Italian Panini for a late Fall lakeside picnic

Italian Panini for a late Fall lakeside Picnic. A great location by the lake, wonderful friends, and good food: soup and sandwich, among other delicious accompaniments, including dessert. Come with us as we share recipes, pictures and suggestions for a marvelous outdoor feast!

Song of the day: "Time of the Season" by The Zombies.

The late Fall weather has been extremely beautiful in this neck of the woods, enough to make us pack a picnic and head to the lakeside with our dear friends Margaret and Raymond Kitchenfrau. You might remember our early Fall picnic in a beautiful location overlooking the river and the Edmonton cityscape. This time we headed into the country.

Even though the temperatures have dropped significantly, the sun was shining and we had everything to keep us warm and satisfied. Destination, Chickakoo Lake, in Alberta, Canada, a special place for Loreto who used to go there with his parents, and aunt Maria and uncle Lou, for fishing, or on a hike to forage.

Chickakoo Lake

Chickakoo Lake, 480 acres of woodland and lakes, is located outside of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, in a natural area with trails to enjoy on foot, on bikes, or on horse.

There are also plenty of picnic areas. A little walk in the woods led us to a more hidden area with a table perfect to set up our picnic.

Essential Fall Picnic Checklist

First of all you will need great food and a fabulous spot. Moreover, these essential things to bring to a picnic:

• A few blankets. We layed ours on the bench for a warmer and more comfortable sitting.
• A washable tablecloth to lay on the picnic table.
• Folding chairs and maybe a portable picnic table if you do not find a table with benches and do not want to sit on the ground.
• A picnic basket with plates, glasses/cups, and cutlery. Baskets to carry some of your stuff.
• A thermos to keep your beverages warm and/or a cooler.
• Napkins and wipes.
• A cutting board.
• Some seasonal décor: branches, flowers, corn, gourds. It is not essential, but it surely adds a nice touch to the table.
• Trash bags and plastic bags to store your dirty dishes.

Our "Late Fall Lakeside Picnic" Menu

Appetizer

• Roasted sweet potato and red lentil hummus with crackers
• Prosciutto-wrapped stuffed dates

Main

• Creamy Tomato soup
• Soppressata and Provolone Panini (recipe at the bottom of the post)
• Grilled vegetable Panini (recipe at the bottom of the post)

Dessert

• Salt and pepper, sugar and spice cookies (post to come)
• Welsh cakes

Beverages

• Hot chocolate with homemade marshmallows
• Sparkling water

Appetizers

The hummus and dates were the perfect starter to our lakeside lunch. The hummus is rich and velvety due to the combination of sweet potato that is roasted and caramelized, and the lovely red lentils. Add in the tahini and the topping of evo oil infused with za'taar and paprika gives the taste buds plenty to rave about. The Medjool dates were stuffed with herbs and wrapped in prosciutto and baked. The crispy/saltiness of the prosciutto combined with the sweetness of the dates is absolutely wonderful.

Main

We decided to go with a classic soup and sandwich theme. The creamy soup that Margaret made with their homegrown tomatoes was luscious and heartwarming on a cooler day. Following our Italian roots, our panini were a fulfilling accompaniment.

Italian Panini

All in all, what is better than bringing tasty Italian sandwiches to a picnic? We've made two different kinds of sandwiches: one for the meat lovers, the other for the veggie lovers. The bread of choice, was a crispy baguette. This is how you put these panini together:

• Grill eggplant, zucchini, and pepper slices in a grilling pan. Place in a bowl and toss with evo oil, minced garlic, salt, pepper and fresh chopped parsley. Set a side.
• Cut one baguette into four and the pieces of baguette in half. Slather some roasted red pepper spread on each side (you can find this type of spread at one of your Italian grocery stores).
• On the veggie panini place slices of the grilled vegetables on the bottom piece of baguette and top with sliced Gruyère. Top with the other piece of baguette and give it a little press. Wrap partially with some sandwich paper and tie.
• For the meat panini, cut the other baguette into four and the pieces in half. Again, slather the same roasted red pepper spread, place three slices of soppressata on the bottom of each piece of baguette and top with Provolone. Place the bread top on and give a little press. Wrap and tie.

NOTE: You will have leftover grilled vegetables. Store in an airtight container and serve as a side or use as pizza topping.

Time for dessert

We thought that cookies and hot chocolate were the perfect sweet touch to end the lunch. A change of location was needed to keep the warmth of the sun on us, and we found a place, table and all, close to the floating dock.

Cookies are the perfect finger food for a picnic dessert. Add to that a rich hot chocolate with those beautiful marshmallows, and a lakeside view, and you have some very happy campers!

A walk in the woods

The sun was falling slowly creating beautiful reflections in the trees. The trails at lake Chickakoo are absolutely beautiful and we couldn't let a stroll pass us by. We needed to work off that incredible lunch a bit, after all.

At the end of the day we found ourselves glancing at the stillness of the lake, with the movement of the floating dock beneath our feet. It's true what the say about spending the day in the great outdoors, it truly recharges you and fills the soul with nothing but joy and gratitude!

Head over to Kitchenfrau to read Margaret's recollection of the day and check out their delicious recipes. Don't forget to plan a picnic and spend some time outside before the snap of the cold season begins.

Happy Fall!

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