eggs with pimiento-stuffed olive slices.

Picnic Basket Apple Pies

All-American Apple Pie

1/4 c Packed light brown sugar
1/4 c Granulated sugar
1 tb All-purpose flour
1 ts Lemon zest -- grated
1/4 ts Ground cinnamon
1/4 ts Ground nutmeg
6 md Apple - peeled, cored, thinly slices
1 c Raisins
1 Pie crust (9 inch)
1 lg Egg -- beaten
1 ts Granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 425 F. Spray a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate with vegatable cooking spray.

In a large bowl, combine brown sugar, granulated sugar, flour, lemon zest, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Mix well. Add apples to sugar mixture; stir until coated. Stir in raisins. Spoon into prepared plate.

Place piecrust on top of filling. Trim edges, pressing against edge of pan. Using a sharp knife, cut steam vents in piecrust.

To glaze, lightly brush piecrust with beaten egg. Sprinkle with sugar. Bake until piecrust is golden brown, about 35 to 40 minutes. Place on a wire rack and cool for 30 minutes.

Sour Cream Apple Pie

9-inch deep-dish pie shell
1 c Sour cream
Large egg, lightly beaten
2 ts Pure vanilla extract
3/4 c Sugar
1/8 ts Salt
1/4 c All-purpose flour
2 lb Granny Smith apples
peeled, cored, and thinly sliced

TOPPING

1/3 c All-purpose flour
1/4 c Sugar
1/4 c Light brown sugar, packed
2 1/2 ts Cinnamon, ground
3/4 c Walnuts, chopped
6 tb Butter, unsalted

In large bowl, combine sour cream, egg, vanilla, sugar, salt, and flour, stirring until well blended. Stir in apples. Pour into unbaked pastry shell.

Bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 and bake an additional 30 minutes.

TOPPING: Combine all topping ingredients, blending until mixture resembles coarse meal. Spoon topping over pie and bake at 350 minutes for an additional 15 to 20 minutes, or until filling is bubbly.

Apple Pie in Cheddar Crust

Cheddar Crust

2 c Unbleached flour; sifted
1 1/4 c Cheddar; md, shredded
1/2 ts Salt
2/3 c Vegetable shortening
Water; iced

Filling

7 c Apples, peeled, cored, sliced thinly
1/2 c Sugar
2 ts Unbleached flour
1/2 ts Cinnamon; ground
2 ts Butter or regular margarine
1 ea Egg yolk; lg, beaten
1 ts Water

Use tart cooking apples such as Macs or Granny Smith's.

CHEDDAR CRUST: Combine the flour, cheese and salt in a bowl. Using a pastry blender or two knives, cut in the shortening until coarse crumbs form. Sprinkle the iced water (5 or 6 tbls will be needed) and using a fork, toss the crumbs until a dough is formed. Press the dough firmly into a ball.

Divide the pastry almost in half and roll out the larger half, on a lightly floured surface, to a 13-inch circle. Line a 9-inch pie plate with the pastry, trimming the edges to 1/2-inch beyond the rim of the pie plate.

FILLING: Combine the apples, sugar, flour, and cinnamon in a bowl, mixing well. Arrange the apple mixture in the pastry lined pie plate. Roll out the remaining pastry to an 11-inch circle.

Gently fold into quarters and cut steam slits in the folds. Unfold the crust and place on top of the filling, trimming the crust to 1-inch beyond the rim of the pie plate. Fold the top crust under the lower one and flute to form a ridge around the edge of the pie plate. Combine the egg yolk and water, then brush the mixture over the top crust and rim.

Bake in a 400 F. oven for 45 to 50 minutes or until apples are tender and the crust is a golden brown. Cool on a wire rack.

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Blue Ribbon Apple Pie

Pie Crust:

3 c all-purpose flour
1 TB grated lemon zest
1 c salted butter, -- chilled
Ice water

Filling:

6 lg Macintosh apples, peeled, cored, thinly sliced
1 c white sugar
1 ts ground cinnamon
1/2 ts nutmeg
1/4 c cornstarch
1/4 c salted butter, chilled, cut into small pieces

Egg wash:

1 lg egg, beaten
1 TB white sugar

Crust: mix flour and zest together in a medium bowl. Using pastry cutter, cut butter into flour until dough resembles coarse meal. Add ice water and mix until dough can be gathered into a ball. Divide dough in half. Flatten into disks and wrap and chill until firm.

Filling: preheat oven to 400F. Mix together sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cornstarch in a large bowl. Add apples to sugar mixture and toss until apples are coated.

On a floured surface, roll out 1 dough disk into a circle about 12 inches in diameter. Fold dough in half, and then into quarters. Place point of folded crust in center of 9 inch pie plate and carefully unfold. Trim excess dough and leave about 1 inch overhang.

Pour in apple filling and sprinkle with butter pieces. Roll out second dough disk into circle about 10 inches in diameter. Again fold in half, then in quarters and place on top of apple filling. Fold extra crust of top layer over bottom layer and crimp edges together. Cut slits in pie top to let steam escape and brush with egg wash. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sugar.

Bake 20 minutes at 400F. Reduce heat to 350F and bake another 30 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Cool on rack to room temperature.

Picnic Basket Lemonade

Best Ever Lemonade

4 Lemons
1 c Sugar
1 qt Water

Peel lemons and put rinds into a bowl. Cover with sugar and let stand a half hour. Boil water, pour over lemons and sugar. When cool, take out rinds. Squeeze lemons, strain and add to sugar mixture. Chill and serve ice cold.

Honey Lemonade Recipe

1 c Honey
1 c Hot water
3/4 c Lemon juice
8 c Cold water

Stir honey and hot water over low heat until blended. Let cool and add lemon juice and cold water. Pour into iced glasses. The honey/water syrup may be refrigerated and used to make lemonade a glass at a time. To serve, mix 4 T syrup to 1 1/2 T lemon juice and 1 c water per person. Pour into iced glasses.

Old Fashioned Lemonade

1 1/2 c Sugar, granulated
1 1/2 c -Water
1 tb Lemon rind; finely grated
1 1/2 c Lemon juice; 6-7 lemons
1 Lemon; sliced thinly
Mint sprigs

In small saucepan, stir together sugar, water and lemon rind. Bring to a boil; stirring constantly; boil for 5 minutes, stirring. Remove from heat and let cool. Stir in lemon juice. Transfer to a jar; cover and refrigerate for up to 3 weeks. To serve, place 2 ice cubes in each tall glass. Add 1/4 cup of the syrup and 3/4 cup cold water; stir well. Garnish with lemon slice and sprig of mint.

Pink Lemonade

3 c Cold water
1 c Lemon juice (about 4 lemons)
1/2 c Sugar
2 tb Grenadine syrup
1, 2 Or 3 dr Red food coloring

Tastes vary as to how sweet lemonade should be, so you may want to add more sugar. Mix all ingredients. Serve over ice.