[MUSIC PLAYING]
When it comes to the perfect springtime picnic,
Rachael says she has a simple 30-minute strategy
that will work for everybody.
So we sent her to CNN Anchor Soledad
O'Brien's home to put her picnic-packing skills
to the test.
Take a look.
Hey, Oprah.
It's Rach here.
Soledad went to work at 4:30 this morning.
Oh, that is so scary to me.
So she's on her way home from work.
And I've got a perfect plan here.
So she and her friends and her little girls,
they can all go out and have a really fun picnic in the park.
I can't wait to show her.
While the busy mom of four is at work,
Rachael Ray is in her kitchen setting things up.
Hey. Hi, Rachael.
I'm home. - Hey, Soledad.
Hey there. Hi there.
- How are you? - Nice to see you.
I'm great.
Ooh, this looks so good.
So long day, huh?
Oh, I get up at 3:00 in the morning.
OK. So simple.
OPRAH WINFREY: The first thing on the menu,
tasty, mini club sandwiches.
You take some of this spreadable garlic and herb
cheese.
And you coat two slices of this nice, thin sandwich bread.
OK.
I can do that.
RACHAEL RAY: A little bit of prosciutto on top of that,
little slices of Roma tomato, a little bit of salt,
just a pinch, and some basil leaves, no mayonnaise.
So you don't have to worry about it staying too cool.
You stack them all together, take these groovy picks.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Oh, I like that.
RACHAEL RAY: We're going to slice it.
And it looks like a little club sandwich.
That's it. SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Perfection.
That looks pretty good.
OPRAH WINFREY: Practical, pretty, and festive.
Now we're going to make another sammy.
This is my devilish egg salad.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Oh, I love deviled eggs.
RACHAEL RAY: So into this, we're going to dump all this stuff,
a couple of spoonfuls of Mayo or light Mayo,
some Dijon mustard, a bunch of flat leaf parsley,
Italian flat leaf parsley, two rounded tablespoon
fulls of chopped capers.
A couple of pinches of crushed red pepper flakes, a little bit
of-- SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: What's this.
--anchovy paste.
That's your secret ingredient.
Don't tell anybody it's in there.
Most people think they don't like anchovies.
They do.
Yeah, I would say I don't like anchovies.
Is it just salty?
No, no, no, instead of adding regular salt.
You're adding more flavor.
It's a deeper flavor.
My mother never made egg salad without grated onion.
You take a box grater, get all the onion juice in there.
OPRAH WINFREY: And then you mix it all up,
stack your layers with arugula and, voila,
finger sandwich number two.
Next on the menu, asparagus and chicken.
Because we're going to bread asparagus and chicken--
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: That's great.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: --because it's a wonderful little brunch item,
quick supper, what have you, and perfect for picnics.
All your asparagus goes in plain flour.
I put a little bit of salt on it.
Now you're going to shake that to coat.
OK.
Now, we're going to grab the eggs.
This is just eggs that I beat up with a little bit of milk
and some tongs to take these out of the flour
and put it into the egg mixture.
I'm going to start dropping our coated asparagus
into the breadcrumbs.
OPRAH WINFREY: Do the same for the chicken strips
and cook in extra virgin olive oil until golden brown.
OK.
So Soledad, when these cool, I'm going
to pack them up into these containers,
pop them in the fridge.
Nothing's better than cold-fried chicken.
Trust me. - OK, wow, that was really fast.
- Good job, buddy. - See you later.
Bye. - Bye, sweetie.
She's so cute.
OK.
That was fast.
Now it's picnic time at a spectacular Central
Park in New York City.
Take a look.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: OK, guys, you ready?
We're going to have a picnic.
You excited?
Come on.
OPRAH WINFREY: Soledad picks up her daughters
Sophia and Cecilia from school and heads to the park.
Oh, look. Taxi.
Come on. Let's catch this cab.
- Taxi. - In you go.
In you go.
All right, ladies, seatbelts on.
OPRAH WINFREY: Soledad's friends Sara, Wendy,
and Deborah are invited to.
Hey, guys.
Ready for a picnic? - So ready.
Look at this weather we got.
I know.
Nice to see you.
For the grown-ups, we have the deviled egg sandwiches.
Aw, and look, everything matches.
And they have a secret ingredient.
Is it anchovy paste?
Oh, Sara comes in strong.
I got it?
Yes, anchovy paste.
I am totally, totally, totally so impressed.
And you have to tell me what you did to this chicken.
- It's good, isn't it? - Yeah, because--
It's got cheese in it.
Yeah, because that's why they're going to love this.
I mean, it does have cheese in it.
I'll email you the recipe.
Here's to good food, good friends, good girlies--
Yay.
- --and good fun. - Yeah.
Here. Here.
Here.