There’s something cozy and comfortable about sitting on a picnic blanket, eating food under the open sky. There’s no dress code, no computer (hopefully), no restaurant lines. The kids can be as boisterous as they want.

By the time you reach your chosen picnic spot or favorite beach, your meal has already been put together and stored in the cooler or basket. There’s nothing to do but unwrap the packages, open the wine, and enjoy the scenery and the company of your friends and family.

The question is: What to bring? Around the Island, a number of farm stands, roadside markets, and takeout cafés stock their coolers and shelves daily with prepared sandwiches, sides, cut-up fruit, baked goods, and cold drinks for just this event. We toured these Island kitchens and sampled this summer’s takeout offerings that you can pick up when you don’t feel like cooking.

If you’re a person who loves to prepare your own, we’ve also included recipes on the following pages for a simple but delicious picnic: fresh tomato salsa and chips, curry-mango chicken salad, Greek pasta salad, and chocolate chip cookies.

Picnic lunch

Appetizer
The gazpacho at Morning Glory Farm is made with the farm’s own fresh field tomatoes and colorful bits of farm vegetables. It makes a cooling treat on a hot August day. The lemon and dill hummus makes a good addition. Serve both with the stand’s fresh-baked bread, including the seasoned garlic roll sticks.

Main course
Katama General Store’s sandwiches come pre-cut in clear box containers, so you can see the colorful, appealing fillings: salami, ham, hot pepper, lettuce, and tomato; ham and Swiss; roast beef and cheddar; and veggies with hummus. Among the salads, try the Tuna Salad Niçoise with fresh tuna poached in an herb-infused olive oil.

Side
Perfecting its recipes over the years, Vineyard Gourmet specializes in salads showcased in a long glass case. These include cowboy rice and beans, sesame peanut noodles, and antipasto pasta, along with an assortment of potato salads, chicken salads, and slaws. Vineyard Gourmet offers box lunches (a sandwich, chips, beverage, and cookie) and picnic baskets (order ahead) filled with food.

Dessert
For juicy summer fruit such as ripe cherries, peaches, and grapes – all picnic staples – look to Eden Market. On the other side of the Island, Morning Glory Farm grows its own blueberries and cantaloupe (great to combine), and its own yellow and red varieties of watermelon to slice. (Don’t forget napkins!)

Drink
Iced tea is the perfect complement to this meal, and if you don’t go with a caffeine-free version, it’ll give you a little extra kick for an active afternoon.

Where to go
An energizing ten- to fifteen-minute hike along a wooded path at Great Rock Bight Preserve, on North Road in Chilmark, ends at a secluded, crescent-shaped beach, where you can picnic and swim. There’s also a lookout spot before you reach the beach.

Dinner at the beach

Appetizer
The guacamole at Katama General Store comes topped with a fresh tomato-like salsa. It’s prepared daily, and “people have been coming back for it,” says one store worker. Serve with chips, and check out the other nibbles the country store’s owners have handpicked from fancy food shows. If you swing by in the morning, tide yourself over till lunch with a scone. They’re addictive.

Main Course
To cook on your portable grill, Morning Glory Farm has created ready-made, flavored burger patties (made with home-grown beef), including the pizza burger, the linguiça cheddar burger, and the buffalo burger. Don’t feel like cooking? Pick up steamed lobsters to go from Larsen’s Fish Market (call ahead). Or try the lobster rolls, stuffed clams, or plates of shucked oysters or clams.

Side
The pre-packaged homemade sides at The Scottish Bakehouse can round out any beach fare, like the Island-grown haricots verts (thin green beans) with blue cheese, toasted almonds, and a light dressing. You’ll also find ready-made containers of organic spelt-grain salad, wild rice salad with oranges and pecans, Greek orzo salad, and tomatoes with fresh mozzarella and pesto.

Dessert
At the Fiddlehead Farm market, look for Little Rock Farm of Oak Bluffs’ small-sized pies (made for two) created with seasonal fruit. There’s blueberry-peach, raspberry-peach, and “veri verri berry pie” (strawberry, raspberry, and blueberry).

Drink
Depending on the open-container laws for your picnicking destination, some ice-cold beer or thirst-quenching lemonade will go well with this menu.

