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Spring Picnic Menu
The long-awaited May holidays are the perfect time for picnics in nature. Getting out of the city with noisy companies, someone celebrates Labor Day with a shock holiday, someone joyfully opens the summer season, and someone enjoys communicating with nature from the heart. But in any case, you can not do without a feast surrounded by green grasses and the chirping of birds.
Cooking shish kebab: instructions for use
A picnic without kebabs is not a picnic at all, but a waste of time. The question of the method of its preparation is worthy of a separate philosophical treatise. Meanwhile, there are basic truths that will help make this dish a real decoration of the feast. The correct recipe for shish kebab includes a minimum number of ingredients, – experienced experts are sure. Meat, onions, marinade and the skill of the chef-that’s the whole secret of success.
However, they also argue a lot about the marinade and choose the best one, guided by personal preferences. Vinegar, kefir, dry wine or lemon juice are suitable for any meat. Sophisticated gourmets add sliced tomatoes, bell peppers or apples to the marinade. But they do not advise to get carried away with spices and salt. Otherwise, the spicy herbs will clog the taste of the meat, and the salt will draw out the delicious juices. Three to four hours of marinating will be enough, although you can keep the meat in the marinade for a whole day. If you are not too lazy to do this routine, special blanks from the nearest supermarket will help.
The choice of meat for kebabs is a matter of taste, and yet the ideal option for many is pork. Mutton will be good only if it is fresh and in the prime of life. The beef on the coals turns out a little harsh and dry. If you have a special desire, you can cook a shish kebab from fish. The ideal candidates for this role are fat varieties, such as salmon or trout.
When going on a picnic, it is better to stock up on firewood and coal in advance, buying them in the same supermarket. An important truth for novice cooks – shish kebabs are fried on smoldering coals. If you use an open flame, the meat will turn into coals. Another little secret from experts: the larger the pieces of meat, the juicier and tastier the shish kebab will turn out. And so that the moisture does not leave it during cooking, the pieces should be skewered tightly or alternated with fresh tomatoes and onion rings.
While the kebabs are being fried, do not turn them every minute. To check the readiness, it is enough to lift the skewer. Noticing a ruddy golden crust, you can safely turn it to the other side. Since the coals exude a strong heat, the meat will be baked in 15-20 minutes. It is better to spend this time usefully and prepare a simple side dish in the form of fresh tomatoes, cucumbers and herbs.
Buffet at the edge of the forest
A great addition to the kebabs will be pita bread with mushrooms and vegetables on the fire. Blanks for it can be made at home. To do this, lightly fry the mushrooms in a frying pan and mix with vegetables-tomatoes, cucumbers, Peking cabbage, bell pepper and herbs. We cut the Armenian lavash into several parts and lubricate it with olive oil, and then wrap the vegetable filling in it and put the resulting rolls into a mold. Already in nature, you can bake them on the grill – 3-4 minutes on each side will be quite enough.
No picnic is complete without hearty sandwiches. You can please an honest company with original chicken sandwiches. For their preparation, in addition to the poultry itself, you will need bacon or ham with a smoked taste. We pre-fry the bacon in a frying pan and get rid of excess fat with paper napkins. The key ingredient of the sandwich is an original dressing of olive oil, yogurt, lemon juice and curry with the addition of grated ginger. Boiled chicken breast cut into small cubes and mix with half the dressing. The remaining part is greased with two slices of bread and put between them lettuce leaves, fresh herbs, fried bacon and chopped breast in the dressing.
Tortillas with cottage cheese and herbs will be a win-win option for a feast in nature. The dough for them is made from kefir or yogurt with the addition of eggs, flour, soda and salt, and the filling is made from cottage cheese mixed with fresh herbs and egg. Roll out the dough into a thin layer and spread the curd filling on one half of it. Then we cover it with the second half and artistically fix the edges. A few plump tortillas are sent to the pan and fried on both sides until they are golden.
Sweets for joy
Collecting a basket with delicious supplies, it is worth taking care of a sweet treat, which will delight children and all those who are indifferent to meat.
For this occasion, you can prepare chocolate cupcakes. First, you need to mix the flour with sugar, cocoa and instant coffee, adding milk chocolate crushed on a grater. Then we prepare the liquid base: melt the butter on the stove, cool it and mix it with milk and eggs. Beat the mixture vigorously with a whisk and add it to the dry chocolate mass. Mix everything thoroughly until a homogeneous consistency is obtained. Then it remains to fill the greased muffin molds with chocolate dough and send them to bake in the oven at 180 degrees. Since the dough will rise as you cook, you should fill the molds about 2/3. You can easily check the readiness of the cupcakes by piercing them with a toothpick: if it remains dry, it’s time to remove the cupcakes from the oven. In the end, you can sprinkle them with powdered sugar.
Hours of outdoor recreation will sweeten the banana cookies. The dough for it is made from flour, butter, eggs, sugar and a pinch of salt. You can add coconut shavings and a little cardamom to it for a pleasant aroma. A few fresh bananas are thoroughly kneaded with a fork and sprinkled with lemon juice. The resulting puree is mixed with the previously prepared mass. From the dough, we make cute koloboks and sit them on a greased baking sheet, slightly pressing down on top. In the oven, the buns will be browned for 15-20 minutes, after which they will be ready for a picnic trip.
Whatever menu you choose for the upcoming picnic, let your feast be delicious and fun. Congratulations on the May holidays, we wish you a positive holiday and a pleasant appetite!