A New England-Inspired Summer Picnic Party in Atlanta.
This post has been sponsored by Cape Cod® Chips and Samuel Adams®.
All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Now that I’m living 1000+ miles away from home, I find that I miss it more than I thought I would.
Obviously I knew I’d miss my friends and family up there, but I also miss so much more than that.
I miss the New England spring, those glorious few weeks in Boston when the trees would all bloom. I miss the fall, when the leaves turned vibrant orange and fiery red. And, I miss the neighborhood spots I loved so much.
For a few years, I lived in a neighborhood called Jamaica Plain, and as luck would have it, I was in walking distance of the Samuel Adams brewery. I mean, you truly couldn’t beat it. I loved living there! My apartment building was adjacent to a bike path, so I could hop on and head down to Sam Adams for beer and then stop by my favorite café next door for a NOLA iced latte and the best breakfast sandwich in the world.
Don’t get me wrong, I love living in Atlanta—but it’s easy to miss home if you’ve moved a significant distance away from it.
So, to help my friends and I enjoy a taste of New England’s spring and summer in Atlanta—I brought New England to them!
A New England-Inspired Summer Picnic Party
We kept this summer picnic party easy by hosting it right on our patio! And, we stocked up on the most important New England items:
- Cape Cod® Summer™ Potato Chips: Cracked Pepper and a Hint of Lemon
- Samuel Adams® New England IPA
It felt just like home with those two on hand. But obviously, if we’re hosting a picnic, it’s important to have a little more sustenance on hand than just chips and beer. Yet, I could get by with just those two, ha(!).
The cracked pepper and lemon flavor of the chips tastes like summer in your mouth. Seriously. I didn’t expect the flavor to be so robust (in the best way possible!), and I was more than pleasantly surprised when I popped (more like quickly ripped) the bag open for the picnic. Plus, they’re gluten free and only available this summer—so I had to snag a few bags! Five…to be exact. No judging.
What we served at our Summer Picnic Party
Aside from the Cape Cod Chips and Sam Adams, here’s what else we served at our (very simple) summer picnic party:
- Cobb salad with avocado, hard boiled eggs, romaine, spring mix, tomatoes, quick roasted chicken, feta cheese, and a dill tahini sauce (so good!)
- Lots of fresh citrus—get those spring/summer mandarins!
See what I mean? We kept it so simple for this one, but the flavors were bursting with that fresh spring/summer goodness. So 5 “menu items” were all we needed.
The fresh citrus and the Cape Cod chips were the perfect accompaniment to the simple cobb salad. And, the hazy and juicy Sam Adams New England IPA, born right in the Samuel Adams brewery (steps from my old home!), topped it all off with that big punch of grapefruit and clean finish.
Aside from the food, here are a few other helpful picnic items to have on hand:
- A blanket or two to sit on
- A picnic basket
- Cloth napkins (simply throw them in the wash when you’re done!)
- Sturdy plates and silverware
- A bag for clean-up
- Extra bowls and plates, just in case!
Are you planning any picnic parties for the summer? What will you be bringing with you?
If you’re as interested in them as I am, visit www.capecodchips.com and www.samueladams.com to find the retailers nearest you. You won’t be disappointed. And, be sure to follow @capecodchips and @samueladamsbeer for more flavor pairings throughout the year.
g.
