European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 3, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Entertain witty ease. Serve your guests a main dish casserole that can be prepared ahead. Casseroles with class by Kitty rider Cox news service. W hat to serve your dinner guests not your lasagna again. They be eaten that. And your Chicken enchiladas and Gumbo too. These dishes which have been to More dinners than politicians running for office Are favourites at Many tables. But when you or your guests Are bored it s time to expand your cooking repertoire. Done to be nervous. There Are other dishes just As a a foolproof you can take to the table with Pride. They Are i amps Ken George company casseroles main dish meals a one that can be made ahead allowing Yoli plenty of time to visit with your guests instead of being stuck in the Kitchen lest you think casseroles too Ordinary for entertaining these Days be assured they Are one pot perfect for the 90s, which has been dubbed the Down to Earth decade by food experts while Tomer foods May have been a trend for the booming 80s, now its the get real recession Days Economy of Money time and Energy is at a Premium Cook up a casserole and apologize not for urn seafood bake to Chiles Rellanos Here Are some idea As both familiar and exotic. Add a Green salad bread and dessert and you have another winning menu to add to your collection. _ Humboldt seafood bake keep canned shrimp crab and water chestnuts in the cupboard and you can stir together this casserole when unexpected company stays for dinner. For fancier fare use fresh shrimp and serve with stalks of Spring asparagus. Vat cup raw Rice 2 Tablespoons butter 1 cup chopped celery v4 cup chopped onion a cup chopped Green Pepper _ i cup water 2 Tablespoons milk _. 2 Tablespoons cornstarch a 2 Tablespoons Lemon juice 4 splashes hot Pepper sauce or More to taste 1 cup Light sour Cream or Yogurt. 81/2-ounce can sliced water chestnuts drained 6y2-ounce can or More crab drained 61/2-ounce can or More shrimp drained 1 cup grated Cheddar cheese 3-ounce can Chow mein noodles optional a it a liw company is coming i Cook Rice not instant according to package directions. Should yield about 2 cups cooked Rice meanwhile in Skillet melt butter and add celery onion and Green Pepper and saute until tender. A Combine water milk cornstarch and hot Pepper sauce and stir into mixture in Skillet. Stir in Lemon juice. Cook on Low heat stirring constantly until thickened about 3 minutes. Stir in sour Cream and water. J chestnuts. Remove from heat. Add , shrimp and Rice. Turn into greased casserole dish. A a a Ltd bake at 350 f for 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from oven Sprinkle on grated cheese and noodles if desired. Bake 10 More minutes or until bubbly and cheese is melted. Serves 6-8. Chicken Marbella this was the first main course dish offered at the Silver palate Deli in new York City and the distinctive colors and flavors of the prunes olives and Capers kept it a favorite for years. Good hot or at room temperature the Chicken keeps and even improves Over several Days of it refrigeration. It travels Well and makes excellent picnic fare. Since Chicken Marbella is such a spectacular party dish quantities Are Given to serve 16, but the recipe can be divided successfully to make a smaller amount if you wish. 4 chickens 21/2 pounds each quartered 1 head of garlic peeled and finely pureed 1/4 cup dried oregano coarse Salt and freshly ground Black Pepper to taste _ l _ v2 cup red wine vinegar v2 cup Olive Oil. 1 cup pitted prunes v2 cup pitted Spanish Green olives a i cup Capers with a bit of juice 6 Bay leaves 1 cup Brown sugar 1 cup White wine a cup Parsley or fresh coriander Cilantro finely chopped in a Large bowl Combine Chicken quarters garlic oregano Pepper and coarse Salt to taste vinegar Oil. Prunes olives Capers and juice and Bay leaves. Cover and let marinate refrigerated overnight. The overnight mar nation is essential to the. Moistness of the finished product preheat oven to 350 f. Arrange Chicken in a single layer in one or two Large shallow baking pans and spoon marinade Over it evenly. Sprinkle Chicken pieces with Brown sugar and pour White wine around them. Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour Basting frequently with pan juices. Chicken is done when thigh pieces pricked with a Fork at their thickest yield Clear yellow rather than Pink juice. With a slotted spoon Transfer Chicken prunes olives and Capers to a serving Platter. Moisten with a few spoonfuls of pan juices and Sprinkle generously with Parsley or Cilantro. Pass remaining pan juices in a sauce boat. Makes 16 portions a Chiles Rellanos y this no Fry casserole version of Chiles Rellanos is so popular that it is a frequent pantry item at the annual Junior league Christmas affair in Austin Texas. 4 to 5 4-ounce cans whole Green Chiles divided 1 Pound lean ground beef 1 Large onion chopped 1 to 2 cloves garlic minced 1 Tablespoon or to taste ground cumin divided 3 Tablespoons Chili mix divided Salt to taste 8 ounces Monterey Jack cheese grated 8 ounces Sharp Cheddar cheese grated 4 eggs beaten 13-ounce can evaporated milk 1 Tablespoon All purpose flour 13-ounce can Tomato sauce toppings 1 cup sour Cream 1 cup raisins chopped pecans a a rinse Chiles open Flat and remove seeds. Drain on paper towels. Brown meat with  garlic. Drain add 1 Teaspoon cumin 1 Viz Tablespoons Chili mix and Salt. Stir. A a a a a a a. A a -. In a greased 9-by-13-Inch pan layer Chiles beef and additional Chiles. Combine cheeses and Sprinkle Over Chiles. Beat together eggs milk and flour. Pour Over cheese mixture to the Tomato sauce add 2 Teaspoons cumin and 1 /2 Tablespoons Chili mix. Pour Over All. Bake 30 to 4.5 minutes at 350 f. Note if preparing ahead of time do not cover with Tomato sauce until a it time to bake. ,. To serve place toppings in bowls and let guests help themselves. Serves 10 to 12. Two cheese spinach _ Eese Spina 3hroomc/ f and mushroom casserole spinach and mushrooms Combine for a vegetarian entree or tasty Side casserole. 12 ounces fresh Well washed stemless torn spinach leaves 1 cup water. % Teaspoon garlic powder 1a Teaspoon Light Salt j a Teaspoon cracked Black Pepper Vic Teaspoon Cayenne Pepper a a Vvs Teaspoon ground Nutmeg 3 Tablespoon reduced calorie butter or Margarine 8 ounces sliced fresh mushrooms i cup chopped onion a 2 to 3 ounces cubed Light Cream cheese 1 Viz cup grated Cheddar cheese Tomato slices optional preheat oven to 325 f. Spray an oven proof casserole dish with non stick  spinach and water in a Small Saucepan. Bring to a boil. Cook 5 minutes. Transfer spinach to a Sieve and press out excess liquid with the Back of a Long handled mixing spoon. Return to pan stir garlic powder Salt Pepper Cayenne and Nutmeg into the drained spinach. Mix Well. In a Skillet melt the butter Over medium heat and saute mushrooms and onion until tender. Place the Cream cheese and mushroom mixture in an even layer Over the Bottom of a prepared casserole dish top with an even lawyer of seasoned spinach and Sprinkle with the grated cheese. Bake for 20 minutes or. Until thoroughly heated. Serves 4 to 6. Quot a a a stars and stripes editor recently prepared two of these dishes Tor dinner guests. The Chicken Marbella is tasty different and easy to prepare. The a Steese and mushroom casserole is Rich a probably not the Best accompaniment Tor the Chicken. But if you have a vegetarian among your guests it s perfect. A. Quot a. Short cuts Jacques Pepin by Charlyne Varkonyi Baltimore Sun the guests arrive in an hour and you have suddenly entered the panic zone dessert somehow was left out of otherwise Well thought out plans. And now there seems to be no Way to beat the clock. When your stomach is turning would be Host or hostess where do you turn a. Commit Hara Kiri because you Are going to lose face.  a. A  a a a a. A. Pay the kid next door to go to the bakery. C Call your guests and confess asking them to pick up something Sweet on their Way Over. D. None of the above. The Correct answer is  look into your pantry and relax. All you need is heavy Cream milk a package of instant Vanilla pudding Apricot preserves and the store bought Pound cake that you originally bought for Tea with your sister. Whip them All together and you will come up with Gateau Claudine a delicious cake that a. Tastes As Good As homemade. It takes Only minutes and tastes like you spent hours. All you sceptics Are wincing. You Are not going to serve your guests some Yucky thing that was developed by Becky Home Ecky for a High school . Your guests Are too important for second Best. No convenience food in your Kitchen. You Are too sophisticated too urbane frankly too Chicken  your friends find out How easy it was to make dessert. Well Jacques Pepin once personal chef to three presidents of France and gourmet cooking guru to. Millions of Loyal