Joey Altman’s gorgeous new cookbook Without Reservations is filled with big bold exciting flavors you might expect to find in a restaurant, but can easily be made at home.
For a picnic, Altman suggests a menu of spicy grilled steak wrapped in toasted tortillas, a crunchy Chinese chicken salad and rich and satisfying chocolate crackle cookies.
Here are Altman’s tips for picnic perfection:
Joeys Picnic Tips
A good picnic should be relatively easy to have and not require much work once you arrived at you location nor should be really messy making it a drag at the end.
1. Make a baguette sandwich. Go ahead and put everything you want in them, they can handle it. Sliced bread can get pretty soggy if not eaten soon after theyre made, while baguette stays nice and firm and crunchy.
2. Everyone love a cheese and fruit platter. Use a mixture of dried fruit such as mango, peaches and apricots and fresh fruits. Stay away from fresh fruit that is too juicy or messy. Pears, apples and figs are good choices.
3. Bring salads in large Tupperware containers with a separate container of dressing. This allows you to have a fresh tossed salad wherever you are. Add the dressing when ready to serve, replace the lid, shake and serve.
4. Add a few mint leaves and an orange slice to your water bottle to makes even tap water taste really gourmet.
5. Use radicchio or butter lettuce as lettuce cups for chicken salad instead of bread helps keep you feeling light after eating, allowing you to be a better Frisbee or horseshoes player!
6. Use reusable and washable utensils and tableware to avoid creating unnecessary waste.
Throwing a picnic party? Hors doeuvres that taste and look great and are also easy to eat with your hands are party essentials. This one has bold flavor and a cool presentation that doesnt fall apart when you eat it. Its fun and surprising, and thats a big part of what good restaurants are aboutengaging the imagination as well as the appetite. You can prepare the rub, grill the steak, and mix the chipotle mayonnaise in advance.
Grilled Steak Texarkana Hand Rolls
Makes 20 hors doeuvres
What to Drink: Serve a cold beer or a spice-friendly wine such as a zinfandel, syrah, or merlot. Avoid wines that are too tannic or high in alcohol, which can clash with spicy foods.
This recipe makes enough rub for two 1-pound steaks. Store the remaining rub in a tightly covered container at room temperature for future use.
Kosher salt
112 teaspoons chili powder
112 teaspoons garlic powder
112 teaspoons sweet paprika
112 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 pound flank steak, trimmed
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
12 cup mayonnaise
1 chipotle chile in adobo, minced, plus 1 teaspoon adobo sauce
2 firm ripe avocados
2 cups store-bought quality fresh tomato salsa or Salsa Cruda (see below)
Ten 8-inch flour tortillas
20 small cilantro sprigs, for garnish
1. If grilling the steak, heat the grill to high.
2. Make a spice rub by combining 1 tablespoon salt, the chili powder, garlic powder, paprika, black pepper, and cayenne in a small bowl.
3. Coat the steak with the olive oil and a liberal amount of the spice rub, using about half of it. Let stand for 5 to 10 minutes; the salt will draw out moisture from the meat, allowing the spices to adhere to the steak.
4. Grill or saut the steak over high heat to your desired doneness, about 12 minutes for medium-rare on a grill. Transfer the steak to a plate for 15 minutes to let the juices settle. Transfer the steak to a cutting board and cut lengthwise in half, then cut into very thin strips across the grain, at a slight angle. Lightly sprinkle the cut meat with salt. Return the sliced steak to the plate to let it reabsorb some of its juices. Cover and store at room temperature for up to an hour.
5. Stir together the mayonnaise, chipotle, and adobo in a small bowl. Cover and refrigerate for up to 24 hours.
6. Cut the avocados in half and remove the pits. Use a large spoon to cut down into the avocado flesh close to the edge of the shell, scoop out a thin, long strip of avocado. Continue making parallel scoops into the avocado to make 10 pieces from each avocado half, or a total of 40 pieces. (The pieces will be shorter closer to the edges and longer in the middle.) Place the avocado pieces on a small plate.
7. To finish, warm the tortillas on the grill or in a dry skillet, turning to warm both sides. Stack them on a cutting board and cut them in half. Stack the two piles together on a plate and cover with a clean kitchen towel to keep the tortillas soft and pliable.
8. Arrange the tortilla halves in rows on a clean, flat surface with the flat edges facing you. Place a couple of steak strips on each tortilla at the 10 oclock position. Drizzle with chipotle mayonnaise, then top with a small spoonful of salsa, 2 pieces of avocado, and a cilantro sprig.
9. Fold the tortilla half into a cone around the meat, rolling from left to right with the center bottom as the tip. Stack the cones on a platter with their points toward the center of the plate. Serve immediately with any remaining chipotle mayonnaise and salsa in bowls on the side.
