Putting together a delicious meal doesn't have to be a monumental task. With a little planning, you can throw together an impressive spread with a minimal amount of effort.
One of my go-to picnic menus is made up mostly of food I don't have to cook. Frozen grapes, kettle chips, cookies or brownies from the bakery all make suitable picnic sides.
For the star of the show, I almost always turn to a big pressed sandwich that I make the night before, wrap up and have ready to toss into the cooler or basket in the morning and cut up when we get where we're going.
The fillings for this sandwich can be largely left to your imagination. I tend to stay away from mayonnaise-based fillings for food safety issues, and stick to cured meats, cheeses, greens (either soft herbs, spinach or arugula) and marinated vegetables.
A good pressed sandwich doesn't have to include a million ingredients. Two great options are simply ham and cheese or turkey, bacon and avocado. I would steer clear of PB&J because it tends to seep out in the pressing process.
I choose a crusty bread because anything too flimsy will result in a mushy sandwich when juices from the veggies are absorbed while it's being pressed.
Remember, good ingredients — and plenty of them — are a must for a good sandwich. Don't skimp. Make sure the sandwich is full of goodies, too, or it won't be nearly as impressive after you've pressed it overnight.
"Pressing it" just means wrapping it up tightly in plastic wrap, putting it on a sheet pan and weighing it down with a heavy pan or canned goods. After a few hours, it will have formed into a sturdy sandwich that will emerge from the basket in pretty much the exact condition as it went in, no matter how many bumps it suffered in the basket along the way.
