Posted on: Wednesday, August 29, 2001
Entertaining
Celebrate summer's end with homemade brunch
By Kaui Philpotts
The last of your out-of-town friends are headed home, your niece is about to go off to the Mainland for school and in a few weeks, the bounty of summer fruits and vegetables will be gone from the supermarkets. It might be a good time to celebrate change. Why not make it a weekend brunch?
Find a collection of old Beach Boys surf music, or the nostalgic collection of '70s Country Comfort tunes, put it on the CD player and plan your brunch (play them at the brunch too).
You can almost always count on it being really warm at this time of the year, so plan to go outside with your party. Even if you have a minuscule back patio or a lanai in a high-rise, move your buffet table outside. If you can, under a tree or umbrella.
Send invitations on brightly colored note paper. Find the brightest primary colors and mix and match to intensify the impression even more. I know of someone who mailed deflated plastic beach balls to guests with the party information written on them with magic markers. Push your boundaries for ideas.
Here's a menu that's sophisticated but not too hard on the cook: Icy Wahines and fresh orange juice, Breakfast Strata, Chutney Bread, Roasted Potatoes, Sugar Snap Peas and Asparagus.
The timetable
• One to two weeks ahead: Send the invitations or call guests. Make a shopping list.
• Two days ahead: Shop for groceries. If you are taking a shortcut and ordering some items, do it today. Clean your house.
• One day ahead: Make the Chutney Bread and the Breakfast Strata.
• Three hours before: Set the table and set up the bar and other refreshments. Send someone out for ice if you need more. A large container of Govinda's orange juice (found refrigerated in your supermarket) has a fresh-squeezed flavor and is easier than doing it yourself.
• Two hours before: Prep the asparagus and snap peas.
• One hour before: Put the potatoes in the oven to roast.
• Half-hour before: Bake the strata.
• Brunch time: Start making the drinks. Put out some small nibbles like mixed nuts and arare.
Remove the potatoes from the oven, cover and keep warm. Just before serving, saute the snap peas and asparagus. Have fun!
The buffet table
Before you run out to buy things, check what you already have on hand.
Glass jars and bottles that are sparkling clean make cheerful containers for flowers. If you don't have a garden (and many of us do not) check out Watanabe Floral Inc. They have a main store on Nimitz Highway and other shops at Daiei (Kaheka Street), Times Niu Valley, Mililani and Waipahu.
Last week I found brightly colored Gerber daisies ($1.50 a stem), Queen Anne's lace ($3.50 a bunch) and lemon leaves ($2.80 a bunch), all of which give a nice, casual country feeling to a table.
Inexpensive dish towels make generous and stylish napkins. Try the good-looking ones from Martha Stewart Everyday at Kmart. Blue and white dish towels can be tossed over the backs of chairs if you are sitting at one table, or rolled and tied with twine and piled into a basket for a buffet.
Rather than one table arrangement, run a lot of small ones down a long table. Herbs in small clay pots (try basil because it's in the strata) are fresh and good. Single stems in water glasses work too. Bedding flowers can be beautiful as well as cheap. If you don't want to repot them, find cheerful tissue paper and tie the pots like gifts. Remember to pick coordinating colors and stick with them.
The recipes
Revive The Wahine, a tropical punch served at Trader Vic's restaurants in the 1950s and 1960s. Its pineapple flavor is very refreshing, not too sweet, and it looks great. If you're old enough, you will remember the days of cracked ice.
The Wahine
1 cup cracked ice (use small commercial cubes or crack in a wash towel)
6 tablespoons (3 ounces) unsweetened pineapple juice
1/4 cup white rum 1/4 cup vodka 2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoons simple syrup*
Mint
Garnish with fresh mint and a pineapple wedge. Place the cracked ice in a blender with the pineapple juice, rum, vodka, lemon juice and simple syrup and blend. Pour into two glasses filled with ice. Garnish with mint.
*Simple syrup is a standard professional bar ingredient. If you can't find it in the liquor section of your market, make your own by placing 1 cup of sugar and › cup of water in a saucepan. Simmer until the sugar has dissolved. Continue to simmer for another 5 minutes. Cool. This is a very good way to sweeten iced tea, too.
Breakfast Strata
1 cup milk
1/2 cup white wine 1 loaf day-old French bread, cut into 1/2-inch slices 8 ounces prosciutto, thinly sliced
2 cups arugula leaves
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound herbed cheese, thinly sliced
3 tomatoes, sliced
1/2 cup pesto (commercially prepared)
4 eggs, beaten Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup heavy or whipping cream The day before, mix the milk and wine. Dip two slices of bread in the mixture, then squeeze them out and place the bread without tearing in the bottom of an gratin or glass baking dish. Begin to layer the prosciutto, arugula (dipped in the olive oil), herbed cheese and tomato slices. Drizzle with the pesto. Repeat this layering process until the dish is filled. In a bowl, beat the eggs, salt and pepper. Pour over the layered dish and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight.
Remove from the refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Drizzle cream over the top and bake 45 minutes to one hour, or until puffy. Serves 6.
Chutney Bread
21/2 cups flour 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed 1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons oil
1 1/4 cup milk 1 egg
1 tablespoon grated orange peel
1 10-oz. jar mango chutney
1 cup chopped nuts
In a bowl, combine the flour, sugars, baking powder, salt, oil, milk, egg and orange peel. Mix just to moisten, do not overmix. Fold in the chutney and nuts. Place in a greased loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees for 55 to 60 minutes, or until browned on top and cooked through. Bread will be moist. Makes one loaf.
Asparagus and Sugar Snap Peas (Adapted from "Barefoot Contessa Parties!" Ina Garten, Clarkson Potter)
2 po1 1/2 pounds sugar snap peasnds fresh asparagus
2 tablespoons olive oil
Sea salt and pepper to taste
Red pepper flakes to taste
Cut off the touch ends of the asparagus and slice on the diagonal. Snap off the ends of the peas and pull out the strings. In a large saute pan, warm the olive oil. Saute the vegetables over medium-high heat. Add the salt and pepper and red pepper flakes. Cook for about 10 minutes, or until still crisp tender. Toss occasionally. Serves 6.
Roasted Potatoes
3 pounds small red potatoes (cut in half if large)
1/4 cup olive oil Sea salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a bowl, toss the potatoes with the olive oil, salt and pepper. Spread in one layer on a baking sheet and roast in the oven until browned and crisp. (It won't hurt to reduce the temperature to 350 degrees to place the strata in the oven after a half hour if you don't have two ovens). Remove and toss with the parsley. Serves 6 to 8.
