Vanderbilt doesn’t care whether your picnic is a cookout or you bring food prepared. Menus in Complete Book of Etiquette are tried and true cold fried chicken, little cold veal or English ham pies, chicken, or potato salad. If you pack in a thermos, Vanderbilt suggests filling it with spaghetti, mushrooms, chicken livers, baked beans, or fish chowder. “While the old standbys of hot dogs and hamburgers are perfectly acceptable at a picnic,” she offers, “guests are usually grateful, especially if it’s a picnic supper.” If you have a grill, Vanderbilt recommends charcoal-broiled steak, baked or fried potatoes with onions, charcoal-broiled chicken, or spareribs, southern style.
There is extensive discussion about serving alcoholic beverages in “The Ritual of Drinking,” but nothing is mentioned about serving at a picnic.
Featured Image: Amy Vanderbilt. This is not a picnic.
See Amy Vanderbilt. Complete Book of Etiquette. Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Co., 1952