A picnic can be as simple or sophisticated as any other meal. Before you plan the menu and make your lists, think about who's coming, and what vibe you're going for: A spread for a crowd that needs to last through a hot afternoon without wilting (or worse)? An elegant birthday dinner repast in an orchard? No matter what kind of picnic you're creating, unless you are in your backyard you'll need to be as prepared as a Boy Scout, with a full-on checklist. Napkins and wine openers don’t grow on trees, after all.

Perhaps you have a wonderful old-fashioned picnic basket — or perhaps you'll just go for some sturdy, flat-bottomed canvas bags and a cooler. It's a good idea to have one container (or more if needed) that will keep things consistently chilled, preferably insulated, with the addition of some frozen ice packs. Plastic bins and boxes are also possible alternatives to sturdy bags.

There are no set "right foods" to bring to a picnic, but there are certainly dishes to avoid. These are not just painfully obvious items like ice cream or tempura, but also those deviled eggs that looked so pretty in the plastic container at home, but look more like egg salad once the lid comes off at the picnic. You want sturdy, you want simple, and you want food that requires very little hands-on action at the picnic itself. You want items that won't get soggy, that taste great at room temperature and that are either finger or fork foods. Read on for some suggestions of what fares well in transport. And keep in mind that for many of these foods, that chilled cooler is critical.

Most picnics don't necessarily have the appetizer-salad-main course-dessert flow of a regular indoor meal. It's quite acceptable and lovely that someone might be munching on a cold chicken leg while others are eating brownies. But if you plan on a more leisurely afternoon in the great outdoors, you may want to put out some things to nibble on before the main course.

A few crostini or bruschetta toppings (like goat cheese and ramp chimichurri, or simple roasted garlic) and some toasted baguette slices brushed with olive oil make for a simple do-it-yourself crostini spread. Wedges of vegetable frittata (pictured) or smoked salmon-and-cream cheese frittata can also be picked up by hand.