Sunset's kitchen cabinet - includes recipes

Sunset, June, 1997 by Linda Lau Anusasananan

When whipping up sangria for a dinner party, Peggy Deen uses purchased flavored syrups - the kind that are popular bar ingredients for fancy coffees, sparkling waters, and smoothies. Not only do the syrups save prep time, but they also put a smooth finish on the wine punch. The two syrup flavors that Deen favors for sangria are vanilla and orange.

Shortcut Sangria Peggy Deen, Beaverton, Oregon

Prep time: About 7 minutes

Makes: About 2 1/2 quarts; 10 servings

1 cup vanilla-flavor syrup

2 oranges (about 6 oz. each), thinly sliced

1 lime, thinly sliced

1 cup orange juice

2 bottles (750 ml. each) dry red wine

Ice cubes

1. In a pitcher (at least 3-qt. size), combine syrup, orange slices, lime slices, and orange juice.

2. Add wine to pitcher; mix, and pour into ice-filled glasses.

Per cup: 188 cal., 0.5% (0.9 cal.) from fat; 0.7 g protein; 0.1 g fat (0 g sat.); 23 g carbo (0.6 g fiber); 7.8 mg sodium; 0 mg chol.

Chilly Willy's Avocado Soup Leslie Giffin, Winthrop, Washington

On a trip to Puerto Vallarta in the mid-'80s, Leslie Giffin discovered this delicious chicken and avocado soup at Chilly Willy's - a quaint restaurant by the river. The restaurant is no more, but because the soup is so quick and easy, Giffin often re-creates it for guests. Any tiny pasta can be used instead of the orzo.

Prep and cook time: 30 to 35 minutes

Makes: 4 main-dish servings

7 cups chicken broth

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup chopped celery

1 clove garlic, pressed or minced

1 teaspoon pepper cup

3/4 cup dried orzo pasta

2 boned, skinned chicken breast halves (about 1/2 lb. total)

3 tablespoons lemon juice

1 tablespoon chopped parsley

1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves

1 firm-ripe avocado (about 6 oz.)

1. In a 4- to 5-quart pan over high heat, bring broth, onion, celery, garlic, and pepper to a boil. Add pasta and chicken; return to a boil.

2. Reduce heat to low, cover pan, and simmer until chicken is white in thickest part (cut to test), about 5 minutes. With tongs, lift out breasts and let stand. Continue simmering soup until pasta is tender to bite, about 2 minutes more. Reduce heat to very low and keep soup warm.

3. When chicken is just cool enough to handle, in about 5 minutes, tear into coarse shreds and return to pan.

4. Stir lemon juice, parsley, and cilantro into soup. Ladle into wide bowls.

5. Peel, pit, and thinly slice avocado; add to bowls.

Per serving: 299 cal., 26% (78 cal.) from fat; 24 g protein; 8.7 g fat (2.3 g sat.); 32 g carbo (2.2 g fiber); 243 mg sodium; 39 mg chol.

Spicy Corn Relish Aulii Pila, Honolulu

While Aulii Pila and her husband were house-sitting, he challenged her to create a new dish using ingredients on hand. The result was this versatile corn relish. Add it to tacos, burritos, or fajitas, or spoon it onto lettuce for a salad. Alternatives for canned corn are 1 1/2 cups of frozen corn kernels or grilled corn cut off the cob.

Prep time: About 10 minutes

Makes: About 3 cups

1 can (15 oz.) corn kernels, drained

1/2 cup diced red bell pepper

1/2 cup diced green bell pepper

1/2 cup chopped red onion

2 tablespoons lime juice

1/2 teaspoon olive oil

1/2 teaspoon sugar

Hot sauce

Salt and pepper

1. In a bowl, mix corn, red and green bell peppers, onion, lime juice, oil, and sugar. Add hot sauce, salt, and pepper to taste.

2. Serve, or cover and chill up to 8 hours.

Per 1/2 cup: 72 cal., 10% (7.2 cal.) from fat; 2.1 g protein; 0.8 g fat (0.1 g sat.); 17 g carbo (1.5 g fiber); 195 mg sodium; 0 mg chol.

Cold Turkey Loaf Rodney Garside, Tuolumne, California

"I love a dinner of cold meat loaf along with a variety of salads and a bottle of good Gewurztraminer," writes Rodney Garside. But since beef and pork are not on his diet, he uses ground turkey and plain or Italian-style turkey sausages.

Prep and cook time: 10 to 12 minutes to assemble, plus 1 1/2 hours to bake

Makes: 6 to 8 servings

4 to 5 slices white bread

1/2 pound raw turkey sausages

1 pound ground lean turkey

1 large egg, beaten to blend

1 1/2 cups nonfat milk

2 tablespoons chopped green onion

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh sage leaves or

1 teaspoon dried rubbed sage

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon white pepper

1/4 teaspoon cayenne

1. Tear bread into chunks and whirl in a food processor to make fine crumbs. Measure 2 cups and put in a large bowl.

2. Squeeze sausages from casings into bowl. Add ground turkey, egg, milk, onion, sage, salt, black and white pepper, and cayenne. Mix well.

3. Pat meat loaf mixture into an oiled or nonstick 5- by 9-inch loaf pan.

4. Bake in a 350 [degrees] oven until meat loaf is firm to touch in center, about 1 1/2 hours.

5. Serve hot, or let cool, then cover and chill until cold, at least 3 hours. Or store, chilled, up to 2 days. Run a knife between meat and pan rim. Invert meat loaf onto a platter. Cut into thick slices.

Per serving: 193 cal., 42% (81 cal.) from fat; 18 g protein; 9 g fat (2.4 g sat.); 9.5 g carbo (0.3 g fiber); 475 mg sodium; 84 mg chol.

Strawberry-Peach Pie Jeanette Angeletti, Kuna, Idaho

Whole strawberries, glazed with a cooked strawberry sauce, conceal this pie's layer of fresh peaches on sweetened cream cheese. Jeanette Angeletti recommends using ripe fruit that is really sweet and fragrant. The pastry shell must be at least 1 1/4 inches deep; most purchased frozen ones are too shallow to hold all the filling. And for a less rich dessert, use neufchatel (light cream) cheese instead of cream cheese.