Summer means picnics to me, and not just any picnics. It means gigantic picnics hosted by the Volunteer Fire Department Ontario Hose Co. #3, out of Liberty, NY—my hometown.

My dad, Jack I. Simons, loved being in the volunteer fire department. I would say it was third on his list of Big Loves, right up there with my mother and the VFW. 

Of course, if Jack was cooking at the fire department picnic—and he always was—my mother, Carol, would be working right there with him, waiting tables and jumping in on anything else that needed to be done. They were truly a team.

 And if my parents were there—and did I mention they were always there?—that meant I was there. Later in life, when I would work at the picnic as well, my only payment would be an unlimited supply of the delicious clams we cooked up. Even now, when I hit the fire department picnics, I devour those clams as if they were popcorn.

But as a kid, there was a lot more going on up at Fireman Park Road than just food. There were a ton of friends hanging out, too. And that spelled F-U-N.

One of our favorite things to do was to spin ourselves dizzy on this gigantic metal roundabout thing—my husband swears it would have been a merry-go-round, but I always thought merry-go-rounds require horses (and if they don’t, they should). 

And then there were the scavenger hunts. We would search through the woods surrounding the park, hoping against hope to snag a hidden toy.

Then, yes, there was the food to be had under the pavilion—but you could also grab handfuls of blueberries fresh off the bushes in the park. They were certainly far superior to the stinky Limburger cheese my dad was always trying to get me to eat.

 Of course, there was bingo as well—you can always tell the serious players by how many cards they had in front of them. (If somebody’s working, say, five, take my advice and don’t even speak to them until the game is over.)

 And one of my favorite memories? The almost-endless softball games in the field just off the pavilion. Almost everyone played.

That’s why I thought making these cool Summer Picnic Treats out of fondant would be a great project for this month. It pretty much requires beginner-level skills, but the results are as delicious as the food that comes directly off the grill.

Oh, and if the fire department does a picnic this year, you can bet I’m getting me some clams!

Kim M. Simons is an award-winning artist, cake artist and food artist. She and her team—the Bah Hum Bakers—were the champions of Food Network’s “Holiday Wars” in 2019. Kim was recently seen competing on Food Network’s “Halloween Wars,” which can be streamed on Food Network’s app or on Discovery +. She is also available to teach classes. Visit Kim at www.cakesbykimsimons.com.

Summer Picnic Steps

1. Make the top and bottom hamburger bun out of white fondant. Add texture with a clay tool.
2. Mix fondant colors to make your choice of color for the hamburger patty. Mold to create the shape, and texture with a clay tool.
3. Stack patty on bottom bun.
4. Roll out red fondant. Cut to look like tomato slices. Place on top of patty.
5. Tear off a piece of green wafer paper. Spray with Paper Potion. Scrunch it up to look like lettuce and place it on top of the tomatoes.
6. Add the top bun.
7. Roll out white fondant and shape like a hot dog bun. Slice it lengthwise with an X-Acto knife (but not all the way through), then fold it open.
8. Mix fondant colors to make your choice of color for the hot dog. Mold to create the shape, and texture with an X-Acto knife and a clay tool.
9. Roll out yellow fondant thinly for mustard and add to hot dog.
10. Roll out yellow fondant and shape like a corn cob.
11. Add kernels using the end of a small straw. Texture with a clay tool.
12. Spray green wafer paper with paper potion and wrap around corn like a husk.
13. Use a dry brush to add color and shadows to your pieces with edible powdered colors.
14. Place a plaid stencil over a SmArt Sheet. Paint with a red edible color.
15. Spray the back of the SmArt Sheet with Paper Potion. Drape it over a cake of your choice. Add the burger, hot dog, and corn to the top.

Make the top and bottom hamburger buns out of white fondant. Add texture with a clay tool.

Mix fondant colors to make your choice of color for the hamburger patty. Mold to create the shape, and texture with a clay tool. Stack patty on bottom bun. Roll out red fondant. Cut to look like tomato slices. Place on top of patty.

Tear off a piece of green wafer paper. Spray with Paper Potion. Scrunch it up to look like lettuce and place it on top of the tomatoes. Add the top bun.

Roll out white fondant and shape like a hot dog bun. Slice it lengthwise with an X-Acto knife (but not all the way through), then fold it open. Mix fondant colors to make your choice of color for the hot dog. Mold to create the shape, and texture with an X-Acto knife and a clay tool.

Roll out yellow fondant and shape like a corn cob. Add kernels using the end of a small straw. Texture with a clay tool.

Use a dry brush to add color and shadows to your pieces with edible powdered colors.

Place a plaid stencil over a SmArt sheet. Paint with red edible color. Spray the back of the SmArt sheet with Paper Potion. Drape it over a cake of your choice. Add the burger, hot dog and corn to the top.

The completed Summer Picnic Table Cake.

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