Picnics

``Remember that a picnic is partly a state of mind,'' urges Egan ( Healthy High Fiber Cooking ) in her introduction to this collection of recipes for ``every outdoor occasion.'' Believing that picnics are suited to just about every season, she recommends bills of fare for such outings as ``Xmas-Tree Hunting''sic and ``Berrying in the Country.'' Recipes range from simple grilled sausages to an ambitious chicken and seafood paella cooked over a campfire. Most menus feature a combination of hot and cold items, with basic salads (`is typical' makes this unnecessary a mixed salad of romaine, buttercrunch lettuce and radicchio, plus cauliflower, is typical) and spreads to round out the entree. Though picnics are ideal for hand-held foods, Egan does not include recipes for innovative stuffed dishes, beyond pita pocket sandwiches and endive leaves filled with cheese dressing. Lists of special equipment needed accompany each menu to help ensure the picnic's success. In addition to giving advice for cooking outdoors, Egan spells out basic picnic etiquettesince these suggestions are so obvious : keep pets from straying into other picnic areas, pick up any litter, and extinguish campfires. Experienced campers will find her text fairly standard, while newcomers to al fresco eating will come upon plenty of ideas to work with. Illustrations not seen by PW. (May)