One of the true joys of summer is the dinner picnic. Gather some friends, a blanket, a bottle of wine, and someplace to spread your spread. Ideally grass will be involved, and enough live music to add to the ambience without inhibiting conversation.

Bread and cheese is always a classic dinner picnic meal, but really, what’s the fun in that? I can spend a week planning a good dinner picnic. Nothing that needs to hold to a certain temperature, or is too fragile to be packaged. My husband always tells me to keep it simple, but I suspect his idea of simple and mine aren’t exactly the same thing.

On a recent summer picnic (accompanied by 20′s jazz in a botanical garden), I kept it simple. Potato chips and onion dip ( for the nostalgia factor), grilled pork tenderloin that had been marinated with some southeast Asian ingredients, a light coleslaw with pineapple, and this tropical trifle.
Continue reading Mango Rum Trifle with Coconut Custard