July menus: Italian tongue-twister salad with breadsticks, strawberry tostada for breakfast, pineapple chicken on the barbecue

Sunset, July, 1985

As summer heats up, most cooks prefer to keep family meals casual; we've kept that in mind. For a nibble-as-you-go patio supper, we suggest an Italian antipasto salad, cheese, and long breadsticks redolent of garlic. A sort of south-of-the-border strawberry shortcake is a cool and crunchy breakfast offering. And crunchy breakfast offering. And for the Fourth, there's a grilled chicken dinner with a pineapple-cilantro sauce.

Sicilian summer supper

Many Italian families have their own favorite recipes for the cooked eggplant-and-tomato sakad known as caponata or caponatina. This version comes from the Sicilian-descended family of George Marino of Napa, California, who calls it goblidina. The breadsticks are Mr. Marino's preferred accompaniment--they're so popular, he often makes a triple batch.

Goblidina

Butter Lettuce Cups

Fontina, Jack, and Provolone Cheese

Garlic Breadsticks

Bing Cherries and Plums

Chianti or Zinfandel

You can make the salad a day or two ahead; flavors mellow on standing. Serve on lettuce, or use lettuce cups to hold the eggplant mixture to eat. Buy several chunks of cheese.

The breadsticks take about 1-1/2 hours to make. They're best when just baked--but when temperatures climb, you may want to bake early in the day.

Goblidina

1 Eggplant (about 1 lb.)

About 1/3 cup olive oil

2 large cloves garlic, minced or pressed

1 small onion, coarsely chopped

2 large stalks celery, cut into 1/2-inch dice

1 can (15 oz.) tomato puree

2 tablespoons drained capers

1/2 cup pimiento-stuffed Spanish-style green olives, sliced

1/4 cup pine nuts

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1 tablespoon sugar

1/2 cup dry wine

Cut off and discard ends of eggplant. Cut eggplant into 1-inch cubes. Brush a 12- by 15-inch rimmed baking pan with olive oil. Lay eggplant cubes in pan and brush with olive oil. Bake, uncovered, in a 400[deg.] oven until eggplant mashes very easily when pressed, about 40 minutes.

In a 5- to 6-quart pan over medium heat, combine 2 tablespoons olive oil, garlic, onion, and celery. Cook uncovered, stirring often, until celery is soft to bite, about 30 minutes.

To celery mixture, add eggplant, tomato puree, capers, olives, pine nuts, vinegar, sugar, and wine. Cook, uncovered stirring occasionally, until mixture is thick enough to flow slowly back when a spoon is pulled through it, 30 to 40 minutes more. Serve hot, at room temperature, or cool; if made ahead, let cool, cover, and chill up to 2 days. Makes 3 cups, 4 or 5 servings.

Garlic Breadsticks

1/3 cup olive oil

5 or 6 cloves garlic, minced or pressed

1 package active dry yeast

1/4 cup warm water (110[deg.])

3/4 cup warm milk (110[deg.])

1 tablespoon sugar

Salt

About 3 cups all-purpose flour

In a small jar, combine olive oil and garlic. Cover and let stand for flavors to blend, at least 1 hour or overnight.

In a large mixer bowl, sprinkle yeast over water and let stand for 5 minutes. Stir in milk, sugar, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 2 cups flour. With a heavy-duty mixer or sturdy spoon, beat until dough pulls cleanly from sides of bowl, 10 to 12 minutes.

Stir in 1/2 cup more flour. Scrape dough out onto a lightly floured board and knead until smooth, about 5 minutes; if dough sticks, add more flour, a little at a time. Place a dough in a greased bowl; turn over to grease top. Cover with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 30 minutes. Punch down and knead on a lightly floured board to expel air bubbles. Cut dough into 12 equal pieces; lightly cover with plastic wrap.

Brush 2 rimless 12- by 15-inch baking sheets with some of the garlic-oil mixture. Roll one piece of dough at a time on lightly floured board beneath your fingers to make a 13- to 14-inch rope; as you work, puncture any large bubbles. Let rope relax on board about 30 seconds, then transfer to oiled pan and brush lightly with olive oil mixture. Repeat to shape each dough piece. Place ropes, at least 1 inch apart, on pans and let stand until puffy-looking, 15 to 20 minutes.

Bake in 400[deg.] oven until breadsticks are brown, about 20 minutes; if you're using a single oven, switch pan positions halfway through baking. Remove breadsticks from oven and brush them generously with remaining garlic-oil mixture; sprinkle lightly with salt. Let cool on pans for a minute or so. Serve hot or at room temperature. Makes about 12.

Strawberry tostada brunch

Flour tortillas are quickly crisp-fried, then layered with orange-flavored sour cream and sliced berries to make this breakfast or brunch tostada.

Strawberry tostada Stack

Pan-fried Sausage Links

Iced Coffee or Iced Tea

You can fry the tortillas a day ahead; store them airtight at room temperature. When sausages are browned, assemble the tostada.

Strawberry Tostada Stack

4 flour tortillas (about 7-in. size)

Salad oil

2 teaspoons grated orange peel

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3 cups sliced strawberries

Pour 1/4 inch salad oil into an 8- to 10-inch frying pan. Place over medium-high heat until oil is hot enough to ripple when pan is tilted. Fry tortillas, 1 at a time, until golden and crisp, about 15 seconds per side. Drain on paper towels.