Where to go
Join the crowd by bringing dinner to Menemsha Beach and enjoying the sunset. You can park right there, so bringing a portable grill will be easy. Just make sure your hands are free to applaud as the sun slips below the horizon.

Picnic to impress

Appetizer
Sushi rolls make a dramatic start for a picnic outing – plus they are light and refreshing, easy and portable. The best source here is from the sushi guys at The Net Result. To go all out, add a plate of pristine littleneck clams and oysters from this fish market. They’ll shuck them and provide the horseradish, lemon, and cocktail sauce to go.

Main Course
Soigné loans picnic baskets and fills them with good things to eat. A top-end picnic might include a wedge of Brie, some berries, tortellini puttanesca, lobster salad, Champagne, and lemon squares to finish. The basket comes with utensils and is tied with a ribbon (call ahead). If you are a cheese lover, choose from Soigné’s selection of some thirty fine cheeses.

Side
A stop at Fiddlehead Farm finds cured meats, fruit, baked goods, and prepared foods. Try the smoked duck confit drummettes, the smoked chicken breast – cooked and ready to go – or Nantucket Wild Gourmet and Smokehouse’s smoked salmon. The idea of this new farm stand is to showcase as many foods as possible from Vineyard caterers, farms, and bakers in one spot.

Dessert
Pastry chef Gates Rickard’s mini chocolate cakes at Slice of Life are called fondants and come warmed in the microwave and topped with fresh whipped cream. See if you can manage to get them to the picnic without devouring them first. Equally delicious: the honey-roasted peanut butter cookies with chocolate. While here, pick up a loaf of the excellent rustic bread for the cheese course.

Drink
A fancy flavored seltzer water or Italian soda will look lovely in some plastic stemware, or go all out with sparkling wine or Champagne.

Where to go
There’s a path to the Edgartown Lighthouse off North Water Street that brings you out to a beach with the Edgartown harbor as your picnic backdrop. It’s such a pretty spot, it’s often picked for wedding ceremonies and photo shoots.

Homemade

Appetizer
Take advantage of summer tomatoes and make a fresh tomato salsa that you can bring to the beach and serve with chips. This is a favorite of mine, because it’s not a lot of work to put together, and the vibrant flavors of a homemade salsa outshine the jarred alternatives. 

Main Course
Curried chicken salad made with mango chutney, apples, and chives is addictive and perfect for a picnic. Serve in lettuce wraps or with rolls on the side. Private chef Rachel Vaughn of Vineyard Haven and Big Sky, Montana, who is known by her friends and clients for making great chicken salads, says this recipe is one of her favorites.

Side
If you like Greek salads, you’ll love this Greek pasta salad that’s chock full of vegetables, herbs, olives, and feta cheese. It’s easy to put together and if you double it, you can serve a crowd. This recipe comes from my new book of portable salads for the summer, Raising the Salad Bar (Lake Isle Press, June 2007).

Dessert
Make a batch of chocolate chip cookies, put them in the freezer, then transport them to the beach. You’ll win some appreciation for the effort – and the chocolate won’t necessarily melt in everyone’s hands. Our recipe is courtesy of pastry chef Gates Rickard at Slice of Life.

Drink
For a decadent, cooling beach treat, whip up a batch of strawberry daiquiris in the blender and transport them in a thermos or two. Luckily, daiquiris are yummy with or without alcohol, so make this recipe according to your tastes and location.

Where to go
This homemade feast is perfect for the beach or the backyard. Of course, many people arrive early to Ocean Park for the Oak Bluffs Fireworks (August 17) and spread out a blanket to save a good spot on the green. This is a perfect time to enjoy a packed picnic.

Fresh tomato salsa

You can use this salsa as a fresh dip for chips, or even as a salsa sauce to accompany grilled fish or chicken. To make the salsa hotter, add a few drops of your favorite hot sauce.

• 4 medium to large tomatoes (about 2 cups), cored and diced
• 1/2 red onion, minced
• 1 small red or green pepper, cut into very small dice
• 1 jalapeño pepper, minced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 2 tablespoons lime juice, or more to taste
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, or more to taste
• 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
• hot sauce, if desired

1. Put chopped tomatoes into a colander set over a bowl. Add two pinches of salt, toss, and let the tomatoes sit for a few minutes to drain slightly.