fans does t feel too sophisticated or urbane. And if it s Good enough for him Why  it be Good enough for you but really instant pudding Escoffier must be flipping in his. Grave. Pepin says he has already been criticized by food writers and chefs about the use of convenience foods in his new Book the Short Cut Cook William Morrow and co. $19.95but he declares that he in t a food snob. After Many years of teaching real people How to Cook he says he knows what they want Quot the proof of the pudding is in the pudding and it s really Good Quot he says without apology for his Gateau Claudine named after his 23-year-old daughter because she prefers the Quick version to his elaborate multilayered cakes with homemade buttercream icing. In fact a major premise of his new Book is that americans who tend to overdo everything have become food snobs and have elevated the term Quot homemade Quot to a religion. And homemade he adds is Only Quot bes when it is Superior in taste and Quality to a what you can buy. Quot in France Quot he adds Quot people done to fight it. That s not to say that people should never make their own bread. But if the store bought is Good Quality you should buy it rather than try to make it  it s Boneless skinless Chicken breasts or store bought Pound cake Jacques Pepin says the object is to make life As easy As possible for the Busy Home Cook for after work meals or for a weekend dinner party. His shortcut cooking style combines fresh foods with the Best of supermarket convenience foods. Here Are some of his conv Emence food Dos and Don to. He prefers fresh vegetables first then Frozen. He rarely uses canned because he does t like the taste and texture his pick of the Frozen includes Corn and peas considering the tiny Frozen peas As better than fresh. And Frozen asparagus works Well in Cream of asparagus soup. But canned peas and canned asparagus rate thumbs Down. Canned Chicken and beef Broth Are acceptable but read the Label to make sure the Brand you buy does t have too much Salt. Remember ingredients Are listed in order of predominance ,. Frozen bread dough can be a great Tim Saver to make bread pizza or calzone but look for those with simple ingredients such As bread flour yeast and Salt. Unlike the majority of other fast cooking books Bis shortcut cooking has no 30 or 60-minute deadline Quot basically the focus of the Book is not to have to Cook everything in five minutes a he says. Quot it s More a question of making life easier. Coincidentally Many of the recipes Are very fast but i did not want to to limited Quot a the recipes that take More time Are intended to to company meals or to be prepared on weekends when we have More time. So How does this shortcut cooking fit in when you re entertaining first he says determine How much time you have to shop and prepare the meal and then pick the menu them you must Start to look at the supermarket As your personal sous chef a to help with everything from chopping vegetables to preparing sauces and dips Quot the idea Quot he says Quot is to Tako stuff from the supermarket and give it your own signature. The Point is not to buy prepared food. What you do is buy partially prepared food an3 finish it yourself to make it your own food with your own  Gateau Claudine although he typically makes elaborate cakes Zyvith Rich buttercream icings Pepin s daughter Claudine loves this simple cake. You can make your own cake or use a store bought sponge or Pound cake. Decorate it As elaborately As you want using candles fruit or violets. 1 cup heavy Cream 1 package 3v4 ounces instant Vanilla pudding 1 cup milk 1 sponge or Pound cake about 7 inches in diameter and 1 v4 inches thick 2 Tablespoons Apricot preserves whip the Cream until firm and set aside mix the instant pudding with the milk according to the directions on the pudding Box but using half the Mil called for on the Box until combined fold in Tho. Whipped Cream. Set the frosting aside. It should to ready to use in 10 to 15 minutes. Cut the cake in half horizontally and Loco one of the halves on a plate spread the Jam Over it and cover the Jam with a layer of the frosting. Place the second cake layer on top and cover the top and sides with frosting. If desired spoon any remaining frosting into a pastry bog fitted with a Star tip and add decorative touches to Tho cake. Cut into wedges and serve. Makes 6 Servings. Page 14 the stars and stripes Friday May 9, 1991 the stars and stripes Page 15