The perfect picnic menu is harder to design than you might think. It should be easy to transport, simple to eat, and taste wonderful. It's also filling and elegant and interesting.

Well, after lots of recipe testing and hard work, I've done it: I believe I've created the perfect picnic menu. This is the kind of menu you'll be just as comfortable serving to your friends as to your mother-in-law as to your work colleagues as to your kids. It's both elegant and simple.

Can you tell I'm proud of myself?

So, are you ready to get cookin'? Read on for my perfect picnic menu. Or check out some of my other picnic menus and recipes at picnic headquarters!

Main Dish:

• Chevre, Leek, and Shallot Tart (recipe below)
• Simple Roasted Chicken, Served Cold (or cheat and buy rotisserie!)
• Spinach Salad with Onions, Apples, and Pecans (recipe below)
• French bread

• Served with:
• Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, or Pinot Noir

Dessert:

• Easy Pastry-Free Dutch Apple Pie (recipe below)

This tart is very adult, but since it looks like pie and tastes smooth and creamy, kids love it, too. You can choose to either do your own pastry, or buy pre-made pastry -- whatever you've got time for. While it tastes great hot, this tart is probably best when eaten at room temperature. Which is what makes it a perfect picnic menu idea!

When you're cooking this, don't worry if it looks a little too soft when you take it out of the oven. When it cools it sets up perfectly-- and won't be rubbery and weird the way some quiche-type recipes can be. Recipe serves about 6.

• Print this Recipe

Ingredients:
1 (8 oz.) prepared pie crust
12 oz. cleaned, trimmed leeks, sliced into 1/2" slices
4 shallots, diced fine
1/2 tbsp. butter
Pinch salt
8 oz. Chevre cheese (firm goat cheese), rind trimmed
3 lg. eggs, beaten
7/8 C. creme fraiche
1/2 tsp. salt (or to taste)
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

Instructions: 1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and place the rack at the center of the oven. Lightly grease (with butter) a 7 1/2" quiche pan.

2. Melt butter in a skillet. Toss leeks and shallots with a small amount of salt. Cook on med-low heat 10-15 minutes, until cooked through. To keep the tart firm, you now need to get every last bit of liquid out of them. Drain your veggies in a fine-mesh strainer, pressing lightly to get out as much liquid as possible.

3. On a floured surface, roll out your pastry dough until it's very thin. Carefully place it in your prepared quiche pan, and press dough against bottom and into grooves. Don't pull or stretch the dough, or it will break or thin out too much during cooking. Trim the edges to about 1/2 to 3/4" over the edge of the pan. Pinch the edges down until the edge rises just 1/4" above the pan.

4. Prick prepared dough all over with a fork. Fill the bottom with pastry weights or dry beans to weigh it down. Bake 20-25 minutes, until golden. Remove from oven and remove weights. Place a baking sheet in the oven to preheat while you prepare the filling (cooking on a baking sheet will help to cook the filling more evenly).

5. To make filling, crumble your goat cheese into a small mixing bowl. Stir in drained leeks and shallots.

6. In another bowl, combine the eggs, creme fraiche, salt to taste, and pepper.

7. Sprinkle leek, shallot, and cheese mixture into the bottom of your pastry shell. Pour your egg mixture over.

8. Carefully place your filled tart onto your preheated baking sheet. Bake about 30 minutes, until the middle is firm and the tart is golden brown. Depending on your oven, it may take a little longer.

9. Let rest 15 minutes, or cool completely before slicing and serving. To remove it easily from the quiche pan, run a knife along the grooves under the crust to loosen it before removing the sides.

This salad has a distinctive autumn flavor, but can be served and tastes wonderful year-round. In fact, I think it's a perfect picnic menu item in summer because the flavors are light, warm, and simple. It's also easy to put together.

You can glaze the pecans the day before, assemble before you go on your picnic, and then toss everything together right before serving. The dressing is at the bottom of the bowl so you don't have to transport it in a separate container-- which makes it the perfect picnic menu item. Easy as could be!

Recipe serves about 4.

• Print this Recipe

Ingredients:
Salad:
1 golden delicious or fuji apple, thinly sliced
1/4 C. red onion, halved and thinly sliced
3/4 lb. fresh baby spinach, washed
1/2 C. pecans
1 tbsp. sugar

Dressing
3 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp. Dijon mustard
1 tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

Instructions: 1. First glaze the pecans. Toss sugar and pecans together in a non-stick frying pan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, about 5 minutes, until the sugar melts to the pecans. Pour the nuts out on parchment paper (or waxed paper) in a single layer, making sure they're all separated.

2. To make the dressing, combine the olive oil, vinegar, dijon mustard, sugar, salt, and pepper in a small mixing bowl. Whisk until well-combined and thickened.

3. To assemble the salad, place the dressing in the bottom of a large salad bowl. Place apple and onion on top. Mound spinach on top of apple, onion, and dressing. Sprinkle pecans over spinach.

4. Can be assembled and refrigerated a few hours in advance. Toss the salad together right before serving.

If you're trying to put together the perfect picnic menu, I don't think you will ever find a dessert with a better "return on your investment" (that is, your time) than this one. You can whip this pie together in about a half-hour, using ingredients you probably have sitting around the house. And since there's no pastry crust, there's no rolling or fluting or any of that other stuff that makes pie-making so frustrating.

All-in-all, this delicious, easy apple pie recipe is the perfect addition to your perfect picnic menu. Not just because it's easy, but because it's also one of the best apple pies you'll ever taste.

Want to save time? Make this oatmeal-crust Dutch apple pie the day before your picnic (or barbeque or Thanksgiving dinner or whatever special event you're planning). It tastes even better after it sits a day. And it's heaven served with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream.

• Print this Recipe

Ingredients:
Topping and Crust:
1 3/4 C. all-purpose flour
3/4 C. brown sugar, packed
3/4 C. butter, melted
3/4 C. rolled or quick oats
1 tsp. ground cinnamon

Filling:
2/3 C. sugar
3 tbsp. cornstarch
1 1/2 C. cold water
4-5 C. peeled, cored, and thinly sliced Granny Smith apples
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Ingredients: 1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

2. To make the crust and topping, combine the butter, brown sugar, flour, oats, and 1 tsp. cinnamon in a medium mixing bowl. Stir until well combined.

3. Set aside about 1 cup of oat mixture for the topping. To make the crust, press the rest of your oat/flour mixture into the bottom and sides of a 9" deep-dish pie plate. Set aside.

4. To make your filling, stir together cornstarch, cinnamon, and sugar in the bottom of a large stockpot. Whisk in cold water. Bring to a boil, and cook until thickened, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Stir in the apples and vanilla extract.

5. Dump your apple filling into your oatmeal crust. Press on the remaining oatmeal topping. Press it firmly into the filling to keep it from sliding off when cooking and cutting. It's okay if your apple pie looks a little too tall when uncooked. It'll flatten out as it bakes.

6. Bake 45 minutes, or until golden brown and apples are tender. Let your easy Dutch apple pie cool before serving.