2. Combine drained, chopped tomatoes in a medium-sized bowl with red onion, pepper, jalapeño, garlic, cumin, lime juice, and olive oil. Add salt to taste and mix in chopped cilantro. Test out on a chip, and add more lime juice, salt, or a few drops of hot sauce, if needed.

Curried chicken salad

Private chef Rachel Vaughn’s chicken salad is perfect to bring to the beach.

Serves 6 to 8

• 4 split bone-in chicken breasts (with skin), or 4 cups cooked, shredded chicken
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• 3 to 4 celery stalks, diced
• 3 tablespoons fresh chives, chopped
• 2 tablespoons scallion, chopped
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley, minced
• 2 cups seedless red grapes, halved or quartered
• 1 crisp apple, peeled and finely diced (sprinkled with lemon juice to prevent discoloration)
• 1/2 cup toasted pecans or toasted sliced almonds

curry–mango chutney dressing

• 1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons curry powder
• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 1/3 cup mango chutney, preferably Major Grey’s
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Rub split chicken breasts with a little olive oil and season on both sides with salt and pepper. Place on a baking sheet and roast for 35 to 40 minutes, until just cooked. When chicken is cool enough to handle, remove the meat from the bone and shred by hand into thin strips. Refrigerate, covered, until ready to use.

2. In a large serving bowl, combine the chicken, celery, chives, scallion, parsley, grapes, and apple.

3. To make the dressing, in a small bowl whisk together all of the ingredients. Add dressing to the chicken salad and mix well to combine. Top with toasted nuts.

Greek pasta salad

For a crowd, you can double the recipe.

Serves 6

• 8 ounces fusilli pasta
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 pound tomatoes, seeded and diced
• 1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and diced
• 1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives, diced
• 1/4 red onion, sliced razor thin
• 1/4 cup (packed) fresh parsley, minced
• 1 cup feta cheese, diced or crumbled

herb dressing
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 3/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup (packed) fresh basil, oregano, and/or dill, minced
• 1 teaspoon garlic, minced
• Salt and pepper

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta until al dente, according to package directions, then drain well in a colander and drizzle with olive oil. Shake the strainer to distribute oil and let steam escape. Set aside to cool.

2. When the pasta is cool, place it in a serving bowl, and add the tomatoes, cucumber, olives, red onion, and parsley.

3. To make the dressing, in a jar with a lid combine the vinegar, oil, herbs, and garlic. Season generously with salt and pepper, and shake well until the ingredients are emulsified. Add 1/3 to 1/2 cup of the dressing to the salad just before serving. (Reserve leftover dressing for another salad.) Taste and make any necessary seasoning adjustments. Gently fold in the feta.

Chocolate chip cookies

Gates Rickard, pastry chef at Slice of Life café in Oak Bluffs, says these are his best-selling cookies.

Makes 12, 2-ounce cookies

• 2 sticks unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 egg
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons molasses
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup pastry flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

1. Make sure that the butter is very soft, softer than most cookie recipes, but not melted. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Because the butter is very soft, you will not get the same aeration as in some recipes. Add the egg, vanilla, and molasses.

2. In a separate bowl, combine the flours, baking soda, and salt; add to the first bowl, just to combine. Fold in the chips.

3. Scoop dough with a 1/4-cup measuring cup and place on a baking sheet. Chill for at least 20 minutes, and then bake in a preheated 350-degree oven until a crust has formed over the sides and top, but the center still feels a little gooey, about 10 to 15 minutes, depending on the oven. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet.

Strawberry daiquiri

The frozen strawberries give this a creamy, frozen texture. You can supplement with ice to mellow the intense strawberry flavor or add some fruit juice for some variety.

6 Servings

• 1 cup rum*
• 3/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
• 1/2 cup sugar or maple syrup
• 4 cups whole strawberries, frozen

 1. Pour rum and lime juice into blender. Add sugar and whirl to dissolve.

 2. Drop frozen berries into blender, a few at a time, blending until smooth. Pour into chilled glasses.

* To make this drink non-alcoholic, substitute a chilled fruit juice for the rum, such as pineapple, mango, guava, or orange juice.