Despite the brutal, searing heat that hit the East Coast this week, the intrepid SKC New York team made it out to Washington Square Park for a seriously delicious potluck picnic. We thought a picnic would be the perfect opportunity for the SKC team to meet one another-and now, for you to meet them! And what better way than to see what everyone whipped up in their small (summer) kitchens?

A full accounting showed there was: one gregarious squirrel, 15 hungry attendees, one contribution of homemade ice cream, too many Sarahs to count, and lots and lots of cookies.

Cara and Phoebe brought some treats from their book: Chocolate Chip Cookies with Milk and Semi-Sweet Chips; White Bean Dip; Pesto Chicken Salad Sandwiches; and a Corn and Barley Salad made that morning at a filming for Better TV (we’ll let you know when you can see it).

Lily (that’s me) brought Chocolate Espresso Cookies, with cappucino chips hauled all the way from the King Arthur Flour Mill itself (that’s right, in Vermont), and Lemon Poppyseed Mini Muffins with Strawberry Jam.

Sarah C brought chicken curry puffs, Sarah M brought French-Style Potato Salad, and Sarah S, despite accidentally dosing herself with NyQuil, showed up with a Tomato and Corn Panzanella before disappearing into the night.

Brette brought assorted foccaccia, and some delish chocolate chip oatmeal cookies. Maria made a very popular, and lemony (6 lemons!) pasta salad.

Chloe and Kristin get special props for carting frozen goods. Chloe brought her famed Frozen Banana Bonbons, and Kristin brought several containers worth of Dirty Chai Ice Cream, part of Real Simple‘s Ice Cream Month, which was freaking awesome.

Juliana brought a Green Quinoa Salad with Sweet Corn, Apple and Feta. Hayley came with a box full of miniature goodies (too many to count!) from her favorite bakery in Charleston (she’d just flown in that afternoon).

Tammy (friend of SKC and founder of She’s the First) gave us a yummy black bean dip, and luckily, Amanda (another friend!) came bearing pita chips. Rachel and Kate, two additional friends of SKC, brought CSA Zucchini Muffins, and Homemade Gazpacho, respectively.

Whew! I’m full just thinking about everything. This is just a taste of what’s to come from the next class of SKCers, whose articles will be up on te site soon-and hopefully many of these will soon be featured SKC recipes!

-Lily and the Small Kitchen College Team