Picnic Foods For Home Or Away

On hot summer days, the last place you want to be may be your kitchen, cooking.

In The Early Show's "Culinary Inspirations" series Thursday, chef and cookbook author Terrance Brennan, owner of the "Artisanal" restaurant in New York, visited to show his delicious, no-fuss recipes perfect for dining at home, or for picnics!

His philosophy is all about using the best and freshest ingredients possible. The fresh ingredients are what drive his menus and ideas, not the other way around.

Brennan's last appearance on The Early Show was in October 2005, when he cooked dishes from his first cookbook, "Artisanal Cooking."

Food Terminology

Tonnato: From the Italian tonno ("tuna"), the word tonnato refers to dishes that are prepared with, or accompanied by, tuna. The most well-known preparation is vitello tonnato, which consists of cold, sliced, roasted veal accompanied with a sauce of pureed tuna, anchovy filets, capers, lemon juice and olive oil. Brennan isn't using tuna in his "tonnato" on the show Thursday — it's more of a "tonnato"-inspired dish. He does use capers and olive oil and slices the chicken very thin, like a smoked fish.

All about watermelon: According to Wikipedia, fresh watermelon may be eaten in a variety of ways and is often used to flavor summer drinks and smoothies.

The simplest way to cut a watermelon is to slice it crossways, then to slice the resulting round slabs into halves or quarters. That method is generally used in a casual setting, where people don't mind the juices flowing everywhere. Since the rind provides a handle, no utensils are needed.

If the watermelon is to be eaten in conjunction with a meal, it is generally cut into bite-sized squares or balled with a melon baller. The resulting pieces are often mixed with other melons and fruits and possibly a syrup to form a fruit salad.

A one-cup serving of watermelon will provide around 48 calories. Watermelon is an excellent source of vitamins C and A, with one serving containing 14.59 mg of vitamin C and 556.32 IU of vitamin A. Watermelon also provides significant amounts of vitamins B6 and B1, as well as potassium and magnesium. Pink watermelon is also a source of the potent antioxidant, lycopene.

Watermelon rinds are also edible, and sometimes used as a vegetable. In China, they are stir-fried, stewed or, more often, pickled. When stir-fried, the de-skinned and de-fruited rind is cooked with olive oil, garlic, chili peppers, scallions, sugar and rum (and provides a great way to utilize the whole watermelon). Pickled watermelon rind is also widespread in Russia.

For Brennan's recipes, go to Page 2.RECIPES

Watermelon and Arugula Salad with Feta and Tapenade
Serves 4

Various versions of this salad, currently one of Brennan's personal favorites, have been turning up on New York City restaurant menus over the past several years, enticing diners with the once-unexpected juxtaposition of salty cheese and sweet, crunchy watermelon. This version calls for less common goat cheese feta and derives extra texture and salinity from the olive tapenade. If you love watermelon in the summertime, this is a surprising way to serve it at the table. It's especially appropriate for outdoor lunch and dinner parties.

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt
Black pepper in a mill
1/4 cup tapenade
About 3 pounds seedless watermelon, rind removed, cut into 1-inch cubes
4 cups loosely packed arugula (about 2 ounces arugula), tough stems removed, well washed in several changes of cold water and spun dry
1/2 cup crumbled goat cheese feta (from about 3 ounces cheese)

Method:
Make the vinaigrette: Put the lime juice, corn syrup, and olive oil in a mixing bowl and whisk them together. Season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and about 6 grinds of black pepper. Add the tapenade to the bowl and stir it into the vinaigrette.

Divide the watermelon cubes among 4 chilled salad plates. Dress the arugula with the vinaigrette and divide among the plates, piling it atop the watermelon. Scatter some crumbled cheese over each salad. Serve.

Variation: Use sheep's-milk or "regular" feta in place of the goat cheese feta.

Chicken "Tonnato" with Panzanella Salad
Serves 4

My version of the classic Italian vitello tonnato, in which thin slices of veal are dressed with a tuna-mayonnaise sauce and served chilled, features thin slices of chicken breast in place of the veal. It's accompanied by a quick take on another popular Italian dish, the bread salad called panzanella, which is traditionally made with stale two-or three-day-old bread, but which you can have on-demand by baking croutons instead.

Ingredients:
4 boneless, skinless Chicken Breasts (5-6 ounces each)
4 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup homemade mayonnaise
2 tablespoons water
3/4 cup high-quality preserved tuna, from Italy or Spain, drained of excess oil
2 tablespoons capers, rinsed and drained
Kosher salt
White pepper in a mill
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and cut into ½-inch dice (about 1 cup dice)
3/4 pound beefsteak or heirloom tomatoes, cut into ½-inch dice (about 1 ½ cups dice)
4 cups arugula (from about 3 ounces arugula), tough stems discarded, washed and spun dry
1/2 cup finely julienned red onion
1/2 cup sherry vinaigrette
1/2 cup pitted pitted kalamata olives (optional)
1 cup parmesan and black pepper croutons (optional)
Fleur de sel

Method:
Preheat the oven to 325°F. Put the chicken breasts in a high-sided, 12-inch sauté pan with a lid. Pour over the stock, cover, and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Transfer the pan to the oven and poach until the chicken is cooked through (an instant-read thermometer inserted to the thickest part of a breast should read 160°F, approximately 20 minutes.

Remove the pan from the oven, drain the liquid from the pan, and let the chicken cool. Serve warm, or transfer to a clean plate or platter, cover, refrigerate until cold, at least 2 hours, or up to 24 hours.

Put the mayonnaise and water in the bowl of a food processor fitted with s steel blade. Add the tuna and capers, season with salt and 6 grinds of pepper, and process until all ingredients are well incorporated. The mayonnaise can be transferred to a bowl, covered, and refrigerated for up to 3 days.

Put the cucumbers, tomatoes, arugula, onions, vinaigrette, olives, and croutons, if using, in a bowl and gently toss to coat all of the ingredients with the vinaigrette.

Use a sharp, thin-blade knife to slice the chicken breasts horizontally as thinly as possible, as though you were slicing smoked fish.

Divide the sliced chicken into 4 portions, fanning each portion out on a chilled salad plate. Season the chicken to taste with the fleur de del and a few grinds of pepper. Use an offset spatula to spread the mayonnaise evenly over the chicken. Mount some bread salad in the center of the plate, and serve.

Variation: Serve the salad on its own as a small meal or side dish, or top the salad with a grilled or seared tuna instead for a seafood alternative main course.

For another recipe, go to Page 3.Parmesan and Black Pepper Croutons

Ingredients:
2 cups 3/4 inch cubes country bread or baguette
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic
1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt plus a pinch
2 tablespoons finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
1/2 teaspoon finely cracked black pepper

Method:
Preheat the oven to 325°F. Put the bread cubes into a mixing bowl and set them aside.

Warm the olive oil and melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed saucepan set over low heat. Add the garlic, along with a pinch of salt, and cook, stirring, until softened but not browned, 3 minutes. Pour the garlic butter over the bread cubes and stir to coat the cubes evenly. Sprinkle the cheese, pepper, and salt over the cubes and toss gently to coat the cubes evenly.

Pour the croutons onto the cookie sheet or baking sheet, spread them out in a single layer, and bake them in the oven until golden brown and crisp on the outside but still chewy inside, 5-6 minutes. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and serve the croutons warm or let cool. The croutons can be made in advance and kept at room temperature for up to 3 hours.