A VERY Lazy, No-Cook Supper That Has It All

And should absolutely not require a visit to the grocery store

I don’t care how much you love to cook – sometimes, you’re just having a crazy week and even a box of Kraft Dinner starts to look good. Many people make homemade pizzas and that certainly works, too. I even know strange people who eat only volumes of popcorn on nights they don’t want to cook. Popcorn. But for my husband and me? Indoor Picnic Night is what happens when we’re lazy and don’t feel like cooking.

I bring out a baguette, some creamy French brie, a jar of olives, a can of sardines, or smoked oysters. My husband may have picked up hummus from our favorite Lebanese deli. Our menu changes but three things stay the same: simple food, no cooking, and we don’t eat at the dining room table.

Picnic night is one of the easiest things to prepare for. During the week I pick up a few fresh supplies like a baguette, thinly sliced pepper salami, cheese, and fruit. The rest comes straight from my pantry, fridge, and freezer.

What do you need for your indoor picnic night? Please: keep it simple. I drag out a couple of old breadboards and they hold the bounty. I don’t know why it’s kind of fun to eat off of a breadboard – but it just is.

Pick one or two foods from each category:

Something savory:

• Dill pickles
• Chutney
• Pickled onions
• Olives
• Artichokes in oil

Something crunchy:

• Chips
• Nuts
• Radishes
• Celery with Cheez Whiz

Something smooth:

• Brie
• Cream cheese
• Hummus
• Hard-boiled eggs (I’m not making deviled eggs on a lazy supper night)

A protein:

• Tins of sardines (editor’s note: we love Fishwife) or smoked oysters
• Whisper-thin slices of rosemary ham or pepper salami
• Do you have some leftover sausages from the other night? Cut them into bite-sized pieces and serve with grainy mustard – you stretch the love. (I even like thin slices of cold cooked liver with hot mustard.)
• If you want to splurge a little – raw oysters on the half shell are amazing with a drop of Tabasco and a slice of lemon. A small jar of black lumpfish caviar is only $8 and it’s delicious on a cracker with cream cheese.
• And let’s not forget about smoked salmon, red onion, capers, and cream cheese. I think we all need more of that in our lives.

Bread

• A rustic black Russian loaf is excellent and so is rye bread if you’ve cracked out the smoked salmon.
• All kinds of crackers work, but only have one or two choices (and we’ve used saltines in a pinch).

Vegetables

• Don’t go crazy and have a big vegetable and dip platter. Too much chopping and the pre-chopped stuff from the store is dry and expensive. Keep it simple. I stick with a bunch of radishes with butter and ​flaky Maldon salt​.
• And celery and Cheez Whiz is a favorite because Cheez Whiz doesn’t have calories on indoor picnic night. (And everyone loves it.)

Fruit

• Enjoy any kind of fresh fruit in season and in the winter.
• A little dish of dried apricots or other dried fruit seems to make people happy, too.

Sweet

• Break a Lindt chocolate bar up – you’re not baking here.
• I like to buy a little box of macarons for $5 from the grocery store, and they are always a hit.
• Trust me – no one complains if you have a small mountain of Oreos in a bowl.

Something about picnic food can make people happy, whether it’s in the middle of summer, or by a skating rink, or on pillows thrown on the living room floor. We all seem to loosen up a bit. Just because it’s cold out doesn’t mean you have to give up picnic food. (And there aren’t any bugs to worry about either.) You can relax and settle into a chair by the fire with a small plate of goodness by your side. Conversation flows and so does laughter. Whether you’ve made it an indoor picnic for one or for family night – it should feel easy. Because that’s the secret sauce of a picnic – it should be casual.

And isn’t it important to look for creative and affordable ways to inject joy into our lives? Strangely – crackers, cheese, and a can of smoked oysters do just that. They make life feel a little lighter. Because the small things in your pantry are quite comforting if you give them a chance on a lazy supper night – and you won’t be stuck just eating a giant bowl of popcorn.