Issue Date: May 18, 2008
A perfect summer meal for guests
Warmer days call for easy outdoor entertaining. Here is a three-course meal that will wow guests without a lot of fuss.
It's a beautiful day, and you just want to relax. Invite friends over for dinner, and you lose a big chunk of time preparing the meal. But not with this menu.
Start with a refreshing chilled soup: Stir diced cucumbers, tomatoes and herbs into plain yogurt and chicken broth. It's really that simple.
Impress them with the colorful bounty and bold flavors of Grilled Salade Niçoise -- fresh tuna steaks coated in a lemony vinaigrette that doubles as a marinade for the fish and a dressing for the platter. For an interesting twist, also grill new red potatoes, plum tomato halves and green beans right alongside the fish, then garnish with the traditional hard-cooked eggs and piquant olives.
End the meal with strawberries marinated in Riesling or another fruity white wine and the simplest-ever lemon cookies.
Contributing Editor Pam Anderson is the author of five cookbooks, including "The Perfect Recipe for Losing Weight & Eating Great" (Houghton Mifflin, $27).
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Chilled Cucumber & Tomato Soup With Fresh Dill
1 quart low-fat plain yogurt
2 cups chicken broth
1 small seedless cucumber, peeled, leaving some of the green skin on, cut into small dice and lightly salted
2 medium plum tomatoes, cut into small diceand lightly salted
1/4 cup thinly slicedgreen onions, tops only
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 Tbs. rice wine vinegar
2 tsps. chopped fresh dill
Salt and ground black pepper
Mix all of the ingredients in a large bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve or refrigerate until ready to serve.
Serves 8
Per serving: 148 calories, 7g protein, 10g carbohydrates, 9g fat (2g saturated), 7mg cholesterol, 1g fiber, 185mg sodium
Mix yogurt and broth, add vegetables and stir. Soup's done!
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Grilled Salade Niçoise
Grilling both the tuna and vegetables gives the salade niçoise [knee-SWAZ] a twist.
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FOR VINAIGRETTE:
2 medium (or 1 large) shallots, minced
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
2 Tbs. rice wine vinegar
Salt and ground black pepper
1 cup plus 3 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
2 1/4 to 2 1/2 pounds fresh tuna steaks, cut into 8 pieces
16 small new red potatoes (2 1/4 pounds), halved
8 large plum tomatoes, halved lengthwise
1 1/4 to 1 1/2 pounds green beans, trimmed
8 hard-cooked eggs
32 niçoise olives
Whisk shallot, lemon juice, mustard, vinegar and 1/4 tsp. each salt and pepper in a small bowl or 2-cup liquid measuring cup. Slowly whisk in 1 cup of the oil, first in droplets, then in a steady stream to make a thick vinaigrette. Coat tuna with 1/2 cup of the vinaigrette; set remaining vinaigrette aside until serving time.
Keeping potatoes, tomatoes and green beans in separate bowls, toss each with 1 Tb. of the remaining oil, and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Place green beans on a large wire rack or in a grill basket.
Heat gas grill, igniting all burners on high for at least 10 minutes. Or build a hot fire in a charcoal grill. Clean grate with a wire brush, then lubricate with an oil-soaked rag.
Place potatoes and tomatoes on hot grill rack. Coverand cook, turning potatoes once with tongs, until potatoes are grill-marked and cooked through and tomatoes are soft, about 10 minutes. Tomatoes do not need to be turned, and you may need to remove them first. Divide potatoes and tomatoes between 2 large platters; set aside.
Close grill lid to let grill get piping hot again. Place tuna at one end of the grill; set the rack holding the green beans sideways on the grill. Cover and cook, turning once, until tuna is grill-marked on both sides and cooked to medium,5 to 6 minutes, and until green beans are tender-crisp, stirring beans occasionally, about 10 minutes.
Arrange tuna and green beans on the two platters. Arrange eggs over potatoes, tomatoes, green beans and tuna, and scatter olives over each platter. Serve warm or room temperature with the remaining vinaigrette on the side.
Serves 8
Per serving (with 2 Tbs. vinaigrette): 598 calories, 41g protein, 34g carbohydrates, 34g fat (6g saturated), 269mg cholesterol, 5g fiber, 553mg sodium
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Lemon Cooler Cookies
These simple little two-bite lemon cookies perfectly pair with the wine-soaked berries.
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1 cup bleached all-purpose flour
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar, divided into 1/4 cup and 1/2 cup measures
1 tsp. finely grated lemon zest
1 stick (8 Tbs.) salted butter,softened
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix flour, 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar and lemon zest in a medium bowl. Add butter and vanilla; beat (or simply mix with hands) until ingredients form into a dough.
Drop cookie dough by generous teaspoons onto a parchment- or Silpat-lined cookie sheet. Bake until cookie bottoms are golden brown, about 15 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
Place remaining 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar in a quart-sized zipper-lock bag. Working a dozen at a time, drop the cookies into the sugar; shake to coat. The lemon cookies can be stored in an airtight tin for up to 1 week.
Makes about 2 dozen
Per cookie: 67 calories, 1g protein, 8g carbohydrates, 4g fat (2g saturated), 10mg cholesterol, 0g fiber, 27mg sodium
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Wine-Marinated Strawberries
2 pounds fresh strawberries, stemmed and thickly sliced
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups fruity white wine, such as Riesling
Place strawberries in a medium glass bowl. Sprinkle with sugar, then add wine. Mix gently until sugar dissolves. Let them stand for 30 minutes or up to 3 hours.
Serves 8
Per serving: 145 calories, 1g protein, 29g carbohydrates,0g fat (0g saturated), 0mg cholesterol, 2g fiber, 1mg sodium
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