Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1935-08-04

sss.HN line going on pic
nic'' means the
packing of lunch basket - possibly several
baskets - with things to eat and drink, and
then either walking or sailing, padding or
motoring to some pleasant outdoor spot and
eating this lunch or supper.
Beyond this general pattern, picnics can
include almost every sort of party imaginable,
at which food is eaten at distance from a
house in which some one lives.
This does not mean that picnic can not
or should not be quite as perfectly done as
the most expertly given dinner, but merely
that preparations for it are in many ways
different. And since picnics can be so delight
full when well done and so altogether awful
when bungled, it may perhaps be convenient
to list few general directions for the benefit
of these who want to give party of one or
another picnic variety
Obviously the first thing to decide is how
many people you are going to invite and who
they are to be. Then, too. you must decide
whether you are going to give what is merely
an outdoor lunch or supper, meaning that you
take only things that are ready to serve, or
whether you are going to build fire and cook.
If So what are you going to cook and who
is going to do the cooking? And what about
each and every other preparation that must
be made?
You wouldn't ask people to lunch at one
o'clock and then think it quite all right to
have it served at three, nor, would you be
blissfully content to give them fish or steak
or chicken, one side of which is raw and one
side charred to a cinder Nor would you
TRANQUILITY proffer greasy and black-edged
scrambled eggs, or ice cream in cups because
it had turned to soup.
But for your definite picnic example let US
choose grill supper, because this is the sort of
picnic every man likes.
Your first preparation includes some sort of
picnic broier. There is an especial one with
folding legs that can be bought, but if you
haven't one of these any ordinary broiler will
do just as well My personal suggestion is that
you take two lengths of iron tubing.
If wood for fire is likely to be scarce
Tor if you follow my own practice under any
circumstance of being sure that the fire will
broil to perfection) buy bag of charcoal at
the gocer's and take along some excelsior or
prepared fre-ighter which will quickly start
the fire. You must provide whoever is going
to do the real cooking with the best cooking
fire that exists!
This is, of course, made by digging BASIN
shaped hole something less than foot deep,
and wide enough to allow for sloping sides
that won't cave in. Put your lighting material
on the bottom and then your charcoal; stoke
it until it is red-hot, then spread out its en-
bers evenly. Put your two iron rods across the
sand - at the surface, or sunk down little
way - and set your broiler across Them and
coOk
The perfect picnic manager, like the perfect
traveller, brings simplifcation down to an
exact science. She knows very well that the
one thing to do is to take the fewest things
possible and to consider the utility of those
few.
From personal observation it seems to me
that the rule of safety is to take one big pot of
something easily heatable - for example Irish
stew, Geamed chicken or corned beef hash -
rather than raw meat and potatoes and vege-
tables to cook. But this, of course, depends
entirely upon who is going to cook.