A Thanksgiving picnic - Recipe

Sunset, Nov, 1999 by Andrew Baker

The high desert lures one Tucson family to share the quintessential fall meal alfresco

* Every Thanksgiving, Tee Taylor and her family head to Sabino Canyon, about 15 miles from their home just outside Tucson. There, with the Santa Catalina Mountains as a backdrop and saguaro cactus as props, they feast on squash and peanut soup, chili- and sage-seasoned turkey, and whipped sweet potatoes. The food is cooked beforehand and carefully packed into baskets just before the trek. Taylor has perfected moving the feast over the past 10 years. (See how she and other Westerners transport Thanksgiving dinner with ease, starting on page 118.) The postprandial advantage of the desert setting: equal encouragement for a hike or a nap.

Layered Pate

PREP TIME: About 20 minutes

NOTES: If making up to 1 day ahead, cover and chill. Spread pate onto water crackers or small rounds of rye bread.

TO TRANSPORT: Cover chilled pate in container and keep cold.

MAKES: 2 to 2 1/2 cups; 8 to 10 servings

1/3 to 1/2 pound liver pate such as braunschweiger or duck liver pate

1/2 cup chopped pecans

2 tablespoons brandy (optional)

1/3 to 1/2 pound cream cheese, at room temperature

1/2 cup finely chopped red onion

1/4 cup minced fresh chives

1. In a bowl, mash liver pate until soft. Stir in pecans and brandy.

2. In another bowl, mix cream cheese and red onion until well blended.

3. Spread 1/2 the liver pate mixture level in the bottom of a clear, straight-sided bowl (about 3-cup size). Spoon 1/2 the cream cheese mixture onto pate mixture, and gently spread level. Repeat layers with remaining pate mixture, then cream cheese mixture, gently spreading each level. Sprinkle with chives.

Per serving: 146 cal., 86% (126 cal.) from fat; 3.7 g protein; 14 g fat (5.2 g sat.); 2.6 g carbo (0.5 g fiber); 217 mg sodium; 40 mg chol.

Squash-Peanut Soup

PREP AND COOK TIME: About 25 minutes

NOTES: If making soup up to 1 day ahead, let cool, cover, and chill. To reheat, stir over medium-high heat until steaming; or heat in a microwave-safe container in a microwave oven at full power (100%), stirring often, until steaming.

TO TRANSPORT: Keep soup hot in a thermos. Seal silvered basil in a heavy plastic food bag and keep cool. Seal peanuts in another plastic bag and carry at room temperature.

MAKES: About 9 cups; 8 to 10 servings

4 packages (12 to 14 oz. each) frozen pureed yellow squash

About 3 cups fat-skimmed chicken broth

1 cup low-fat milk

1/2 cup chunky peanut butter

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/3 cup lightly packed fresh basil leaves, rinsed

1/3 cup salted roasted peanuts

Hot sauce

Salt

1. In a 5- to 6-quart pan, combine the squash with 2 1/2 cups broth and the milk, peanut butter, and cumin. Stir often over high heat until squash is thawed and mixture boils, 15 to 18 minutes. Add more broth to thin soup to desired consistency.

2. Meanwhile, stack basil leaves and cut crosswise into thin strips. Chop peanuts.

3. Ladle soup into individual bowls. Sprinkle with basil and chopped peanuts; add hot sauce and salt to taste.

Per serving: 152 cal., 55% (83 cal.) from fat; 9.5 g protein; 9.2 g fat (1.7 g sat.); 11 g carbo (1.4 g fiber); 120 mg sodium; 1 mg chol.

Chopped Salad

PREP TIME: About 15 minutes

NOTES: Up to 1 day ahead, combine vinegar and oil; cover and keep at room temperature. Rinse vegetables; wrap in towels, enclose separately in heavy plastic food bags, and chill.

TO TRANSPORT: Carry dressing at room temperature; keep combined salad ingredients cold.

MAKES: 10 cups; 8 to 10 servings

1/4 cup seasoned rice vinegar

2 tablespoons garlic-flavor or regular olive oil

3 cups lightly packed chopped romaine lettuce hearts

3 cups lightly packed chopped red-leaf lettuce

2 cups diced (1/2 in.) cauliflower

2 cups diced (1/2 in.) zucchini

Salt and fresh-ground pepper

1. In a large bowl, mix rice vinegar and oil.

2. Add romaine, red-leaf lettuce, cauliflower, and zucchini. Mix well and add salt and pepper to taste.

Per serving: 46 cal., 57% (26 cal.) from fat; 1.4 g protein; 2.9 g fat (0.4 g sat.); 4.4 g carbo (1.3 g fiber); 127 mg sodium; 0 mg chol.

Turkey with Chili-Sage Glaze

PREP AND COOK TIME: 2 to 3 hours

NOTES: If making up to 1 day ahead, cook turkey, cool, cover airtight, and chill.

TO TRANSPORT: Carry turkey hot, loosely wrapped, in a rimmed pan; or carry cold. Allow turkey to stand at room temperature no longer than 2 hours.

MAKES: Allow 3/4 pound uncooked turkey per person, more for leftovers

1 turkey (15 to 20 lb.)

3 tablespoons habanero or Scotch bonnet chili marmalade or other hot red pepper or chili jelly

3 tablespoons orange marmalade

4 teaspoons ground sage

Salt

1. Remove and discard leg truss from turkey Pull off and discard lumps of fat. Remove giblets and neck (reserve for other uses) Rinse bird well. Insert a meat thermometer straight down through the thickest part of the turkey breast to the bone.

2. On a charcoal barbecue (20 to 22 in. wide) with a lid, mound and ignite 60 charcoal briquets on firegrate. When coals are spotted with gray ash, in about 20 minutes, push equal portions to opposite sides of firegrate. Place a foil drip pan between mounds of coals. To each mound, add 5 briquets now and every 30 minutes during cooking. Set grill in place. Set turkey, breast up, on grill over drip pan. Cover barbecue and open vents.