Podcast #42: Bacon, Lettuce and TomatoCAST

Back by popular demand and Saveur.com is our Ultimate BLT post from 2007!

My dear friend Christine Nunn, who helped me with this project has since opened her own restaurant in Fair Lawn, New Jersey — Picnic, The Restaurant, where you can get the Ultimate BLT as an appetizer for a limited time or while summer Jersey tomatoes run out!

Click Here To Listen to the Bacon, Lettuce and TomatoCAST!

Click Here for a Hi-Res Slide Show with More Photos!

Related OTB Post: No Bacon? “P”, L and T

Ah, the BLT. In many ways, it is the ultimate and perfect expression of the sandwich, simple and yet one of the best possible sandwiches that you can eat. Still, the perfect BLT can be elusive, as most restaurants and people do not take the exacting level of care in order to construct the best BLT possible. Skimp on any of the ingredients, or use a component that is substandard in any way, and the entire sandwich fails.

In order to build the Ultimate BLT, one must be committed in Zen-like fashion to go to great lengths to source pristine ingredients. Indeed, an entire afternoon could be spent in trying to get all the right components, at considerable expense. It is neither a cheap nor an efficient affair, but it is well worth the effort.

To build the Ultimate BLT, I collaborated with CIA-trained chef Christine Nunn of Picnic Caterers in Emerson, New Jersey, who came up with some great ideas, sourced some fantastic bread and tomatoes for us and assembled the incredible sandwiches you’re about to see.

Do you want to see how the Ultimate BLT is constructed? Click on the “Read the rest of this entry” link below for more.

(UPDATE) NJ Dining: Picnic Caterers

Chef Christine Nunn announced some Good News / Bad News last week. First the bad, Picnic in Emerson will be closed for lunch effective immediately. They will still be doing catering out of a professional kitchen, so all scheduled parties will not be effected, and you can continue to book parties as well (call the number, below). This is all to make time in Chef Nunn’s life for the GOOD news: Picnic, The Restaurant, will be opening at the Radburn Building in Fair Lawn, hopefully in June. Stay tuned for more about Picnic, The Restaurant, as Off The Broiler learns about it.

Picnic Catering
(201) 321-3213

You’ve heard my praises about Christine Nunn and her wonderful little catering operation in Emerson before (click for podcast and previous photos). However, as of last week, Christine and her merry elves at Picnic have been doing dinner take-out orders. I recently had a chance to sample some of the dishes, and if you’re not inclined to cook for yourself this evening or some night in the future, but you want a restaurant-style meal to take home that will knock your socks off, get a good look at some of these:

Picnic’s Chef Christine Nunn, with an abundance of chanterelle mushrooms.

Click on the “Read the rest of this entry linked below” for more.

Picnic Episode III: Rendevous at Burger Mountain

Picnic Catering
(201) 321-3213

Last week recieved the following email from Christine Nunn, chef and owner of Picnic Caterers in Emerson, NJ:

“I just returned from Disney. No, it was not the best burger I have eaten, since Disney must cook well done, but the best burger conceptually, and one that I’m putting on the menu on Monday. Ready? Set…. Here goes… Rare fresh ground beef burger… Tomato confit… Mushroom Duxelles… Onion jam… Bernaise sauce…Toasted French roll.. OMG…I can’t wait to make it my own… My béarnaise, which, I must say, is better than bottled epcot béarnaise.”

Now, if its one thing I have learned, is to take Christine very, very seriously whenever she emails me about things like this. And I knew that if she was making a burger, well, I knew I had to have one. I invited myself over today to document the burger-making process and to make one go into my stomach.

First we start with 80 percent lean ground chuck, which has been seasoned with salt and pepper. I agree with Christine that this is probably the ideal meat/fat ratio for a burger, and Chuck is better than sirloin for burgers.

I advise you not to be ravenously hungry before looking at the rest of these photos. Click on the “Read the rest of this entry” link below for more.

Podcast #27: Christine Nunn, Picnic Caterers

Picnic Catering
(201) 321-3213

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Christine Nunn of Picnic Caterers in Emerson, NJ. Photo courtesy of Lilian Haidar.

Picnic packs a mean basket.

Picnic’s little storefront (above, below)

Pasta with Vodka Sauce

Pasta Salad with Tuna

Cheese Platter

Christine’s Mac and Cheese.

Obscene Cheese Steak, with butter poached Filet Mignon

Soup of the Day, Parsnip with Pomegranate.