Fourth of July : The Out-of-Towners

Every summer I go up to Lenox, in the Berkshire Mountains, for a visit. The Berkshires begin to rise in the top corner of Connecticut and continue to roll through western Massachusetts. There are places close to Lenox where the landscape opens up onto vistas that resemble a more verdant Tuscany, with hills crowned by dense stands of pine, ash, spruce, chestnut, hemlock, oak, maple and birch.

Winter locks these hills in a picture-postcard stillness with snow banked high against jagged rock outcroppings, brilliant white against the evergreens. As compelling as this winter beauty is, it’s the summer I love best.

The same must have been true for a small group of extremely well-off Bostonians, New Yorkers and Philadelphians who, in the 1920s and 1930s, built summer cottages in and around Lenox. These “cottages” have dozens of bedrooms (and probably too few bathrooms), galleries and garages, as well as buildings to house gardeners, chauffeurs and other servants.

My friends and I, of course, do without the servants. In fact, one of our favorite vacation activities is cooking elaborate--and not so elaborate--dinner parties. This casual meal is something we like to prepare around the Fourth of July, when it’s warm at noon and cool in the evenings.

You have the makings of a little outdoor feast here. Take along squares of foil and extra paper napkins to wrap around the pita halves to keep them from leaking after they’re stuffed with pieces of chicken and a little of the relish.

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You’ll need to make this a couple of days in advance. Be sure it is at room temperature when serving. It shouldn’t be served directly from the refrigerator.

GRILLED CHICKEN BREASTS WITH DRIED CRANBERRY RELISH

1/3 cup dried cranberries or golden raisins

1/4 cup fresh orange juice

6 tablespoons olive oil

2 to 2 1/4 cups coarsely chopped onions

3/4 cup coarsely chopped shallots

1 cup balsamic vinegar

1/3 cup pecans or walnuts, toasted and chopped

6 skinned and boned chicken breast halves

Vegetable oil

Salt, pepper

Shredded mixed garden greens, optional

8 pita bread halves

Cover cranberries with orange juice in small nonreactive saucepan. Warm mixture over medium heat. Do not let boil. Set aside 1 hour.

Meanwhile combine olive oil, onions and shallots in skillet. Cook very slowly until tender, but not browned, about 8 minutes. Add vinegar and cranberry-orange juice mixture. Simmer 4 minutes. Stir in pecans. Set aside to cool.

Brush chicken breasts lightly with vegetable oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Grill over hot coals (or in broiler) until just done. Few minutes on either side, depending on size of breasts and how close they are to heat.

Spread half of cranberry mixture over bottom of shallow dish. Place grilled chicken on top in single layer. Cover with remaining cranberry mixture and refrigerate, covered, 2 to 3 days before serving.

When ready to serve, cut each breast half crosswise, then lengthwise. Stuff into 8 pita halves with some cranberry relish and shredded mixed garden greens. Makes 8 servings.

Each serving contains about:

389 calories; 264 mg sodium; 65 mg cholesterol; 17 grams fat; 30 grams carbohydrates; 30 grams protein; 0.51 gram fiber.

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I like these salad ingredients chopped fairly fine except maybe for the tomatoes, which should be a little coarser. If all you can find are big asparagus, blanch the spears before slicing.

CHOPPED SUMMER SALAD

1 cup diced sweet red peppers

1 cup seeded and coarsely chopped tomatoes

1 cup shredded zucchini

1 cup thinly sliced on diagonal tender thin asparagus (big asparagus should first be blanched)

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar

8 dashes hot pepper sauce

Salt, pepper

Toss together sweet red peppers, tomatoes, zucchini and asparagus in large bowl.

Whisk together olive oil, vinegar, hot pepper sauce and salt and pepper to taste. When ready to serve, pour out any liquid that may have accumulated in bottom of bowl of vegetables, then toss salad with dressing. Makes 8 servings.

Each serving contains about:

44 calories; 40 mg sodium; trace cholesterol; 4 grams fat; 3 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram protein; 0.42 gram fiber.

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Now here is a combination you’ll really like.

WHITE CHOCOLATE-CHOCOLATE BROWNIES

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

5 ounces bittersweet chocolate

1/4 cup unsalted butter

1/4 cup margarine

3 large eggs

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon espresso powder

6 ounces white chocolate, coarsely chopped

1 cup medium chopped walnuts and 1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

Grease 13x9-inch glass baking dish and line with wax paper. Grease and flour paper, shaking out excess flour. Set aside.

Sift flour, baking powder and salt onto plate or sheet of wax paper and set aside.

Melt together bittersweet chocolate, butter and margarine in small pan over low heat. Stir to mix. Set aside to cool.

Beat eggs and sugar in small bowl with hand mixer at high speed until sugar has dissolved and mixture is light. Beat in melted chocolate mixture. Stir in vanilla and espresso powder. Blend in flour mixture 1/2 cup at time. Stir in white chocolate and 1 cup medium chopped walnuts.

Scrape batter into prepared pan and smooth top. Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts on top. Bake at 350 degrees 35 minutes. Cool 8 to 12 minutes, then cut into 24 squares. Cool completely in pan before inverting onto serving platter and removing wax paper. Separate into squares. Makes 24 pieces.

Each serving contains about:

234 calories; 72 mg sodium; 33 mg cholesterol; 14 grams fat; 26 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams protein; 0.47 gram fiber.