Salsa Cruda
Makes approximately 2 cups
6 Roma tomatoes, cored, halved, seeded, and diced
12 medium red onion, diced (about 12 cup)
14 cup fresh lime juice
14 cup gently packed chopped cilantro
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 jalapeo peppers, stemmed, seeded, and finely diced
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Stir together the tomatoes, onions, lime juice, cilantro, olive oil, and jalapeos in a medium bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Cutting the cabbage into bite-size pieces makes the salad easy to eat. The dressing keeps things exciting with bright salt and vinegar on a toasty base of peanuts and sesame oil. This Chinese restaurant classic is easy to make at home.
Chinese Chicken Salad
Makes 6 to 8 lunch entre servings
What to Drink: Refresh the palate with a cold beer
2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves or thighs, about 6 ounces each
3 coins fresh ginger, about 14 inch thick, plus 1 tablespoon finely grated fresh ginger
2 whole scallions, plus 3 scallions, sliced thin on a diagonal
Kosher salt
14 cup toasted sesame oil
14 cup peanut oil
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
Juice of 1 lime
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon natural-style peanut butter
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon minced shallots
1 teaspoon sambal oelek or red chili paste
Freshly ground black pepper
1 head Napa cabbage
12 cup roasted peanuts, coarsely chopped
14 cup sesame seeds, lightly toasted
1 bunch cilantro, coarsely chopped
1. Put the chicken, ginger coins, whole scallions, and 2 teaspoons salt in a medium saucepan. Cover generously with cold water, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to simmer for 10 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat, cover, and set aside for 5 minutes. Remove the chicken to a plate to cool. When it is cool enough to handle, use your fingers or two forks to shred the meat. If you used thigh meat, you may need to cut the meat into bite-size pieces. Set the chicken aside. (To make ahead, cover and refrigerate the chicken for up to 5 hours.)
2. While the chicken cooks, combine the sesame and peanut oils, vinegar, lime juice, brown sugar, peanut butter, the 1 tablespoon grated ginger, the garlic, shallots, sambal oelek, and 12 teaspoon salt in a blender. Add pepper and additional salt to taste. Set the dressing aside. (To make ahead, cover and refrigerate the dressing for up to 24 hours.)
3. Remove the outer leaves of the cabbage and cut off and discard about 1 inch at the bottom. Remove and discard the core. Rinse the leaves and spin dry, then cut the cabbage in half lengthwise, then crosswise into slices 18 to 14 inch thick.
4. Just before serving, put the cabbage in a large salad bowl along with the peanuts, sesame seeds, cilantro, the sliced scallions, and the shredded chicken. Pour about two thirds of the dressing over the salad and toss gently, adding dressing as needed to lightly coat everything. Mound the salad on dinner plates to serve.
These cookies are a perennial favorite. What makes them restaurant special is the walnut oil, which subtly enhances the flavor of the walnuts in the cookies.
Purchase nut oils in small quantities and store in the refrigerator to keep them from going rancid. If the oil has an off taste, discard it. The off taste would only become magnified in the recipes you make with it.
Chocolate Crackle Cookies
Makes about 30 cookies
8 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 cup packed light brown sugar
13 cup walnut oil
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
12 teaspoon fine sea salt
14 cup walnuts, chopped medium-fine
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
14 cup powdered sugar, for rolling
1. Melt the chocolate, brown sugar, and walnut oil together in a double boiler over but not touching simmering water or in the microwave. Stir with a whisk until the chocolate is melted and smooth. The sugar does not have to be completely dissolved. If the chocolate is not completely melted, continue heating in 20-second increments, stirring between, until it is smooth. (Alternatively, you can heat the mixture in a small saucepan over low heat, or in a double boiler over but not touching boiling water, whisking frequently, until the chocolate is melted and smooth.) Allow to cool until the mixture is barely warm.
2. Stir together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Stir in the walnuts. Set aside.
3. Whisk the eggs into the cooled chocolate until well blended. Whisk in the vanilla. Use a spatula to fold the chocolate mixture into the dry ingredients until everything is just combined.
4. Refrigerate the dough until it is firm, about 1 hour, or put it into the freezer for 10 to 15 minutes.
5. Preheat the oven to 350F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicon baking mats. Sift the powdered sugar into a broad shallow soup bowl. Scoop out tablespoon-size nuggets of dough, roll them between your hands to make balls (dont worry about making them perfectly round), and drop them into the powdered sugar. Toss them in the sugar until they are well coated on all sides. Transfer the balls to the baking sheets, leaving about 1 inch between them.
6. Bake for 8 minutes for soft, chewy cookies, or 10 minutes for cookies with a crisp exterior. Use a spatula to transfer the cookies to a rack to cool. Store the completely cooled cookies in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
Recipes reprinted by permission copyright 2008 Joey Altman
