Warmer weather means picnic time. You can picnic on the beach, on your patio, in your backyard or at your favorite park.

The meal can be as simple as wine, cheese and bread. Or you can carry along chilled, marinated vegetables stored in a wide-mouth jar, cold meats, assorted rolls, cold soup, wine, mint tea, cold shrimp or even fried chicken, coleslaw and other side dishes. Homemade cookies, chilled watermelon and seasonal fruits are ideal for summer picnics.

Better yet, let us supply you with all sorts of picnic items. For instance, there are Creole Stuffed Breads, all kinds of seafood pies, mini oyster and artichoke pies, and pralines. Easy enough, right?

The marinated vegetables are easy enough to prepare. See our Recipes section.

Boudin or any of the sausages available here make for great appetizers. For a change, you might want to squeeze the boudin mixture out of the casings, form the mixture into balls or patties, dredge them in seasoned bread crumbs, then deep-fry or pan-fry to give them a bit of a crunch, then dab them with a bit of Creole mustard and serve on toasted French bread slices. Cut smoked sausage into bite-size pieces and offer a dipping sauce for an easy pre-meal offering. Try using mayhaw jelly with pork sausage—I love the sweet and salty combination.