52

FOO

Breaking away from the barbecue blahs

THE EVENINGS are
longer, the days warmer
and we all fike to cat

‘out.’ 1 don’t mean mak-
ing reserv. cions, either.

arbara
NicCreadie

BUDGET BEATERS

Probably the nicest place to eat
out is your own back yard or
balcony. I’ve noticed a sort of
haze over our neighbourhoad,
especially on weekends, indicating
that barbecues ate busy. IP vou
take a deep breath you can almost
describe the menu!

Barbecues can also be deadly
dull. After a couple of weeks, a
burger or a steak isn’t a novelty
any more. Deliver me from sin —
and charred hot dogs.

And the go-ulongs get tiresome.
As much as I like both garlic
bread and salad, enough is
enough.

So, what else can we try? How
about some cold meals? How
about some unusual accompani-
menis to grilled meat? How about
breaking away from goad-old-
garlic-bread?

Here are a few easy alternatives
to the old faithfuls,

Cold wonderful

soups are

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(especially for the cook!) A jug
of icy soup, made at leisure and
served before the main event, does
wonders to help everyone wait
while the chef fiddles with the
grill.

Gazpacho

2 very large tomatoes, peeled and
seeded (to peel, drop into boiting
water for 30 seconds — ihe skin
will rub off)

1 big red sweet pepper, seeded and
chopped

§ medium onion, diced

1 medium English cucumber, dic-
ed

2 claves garlic, crushed

vs cup olive of!

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
dash Tabasco sauce

4 cups ice water

salt and pepper

2 cups soft bread crumbs (1 grate
up thsee or four soft dinner rolls)
Garnish: snipped parsley, crisp
croutons, a spoonful of sour
cream and a tablespoon of the
diced vegetables).

Roughly chop the tomatoes,
pepper, onion and cucumber.
Remove a few of che big chunks
and finely dice for garnishing. Set
those aside. If vou have a food
Processor, you can do this nex! all
at once. If not, use your blender
and do in four batches.

Puree vegetables, garlic, oil,
Vinegar and Tabasco. adding ice
water slowly. Remove to a big jug
and stir in bread crumbs. You can
season whenever you like but I
prefer to wait until the mixture is
very cold.

To serve, keep chilled until the
fast minute. Garnish and rush to
the table. French bread with un-
salted butter is my favorite with
this but you might like crisp
sesame crackers or bread sticks.

Vichyssoise

If f had them, Id like to serve
this in those wonderful bowls that
have an outer rine for crushed ice.
Alas.

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2 large potatoes, peeled and dived
T bunch feaks, white part: only,
sliced
t small onion, diced
2 cups reconstituted chicken
bouillon of one tin chicken stcck,
diluted ta make 2 cup.
cup milk
salt Co taste
white pepper (if you doen't have
white pepper, omit entirely and
grind on black pepper when soup
is served)
500 ml carton whipping cream
(did I say this was low-cal?)

Ceok the potatoes, leeks and
onic? in very finde water until
tender. Drain. Add the bouillon

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and milk and heat, stirring to
simmering but don't boil. Cool
and puree in blender. Season. Stit
in cream and chill immediately.

Serve icy coid with snipped
chives and parsley. Serves 6 as a
starter.

You'll be amazed at how popu-
lar this dish is with steak. Make it
early in the day or even the day
before and refrigerate before buk-
ing. 1f you really want to surprise
your guest, this teams perfectly
with Ratatouille (recipe follows).

If you're feeling guilty abour no
salad, serve fruit salad for dessert.
Easy Spinach Bake

The

2 - 10 o2. packages frozen +hop-
ped spinach, thawed and drained

2 cups sour cream

pinch nutmeg

2 tablespoon butk onion soup mix
(or shout 12 package)

2 tablespoons butier

¥ cup fine dry breadcrumbs

42 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Combine spinach, sour cream,
nutmeg and onion soup mix in a
sprayed I-qi. casserole (fairly
shallow is best), Melt butter and
combine with crumbs and cheese.
Sprinkle on top and bake at 350°F
until bubbly — about 20
minutes.

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