Picnicking with Josh Smith
To kick off National Picnic Month, we asked our friend Josh Smith to share his top picnic-ready recipes.
Josh is the head chef at Catch 27, a restaurant in downtown historic Saint Augustine. His work focuses on quality and sustainability. Cooking everything from scratch and utilizing local ingredients makes his work essential to the farm to table movement.
On the side, Josh works with chocolate. He makes his own vintage-inspired molds and chocolates for his own business: 301 Chocolates. You can check out the sick business cards we made for him here.
Josh shared three of his favorite summer time recipes for this picnic project: pimento cheese, chocolate chip pecan cookies, and buttermilk blue cheese and dill vinaigrette.
Pimento Cheese
written on our letterpress Recipe Cards, $18
ingredients
1 tablespoons paprika
1 teaspoon lemon juice, fresh
1 tablespoon hot sauce
2/3 cup pimento peppers, diced, drained well
1 pound cream cheese, room temperature
1 1/3 cups yellow cheddar, shredded
2 tablespoons mayo
1 tablespoon garlic powder
Recipe Preparation
In a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese on medium speed until smooth. Add all ingredients, except for cheddar, to the bowl on low speed. Mix well. Remove from the bowl and fold in shredded cheddar. Season to taste with kosher salt and black pepper.
Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookies
written on our letterpress Recipe Cards, $18
Ingredients
2 1/4 cups flour, AP
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt, kosher
1/2 cup pecan meal
2 cups chocolate chips
3/4 cup sugar, granulated
3/4 cup sugar, brown
1/2 pound butter, softened
at room temp
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Recipe Preparation
In a large mixing bowl, beat the sugars and butter together until smooth. On low speed, add the eggs one at a time. Add vanilla. Mix the flour, baking soda, and salt in a separate bowl. While beating, add the flour mix to the mixing bowl. Mix until combined. Fold in the pecan meal and chocolate chips. Bake the cookies at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes or until set (Cookies are cooked best if dough is allowed to chill for 2 hours in fridge).
BUTTERMILK BLUE CHEESE AND DILL VINAIGRETTE
written on our letterpress Recipe Cards, $18
Ingredients
1/2 tablespoon shallot, minced
1/2 tablespoon garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt and pepper mix
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 cups canola oil
1 cup blue cheese
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup chopped dill
1/2 cup white vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar, granulated
Recipe Preparation
Add all ingredients, except for the oil, into a blender. Blend on high speed for 45 seconds. With the mixer running, slowly add in the oil.