F is for Foxfield

The last Saturday in April is a holiday in Charlottesville.  We call it Foxfield.  It is the sunniest, preppiest, most entertaining splash of spring you've ever seen.  Oh, and it's a steeplechase horse race, but some people go to Foxfield and never see a horse.  Even though the undergraduate students make up the greatest percentage of the massive crowd, there are plenty of plots for us "grownups."  We actually watch the horse races (and take $1 bets too)!

I enjoy the challenge of creating a picnic for Foxfield because it has to be sun-proof.  It has to be easily packed and organized so that we can set up quickly, chow down and hang out for hours, and then pack it all up again.  This year's spread was pretty delicious, so today I'll share my menu.  I had plenty of helpers to create the meal and even more helpers to consume it, so I can't take all the credit for putting this together.  Nonetheless, I was the planner and that's a role I love.  

Foxfield Menu

Assorted sandwiches (roast beef, ham, turkey, grilled chicken)

Blue cheese, cranberry, spinach, & apple wraps

Italian pasta salad (with feta and pepperoni)

Sesame noodles with red peppers and carrots

Prosciutto and spinach Stromboli

Texas Caviar (a chunky salsa with black beans, hominy, & black eyed peas)

S'mores Cookies

Rice Krispie Treats

Crudités with red pepper hummus

Watermelon

Mimosas, Bloody Marys, the "Monarch," & other cocktails

Gourmet Jello Shots

Wraps made with a blue cheese spread, dried cranberries,
granny smith apples, pecans, and spinach

Italian pasta salad with tomatoes, cucumber, feta, and pepperoni

Sesame noodles with carrot ribbons and thinly sliced red peppers

Stromboli with prosciutto and mozzarella, plus spinach and
mushrooms from the farm box

Texas caviar: a chunky salsa made with black-eyed peas, black beans,
yellow and green peppers, hominy, tomatoes, and jalapenos

S'mores cookies with chocolate chips, graham crackers, and marshmallows

Rice Krispie treats

Vegetable crudités with red pepper hummus

My "gourmet" jello shots were one of the biggest hits of the day.  I purchased 2 oz. condiment cups with lids from a restaurant supply shop here in Charlottesville and mixed up several batches of jello shots.  My varieties?  Cranberry jello with vodka and lime juice made a classy cocktail.  Orange jello with vodka made marvelous mini screwdrivers.  Lime jello with tequila was the perfect mini margarita.  Lemon jello with sweet tea vodka made a fantastic Arnold Palmer.  We got lots and lots of compliments on our fun jello drinks!       

I failed to take pictures of our sandwiches, but we tried something new this year and it was a success.  The night before the picnic, we had a sandwich assembly line and created at least 20 different combinations of bread, meat, and cheese.  We used turkey, spiral sliced ham, roast beef, and grilled chicken breasts marinated in caesar dressing.  We had a variety of cheeses also, including cheddar, pepper jack, brie, swiss, and blue cheese.  We used sub rolls, sandwich buns, bagel thins, and whole wheat bread.  After each sandwich was built, we labeled the plastic sandwich bags with incredibly cute labels made by Lotta Jansdotter.  I gave the pen and labels to my sister-in-law, Lindsay, because she's got the perfect handwriting of a designer, and she stickered each sandwich with a little love.  They looked so cute I could barely stand it.  Let me add that we got lots of compliments on our adorable sandwiches and how professional they looked.  "Are these from a deli?" was my favorite comment.  To keep the sandwiches from getting soggy, we left off any condiments and just put a small cooler under the table that held mayonnaise, mustards, pickles, and banana peppers on ice.  It worked out perfectly.  In general, our Foxfield weekend was a great, preppy, picnic success!  

Lindsay & Peter busy on the sandwich assembly line