If you live anywhere near the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, an evening at The Bowl is a must. When I lived in LA we always got tickets for a wonderful evening under the stars. Usually we got a box for 4 or 6 people, and each couple would bring part of the picnic dinner. Over the years the meals got fancier and fancier, always including wine, but sometimes we had tablecloths and candles. It's a real happening. You see everyone and anyone during the hour before the musical performance Over the years many restaurants and deli's started putting fancy picnic baskets together for those patrons that don't like to cook. They're expensive, and if you like to cook, you can put together a beautiful picnic basket with just a bit of work. Last summer a new website was introduced called www.hollywoodbowlpicnic.com. Each week of the summer season a different celebrity chef puts together a Hollywood Bowl picnic basket. Some of the items are easy, others are very complicated and far too much fuss, but if you like food, you'll certainly enjoy reading the recipes even if you don't make anything.
Of course you don't have to go to the Hollywood Bowl to enjoy this website. This week the celebrity chef was Rick Bayliss. You could make some of these recipes for a night out at the Summer Pops in San Diego or any of several other evening concerts our community offers. Every town seems to have an outdoor summer music program. Get a few people together, makae a gourmet picnic using some of the celebrity chef recipes, and your group will be really impressed. What I did was make a folder on my desktop called "hollywood bowl picnic". Then each week when my e-mail gives me the new menus, I just pop them into the folder and look at them later when I have time. If you go to the site you can sign up for weekly e-mails of all the recipes. You can also get all the recipes from last year. For those of you who like to cook, this website is a must.
Another website that I love is www.blueribbonpizzeria.com. This is the pizzeria in the Lumberyard in Encinitas that makes fantastic pizza, and fantastic everything. What I like about their website is the recipes. Right now they have the pizza dough recipe, a butterscotch pudding recipe and mac and cheese. Yum.
Summer is all about outdoors, and what better way to enjoy a meal than an outdoor picnic? I've got my barbeque cranked up and ready to go. Even if it's just a picnic in your own backyard, check out what some of these famous chefs are serving and it might inspire you.
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