BY KAREN PERRY AND
DEE DEE GOIDEL
“I don’t know what to do. The
R.S.V.P. is due August 5. I have
never been invited to a ‘Bring
Your Own Barbeque’ party. What
kind of food can I bring to ‘wow’
them?”
In last month’s look at
“Sensational Summer,” we explored
the foods needed for an “updated
picnic basket.” Now we will investigate
the makings for a “reinvented
barbeque.” What is the mystique
of a barbeque? Said a recent New
York Times food article, “Fire is a
mighty ingredient all its own, adding
an alluring smokiness to the meat,
seafood, cheese, and vegetables.”
Your choice of salads to bring to
the barbeque is exceptionally wide.
“Tri-Color Orzo Salad” starts with
an orzo and arugula base. The additions
– feta cheese, dried cherries,
basil leaves, pine nuts, and lemon
juice give it a unique flavor. The fabulous
harvest of the season appears
in “Marinated Tomato Salad with
Herbs.” A dressing is made from
olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and
brown sugar. The dressing is poured
over wedges of vine-ripened tomatoes
and thinly sliced white scallions.
The herbs, gently combined in the
last step, consist of lightly chopped,
fresh parsley and chiffonade of fresh
basil leaves.
We present four main courses you
may like to bring to the party, one for
every taste: vegetarian, poultry, beef
and seafood. “Grilled Ratatouille
Skewers” are a rugged take on the
classic Provencal stew. A homemade
sauce is made from our seasonal star
tomatoes. They are heated with olive
oil, yellow onions, garlic, butter, and
dried Italian seasonings. To make
the skewers, thread the zucchini,
yellow summer squash, and eggplant
on four skewers. The key to
even grilling is to make all vegetable
pieces the same size. Lightly spray
the vegetable pieces with olive oil
then grill the skewers for about 20
minutes, cooking the sides evenly.
The tomato sauce is poured over the
vegetable skewers before serving.
Our poultry offering is “Grilled
Chicken Skewers.” First, decide what
type of skewer you will use. Metal
skewers require no special preparation,
but wood skewers must be
soaked in water. When you are ready
to put the chicken thighs, sausage
(optional), eggplant, bell peppers,
and lemon on the skewers, there is
a trick. Place the moist lemon and
eggplant next to the meat so it will
stay juicy. Suggest to your host that
they be cooked at a moderate heat,
just until the meat is brown. Small,
skewer-size pieces overcook easily.
For the carnivores at the party,
consider bringing “Cheese Stuffed
Burgers.” These moist burgers carry
a surprise - each one will be bursting
with blue cheese, mozzarella cheese,
or any cheese of your choice. When
making your burgers, simply put a
cube of cheese in between the top
and bottom halves of the hamburgers.
To give you an estimate, when
using two pounds of chopped meat,
use one-half pound of cheese.
If your friends enjoy lighter fare,
you might bring “Tin Foil Seafood
Grills” to the party. This dish combines
the freshest from the sea (in this
version, shrimp and scallops) with
the freshest from the field (corn and
potatoes). All four ingredients are
combined with lemon. Four sheets
of aluminum foil are lightly oiled.
One-fourth of the filling is mounded
on each foil. The pouches are filled
with beer and Old Bay Seasonings.
When grilled for about 15 minutes,
the steam created in each pouch
cooks the ingredients and they are
ready to enjoy.
Desserts for the barbeque run
the gamut. The choices run from
the classic to the truly new and
different. Nothing is more classic
than “S’Mores.” However, your
contribution to the barbeque can
be “nouvelle S’Mores” where you
think outside the box. No need to
have graham crackers. Try a variety
of cookies, pound cake, or even
brownies. You have no contract with
milk chocolate. Try white or dark
chocolate, salted caramel chocolate,
or mint chocolate.
Want to bring back a classic that is
a little more elegant and a little less
campfire? Break out your old “Joys
of Jell-O” cookbook and turn those
yellowed pages to the “Crown Jewel
Dessert.” Three flavors of Jell-O are
prepared and firmly chilled in separate
cake pans. The background for
the dessert consists of lemon Jell-O,
pineapple juice, combined with real
or artificial whipped cream. The
Jell-O in the cake pans is scored into
small squares. These small squares
of Jell-O are folded into the flavored
whipped cream. The combination
fills a prepared deep-dish pie crust.
We think there is something
magical about cooking outside that
makes the food taste even better.
Maybe it is the woody aroma from
a roaring fire. Maybe it is that fresh
foods are showcased, without extra
ingredients. Maybe it is the simple
fact that we are eating together under
the stars.
It is hard to believe that our next
column will appear in September. It
is a month with so many holidays,
from Labor Day to the Jewish High
Holidays. Your thoughts will run
from recipes for the final barbeques
of the season to those for Brisket
and Roast Chicken. Please leave all
replies with the concierge indicated
below:
Buildings 1 & 2: Dee Dee Goidel,
Apt. 29N
Building 3: Karen Perry, Apt. 9U
CULINARY COMFORT :
Sensational Summer Food (Part 2)
2021
TIN FOIL SEAFOOD BROIL
CROWN JEWEL DESSERT
August Serves 4
Olive oil spray
Lightly spray 4 sheets of aluminum
8 servings
Pour each flavor into an 8 inch
1 large lemon sliced into 8
foil with oil. Mound ¼ of
square pan and chill until firm, or
¢rounds
the lemon, shrimp, scallops, corn,
Note: Prepare the day before
leave overnight.
COURIER 16 large shrimp peeled and
potatoes and sausage in the middle
1 package (3oz) each of Jell-O
Mix pineapple juice and sugar.
deveined (16-20 count)
of each sheet. Bring all four
Orange, Cherry and Lime Gelatins
Heat until sugar is dissolved, then
8 sea scallops (about ½ a
sides of the foil up to form a bowl.
3 cups boiling water
remove from heat.
pound)
Pour an equal amount of the
2 cups cold water
Dissolve lemon Jell-O in
TOWERS 2 ears of corn cut into quarters
beer in each packet, followed by
1 cup pineapple juice
the hot juice; and add ½ cup
8 new potatoes, halved or
a few pats of butter and a sprinkle
¼ cup of sugar
cold water. Chill until slightly
quartered
of the Old Bay seasoning. Fold
1 deep dish pie crust
thickened
3 links Andouille sausage cut
the foil tightly together on top and
2 envelopes Dream Whip
Cut the firm Jell-O into ½ inch
SHORE into ¼ inch slices (about 9 ounces)
seal, leaving room inside the packet
Dessert Topping or mix 2 cups
cubes.
1 cup beer, dry white wine, or
for steam and heat to circulate.
whipping cream
Prepare dessert topping mix as
chicken broth
Grill the packets for about
directed on package or whip the
NORTH ¼ cup butter cut into small
15 minutes, until the seafood is
Prepare the three flavors of
cream; blend with lemon Jell-O.
pieces
cooked through and the vegetables
Jell-O separately, using 1 cup
Fold in Jell-O cubes and pour
1 tablespoon Old Bay Seasoning
are tender. Serve, squeezing
boiling water and ½ cup cold
into crust. Chill at least 5 hours
28 Prepare a grill over high heat
hot lemon juice over all
water for each.
or overnight.