Soup for dessert, skewer savvy, Western barbecue sauces, and burger wines - includes recipe

Sunset, July, 1994 by Jerry Anne Di Vecchio

The panelists rated the sauces, noting what they liked best about the taste and texture, how well the flavors sank in, and how the sauce coated the meat. Among the six sauces that got the most votes, there was considerable ingredient variation and an intriguing mix of geographic influences.

Cinnabar CinnaBar-B-Que Sauce (Prescott, Arizona) was the most unusual and controversial of the lot. Most tasters commented that lamb, pork, or chicken would benefit more than beef from the sauce's aromatic, India-influenced spices.

Ebara Korean Barbecue Sauce (Santa Fe Springs, California). Comments: soy-sauce salty, lively ginger bite, thin, more sour than sweet.

Firehouse Bar-B-Que Sauce (Auburn, California). Comments: thick, sweet but not too much so, light smoky flavor. Said one taster: "What a Westerner thinks a Southern sauce should be."

Jackie's Oklahoma Style Barbecue Sauce (Greenbrae, California). Comments: thick and spicy, good sweet-sour balance; ingredients include raisins and orange peel.

Matheny's B-B-Q Sauce (Moreno Valley, California). Comments: powerful, tart, hot, sweet, lively, clings well; tastes of Asian influence.

Mrs. Renfro's Barbecue Sauce (Fort Worth, Texas). Comments: nice smooth balance, mellow tomato flavor, chili overtones, not sweet, clings well.

A TASTE OF THE WEST

Summer Fruit Soup

4 or 5 ripe passion fruit

1 ripe to firm-ripe small (4 to 5 oz.) nectarine or small (5 to 6 oz.) peeled peach

1 small (4 to 5 oz.) red-skin plum

1 medium-size (4 to 5 oz.) kiwi fruit

6 to 8 strawberries, rinsed and hulled

About 2 dozen blackberries, boysenberries, or olallieberries

About 2 dozen raspberries or other berries

About 1 cup total other in-season fruits (such as mango, papaya, melon, pineapple) in small dice, thin slices, or julienne strips (optional)

Mint sprigs

Soup base (directions follow)

Cut passion fruit in half.

Cut nectarine, plum, and kiwi fruit into thin slices; use slices whole or cut them into geometric shapes: thin strips, squares, triangles, or cubes. Thinly slice strawberries; cut other berries (except raspberries) in half.

Into each wide, shallow soup bowl or deeply rimmed dessert plate, scoop pulp and seed from a passion fruit half. Divide remaining fruit and berries equally among bowls. Garnish fruit with mint sprigs and set bowls at serving places.

From a pitcher, pour or ladle about 1 cup soup base into each bowl. Makes 8 to 10 servings.

Per serving: 172 cal. (2 percent from fat); 0.9 g protein; 0.4 g fat (0 g sat.); 43 g carbo.; 4.1 mg sodium; 0 mg chol.

Soup base. In a 4- to 5-quart pan, combine 10 cups water, 1 1/2 cups sugar, 1 cup chopped fresh ginger, 1/4 cup coriander seed, 2 cups coarsely chopped fresh cilantro (coriander), 1 cup coarsely chopped fresh spearmint leaves (or regular mint), 1 vanilla bean (slit open lengthwise), and pared peel (colored part only) from 2 lemons, 2 oranges, and 3 limes.

Bring mixture to a boil over high heat. Remove from heat, cover, and chill at least 4 hours or up to 12. Pour liquid through a fine strainer into a bowl. Rinse vanilla bean and let dry to use another time; discard remaining seasonings. Cover and chill until cold, at least 3 hours or up to 3 weeks. Makes 9 to 10 cups.