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WPCNR's THE REAL DEAL. By The Wedding Jeannie, Jeannie Uyanik of Cap and Gown Weddings. July 3, 2008: July fourth falling on a Friday more often than not guarantees the holiday festivities will begin on a Thursday, and continue well through the weekend.  So those guests who usually only drop by for the day of barbeque could be staying a while longer.  It seemed only appropriate that we assist you in whipping up a few extra, sure to wow (except maybe the Jello) dishes, that can be easily doubled or tripled to feed the masses while still looking unique. 

From the start, let’s be clear that I have NO talent in the kitchen.  I don’t want to in anyway misrepresent myself as a cook, chef, or as having capable hands to assist anyone cooking anything.  But what I do very well is measure and follow directions. 

It takes me longer than about 90% of the population, but with good directions and a solid recipe, I can fool anyone into thinking that I know what I am doing.  That and a live-in chef have saved me from much embarrassment over the years.  But these are all tried and true family recipes, coming from as far back as my great-grandmother,  (the unique  Gertrude Pinneo of Sunnyside Avenue in Pleasantville), who knew how to throw a party and a Sunday dinner for 40 without blinking an eye. 

And I have personally made each of these dishes, so I know that anyone can do it. 

The key to the following dishes if used in conjunction, is that they will cater to each of your crazy guests:

The health nut (the organic lentil salad),

The carb hound (great grandma’s baked pimento ziti),

The I have seen it all on the grill (garlic lobster tails & Turkish hamburgers),

 The picker (Jello fruit salad mold). 

While I can’t cook to save my life, I usually host a gathering for about 20 to 40 people at least once a month at my home.  It’s clear that the key to a successful, and oft remembered weekend or event, is variety in the menu and putting things out there that most have not seen before. 

That’s tough to do for larger crowds or more relaxed barbeques.  But the menu above hits the spot in terms of mass preparation and keeps guests thinking you threw everything together just before they arrived. 

If you have any questions, I would suggest that you not write to me, but since that’s probably your only option, I promise to get you an answer from someone else who knows about cooking. 

And for the dessert, I leave that to the chef, but last week he made a fantastic cheese cake and I contributed my Duncan Hines brownies; of course when asked for the recipe, my response was “a little of this and that and a flick of the wrist.”

Organic Lentil Salad

One bag of green lentils – usually 1lb, but any size will do, just increase the ingredients below accordingly. 

Set the lentils in water overnight in a bowl; make sure there is plenty of water, well above the level of lentils.

Next day, boil the lentils in water, don't over cook them as you don’t want them to be mushy. After a 5min-7min of boiling, just taste a few every few minutes to see when they are done, then soak in cold water, to stop the cooking process.

Chop the following as finely as you can and all ingredients should be organic if possible:
-1 dozen radishes
-1 small bag of baby carrots
-1 bunch Italian parsley
-1-2 bunches of scallions
-1 red pepper
-1 orange or yellow pepper (or half of each)
-2-3 small cucumbers (the small ones are perfect for this salad)
-2-3 stalks of celery

Add, salt, black pepper, cumin (this is the KEY ingredient), squeeze 1 lemon, and plenty of extra virgin olive oil.  (no exact measurements for these, so build it up slowly until the taste gets to your liking. For olive oil start with 1/2 cup, and add from there)

Mix all the ingredients and serve cold. 

Grandma’s Baked Pimento Ziti

-2 cups uncooked Ziti

-2 cups cheddar cheese cut up

-2 cups bread crumbs (real bread cut in small 1 inch pieces)

-1 jar sliced pimento

-5 cups of milk

-2 eggs

-3 tablespoons of chopped onions

-2 teaspoons of salt

-1/4 teaspoons of pepper

-3 tablespoons of butter

Bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees with no cover.  Let stand 15 minutes.

Garlic Lobster Tails

-4 lobster tails (Costco is a great place to get good tails, but try and buy the smaller ones because the meat is more tender)

-3 or 4 cloves of crushed garlic

-1 bunch cilantro, medium diced

-3 medium sized tomatoes, finely 

- ½ cup of olive oil

-1 lemon squeezed (fresh)

-salt, pepper to taste

Keep the lobsters in their shells and combine all other ingredients mixing everything together in one large bowl.  Marinate overnight or for as long as possible (at least 10 hours).  Lobsters should be cooked on the grill, leave on high heat for 10-12 minutes total.

Turkish Hamburgers (aka Kofte)

-1.5 pounds of minced beef

-1 medium finely chopped onion

-1 bunch Italian parsley finely chopped

-1/2 a cup of plain breadcrumbs

-1 egg

-2 tablespoons of cumin

-1 teaspoon salt

-1 teaspoon pepper

Knead all ingredients together by hand well for at least 5 minutes.  Pick meatball sized portions and create mini burger patties (not regular sized hamburgers) and prepare on a tray.  Grill to preferred temperature (like hamburgers) and if cooking in the oven, heat at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. 

Jello Fruit Salad Mold

-1 packet Jello (raspberry or strawberry only)

-1 container of fresh raspberries

-1 small container of fresh blueberries

-1 cup of cut strawberries

-1/2 a pear cut into small pieces

-1/2 an apple cut into small pieces

Directions for making the Jello will be on the box (usually 1 cup of boiling water added to the powder, and then one cup of cold water to follow).  Allow Jello to cool and become SLIGHTLY firm (usually about ½ an hour) in the fridge and then add all the fresh fruit ingredients.  Its important not to use fresh pineapple as the Jello will not set.  The key to a beautiful Jello salad is the use of a Tupperware dish created just for Jello to show off some design skills.  Target has plenty of options on their website (from July 4^th molds to the traditional round bowl molds).