Packing a Beach Picnic!

A couple of times each summer,  the extended family would gather and we would all go on a picnic to the rocky shoreline just northeast of our home. We kids would squeeze in the cars without regard to the maximum seating capacities. In the movies of the time, picnics were carried in charming (small) wicker baskets. At our house food was piled into a laundry basket or more often into a large roasting pan or soup pot and covered with a brightly patterned tablecloth that most likely was made by my mother. At low tide, my father carried the picnic across the seaweed covered rocks with the agility of a mountain goat. Spreading the tablecloth over the largest and driest rock we began our picnic.

Frittata was the star of every picnic. Sometimes it was potato frittata or sometimes cauliflower frittata. Slices of still warm frittata nestled carefully into a piece of fresh Italian bread made for a beautiful sandwich. We might call it a panino today but we called it a sandwich or in the local immigrant version of the word, un sangwicho! Roasted red peppers, a wedge of provolone, cherries, and sliced watermelon rounded out the meal.

Today I make frittatas for an appetizer for a casual summer brunch or for an outdoor cook-out. I really love it since it can be made a day in advance and can be served cold or room temperature. If I am serving a lot of people, it is especially nice to have one or two dishes that you can prep the evening before. It is also nice for a simple supper with just a green salad if I think dinner will be late. Don’t forget the Italian bread.