A Return to Family Picnics

A Recipe for Reviving Family Fellowship

A Return to Family Picnics, a beautiful gift-quality cookbook, captures our imagination and fosters the ideal of family gatherings, fellowship, and community...outside! A follow-up to A Return to Sunday Dinner, this cookbook takes us out-of-doors, where we experience the fun and fellowship of family times and extended family gatherings in the splendor of God’s magnificent creation. With over 120 mouthwatering recipes, inspirational quotes, and heartwarming memories, your heart will take an inviting and nostalgic journey, setting the stage for the Christ-centered message of celebration and our American family heritage.

From the moment the first blossoms of spring unfold, we start to dust off our winter blues. Through the long, lazy respite that is summer and well into the gold and deep-red hues of autumn, we are drawn outside to experience anew the splendor of God’s magnificent creation. We are called to return to those uninterrupted memories far away from the hustle and bustle of the world pressing all around—and to celebrate life!

The glorious pleasure of one of America’s favorite pastimes beckons—a group of brightly covered tables, baskets of fresh flowers, frosty pitchers of lemonade, children laughing and spinning and swinging high in the warm, gentle breeze…

It’s time for the best picnic ever!

****

A century ago, when Henry Ward Beecher

was asked how we could makeour nation

better, he answered, “Multiply picnics.”

He was right then, and his answer is right for us now.

robert d. putnam, author of bowling alone

INSIDE LEFT FLAP COPY:

Picnics

Fresh country air fills your lungs under the cool shade of towering oak trees. Soft blades of grass tickle your feet as you relax in the classic setting for America ’s favorite gathering.

of All Shapes and Sizes

From a romantic fete for two along the riverside to an extended celebration for the entire neighborhood, laughter rings forth to seal priceless ties between young and old.

Are for Celebrating

With more than 120 mouthwatering recipes, stunning culinary photographs, and inspirational quotes, A Return to Family Picnics blends leisure with pleasure.

Food and Fun for All

This unique cookbook includes recipes that accommodate gatherings of up to forty people, with dishes from every corner of the country. Delightful salads and scrumptious sides accent each menu. Favorites showcasing our nation’s heritage include Herb-Marinated Rotisserie Chicken, Heavenly Deviled Eggs, Carolina Pulled Pork Sandwiches, All-American Deep-Dish Cherry Cobbler, and Maine Blueberry Buckle.

Inhale deeply, and let the enticing aroma guide you outdoors to that special place where loved ones gather…and the memories created are simply the icing on the Coconut Cream Cupcakes.

Story Behind the Book

“I remember well those wonderful celebrations and community events when our neighborhood parks rang with the sounds of rollicking, wholesome fun—pickup softball games, group volleyball, horseshoes, or three-legged races. On special days such as Memorial Day, the Fourth of July, and Labor Day, we gathered for solemn remembrance—then headed for the picnic tables to celebrate our glorious past together. So many of my own childhood memories involve picnic moments—flying kites on a hill, singing songs in the car, trips to the zoo, days at the beach, fascinating visits to historic sites, not to mention those wonderful, home-cooked foods. Doesn’t the very thought make you want to pack your picnic basket and head outdoors for a picnic celebration of your own?”

Russell Cronkhite is a renowned chef, pastry chef, and baker whose culinary career has spanned over thirty years. His work has appeared in Art Culinaire, Bon Appetit, the Washington Post, and Weber’s Big Book of Grilling. In 1988, Russell began twelve remarkable years as executive chef of Blair House, the guest house of the president of the United States, where he served three presidents, five secretaries of state, and six chiefs of protocol. Russell and his wife have three grown children.