The sun is shining and the sky is a gorgeous shade of Carolina Blue! UNC is practically begging you to have a picnic. And after skimming through Dana Sojung Hong’s photos of the perfect picnic spot on campus, who wouldn’t want to pack up a basket with yummy food, grab a blanket and plop down outside? But don’t start packing your basic peanut butter and jelly sandwiches just yet. Let’s try to be creative and think outside the picnic basket.
Feeling a bit French?
Ce pique-nique est très facile. Quoi? Vous ne parlez pas français? D’accord.
Sorry about that. As I was just saying, this French-style picnic is very easy. All you need is a loaf of baguette, brie cheese, grapes and salami. You will also need a knife to slice the bread and cheese.
Everything can all be purchased at a local grocery store, but I suggest buying the bread at Trader Joes. It’s cheap and baked fresh daily.
For those who have never eaten brie cheese, I think it’s delicious and nicely tops a slice of baguette. It’s a very soft cheese that spreads easily onto bread.
This is one of my favorite picnics. A friend and I actually tried this one out in Polk Place one Friday afternoon. When we laid out our bread and cheese and began to munch, it seemed like a quick visit to Paris.
The Southern-Style Picnic
When in the South, do as the Southerners do.
This picnic takes a little more effort. Before packing up your picnic basket, you’ll need to cook up some pulled barbecue pork.
You’ll need:
1/2 of a 14 ounce can of beef broth
1-1/2 pounds of boneless pork ribs
1/2 of an 18 ounce bottle of your favorite barbecue sauce.
Slow cooker
Directions
1. Pour 1/2 can of beef broth into a slow cooker and add the pork ribs. Cook on high for four hours. After four hours, remove the meet and shred with two forks.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place the now shredded pork in an iron skillet and pour in 1/2 a bottle of barbecue sauce.
3. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes or until heated through.
Pack the pulled pork into containers and make sure you bring along hamburger buns, macaroni salad and watermelon.
Oh, and don’t forget the sweet tea!
Moving Beyond Peanut Butter and Jelly
These two creative picnic ideas are just to get you started. There are many more ways to cook up the perfect picnic to compliment the perfect picnic spot on campus. Put away the peanut butter and jelly and save it for your brown bag lunch. Let’s have a little fun with our picnic basket food!
The photo is from indianadairy.wordpress.com and the recipe from allrecipes.com.
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Chapel Hill chapter.