Cool It

summer savories with a frosty flair

For Fevered Brow, Parched Throat and Jaded Palate, the refrigerator can be a veritable ice palace of culinary cold comestibles during the hot months. In this labor-saving age, the preparation of many cool collations -- from cooked crab and corned tongue to liver pâté and pickled herring -- involves a ritual no more complex than the upending of cardboard cartons from the corner caterer. But such immemorial stand-bys as ham and potato salad all too often make their appearance at the summer dinner table as bungling stand-ins for the genuine article. For those who dig delicatessen, the best way to avoid wretched repasts is extensive trial-and-error research in the better gourmet shops. The resolute hamologist won't rest until he finds ham that's sweet but smoky, chewy but tender, lightly salted but not acrid; a description which includes such princely provisions as pungent Italian prosciutto, delicate Danish ham, hearty domestic Smithfield, and the ineffably savory, virtually transparent Westphalian ham from Germany. The dedicated potato saladier will search until he finds a variety that is absolutely fresh (made within three or four hours before display, or at least the same day) and seasoned with fresh chives rather than the traditional onion filler.

But the road to calm, cool and convenient warm-weather dining need not be littered entirely with delicatessen cartons, however commendable their contents. For most of us, the appetite for truly epicurean nourishment doesn't taper off by a taste bud during the hot months. Understandably salad-stated, pâté-pooped and pickle-weary, we crave such summertime specialties as fresh Gaspé salmon, slowly poached in its skin, then chilled within a few degrees of freezing, and coated with mayonnaise tinged with mustard -- among the kingly edibaubles from a vast province of provender cultivated expressly for frigid feasting. You won't find them canned, bottled, boxed, deep-frozen, dehydrated or reconstituted in any long-greengrocery of our acquaintance; but they can be concocted at home on the range with far more gustatory gratification, if somewhat less childish ease, than any known prefab fare, hot or cold, plain or fancy. At the end of a lazy day's bake at the beach, or an afternoon's jog on the commercial treadmill, few prospects are more appetizing than a choice fish, fowl or roast, plucked frosty-fresh from the victual vault. Cooked in advance, relegated to refrigerator, and brought forth shortly after the martini hour, such regal repasts can liberate the host from a summer-evening ritual which saps even the hardiest appetites: the hot-stove gambit.

A few canons of culinary cold storage should safely insulate him from possible frostbite as well. Apart from unswerving insistence on the best goods available, as in all mercantile matters, the primary precept is to use discretion rather than valor in the selection of birds and beasts for the buffet table. Unless a ravenous regiment is expected, the wise way is to procure joints and cuts of fairly modest proportions -- large enough to satisfy, but small enough to roast and chill without unconscionable delay. If a tempting roast beef is among the iced delights in store, the sharp chef will take care to cook it especially rare, in order to conserve the precious pink juices so often lost not only in the oven but in the refrigerator. As with any roast meat, he will always take the further precaution of swathing his prize in one of the transparent plastics that seal rather than conceal their contents. Such delicacies as cold shrimp and whole cooked corned beef, of course, should be preserved in containers which permit them to steep luxuriously in their own rich liquids.

Whatever dish is docketed, hasty tabling is the principal prerequisite for frosty foods. Meat, fish and fowl will survive refrigeration for varying periods -- smoked meats up to three days -- before lapsing into rank senility. But all of them will have lost their youthful bloom after a scant twenty-four hours of wintry imprisonment. The best plan, therefore, especially with delicate seafood and tender roast duckling, is to seize and savor your chilled prey at the piquant peak of redolence -- between five and eight hours after cooking.

For somewhat airier, if no less perishable midsummer meals, there is still another realm of cold cookery for particular palates: gelatin dishes. Among the most versatile of viands, these shimmering (continued on page 110)Cool it(continued from page 57) savories can lighten and brighten almost any course in a hot-month meal. In flavorful gels of genuine beef, chicken, veal and seafood stock, they triumphantly appear as both rich aspics and hardy consommès. Blended with heavy cream and sundry other components, unfla-vored gelatin becomes a mousse. When amalgamated with thick marshmallow, dark chocolate or fresh shredded coconut, pureed with plump black raspberries, apricots, strawberries or pineapple wedges, and laced with sherry, kirsch, madeira or rum, it is one of the most lordly desserts in the storied dominion of haute cuisine. But the mousse achieves perhaps its most delectable destiny as a manly main course, in toothsome tandem with such ingenuous ingredients as lobster, crabmeat and chicken -- tantalizingly represented among this month's recommended pièces de choix by Chicken Mousse with Pistachios.

Mousse or venison, fish or fowl, any icy entree will be incomplete without the catalyst of a suitable vintner's vintage. As a rule, any wine compatible with a hot dish will be equally engaging with its summer counterpart, i.e., reds with meat, whites with seafood and poultry. For the truly discriminating, frankly sensual summertime host, however, it should be mentioned that few marriages between food and drink are as headily happy as that of cold cuisine with one of the lightly fruity German Rhine wines, moselles, or ebulliently full-bodied French burgundies. Opened at the height of their "spritz," or pleasantly sharp youthfulness (two years is the perfect age), and chilled to a fine edge for about two hours, they are the undeniable ultimate in warm-weather wassail.

Without further foreword, then, let us raise a toast to the gastronomic pleasures which await; for the iced meals cometh.

[recipe_title]Cold Stuffed Crab[/recipe_title]

(Serves four)

[recipe]1 lb. fresh or canned crab meat[/recipe]

[recipe]1/2 cup mayonnaise[/recipe]

[recipe]1/2 cup finely minced celery[/recipe]

[recipe]1 teaspoon finely chopped chives or scallions[/recipe]

[recipe]2 tablespoons finely minced green pepper[/recipe]

[recipe]1 teaspoon prepared mustard[/recipe]

[recipe]1/2 teaspoon dry mustard[/recipe]

[recipe]1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce[/recipe]

[recipe]1 tablespoon lemon juice Salt, pepper[/recipe]

[recipe]2 hard-boiled eggs[/recipe]

Remove any pieces of shell or cartilage from crab meat and break into small pieces. Combine with mayonnaise, celery, chives, green pepper, prepared mustard, dry mustard. Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, salt and pepper, and pack the mixture into four crab shells or coquille (scallop) shells. Chop hard-boiled eggs very fine, sprinkle over crab meat and chill in the refrigerator until icy cold.

[recipe_title]Cold Sea Bass in Rhine Wine[/recipe_title]

(Serves four)

[recipe]2 sea bass, 1-1/2 lbs. each[/recipe]

[recipe]1 large onion, sliced[/recipe]

[recipe]2 whole carrots 1/2 small bay leaf[/recipe]

[recipe]1 piece celery sliced[/recipe]

[recipe]4 sprigs parsley[/recipe]

[recipe]1/8 teaspoon dried hot red pepper, crushed[/recipe]

[recipe]2 whole allspice Salt[/recipe]

[recipe]1 cup dry Rhine wine[/recipe]

[recipe]2 teaspoons chopped fresh chives[/recipe]

Ask your friendly neighborhood fishmonger to split and cut the sea bass into four boneless filets -- and to give you the heads, backbones, skin and tail. Back at the range, place these bits and pieces into a saucepan with the onion, carrots, bay leaf, celery, parsley, red pepper, allspice, 1/4 teaspoon salt and one quart water. Bring to a boil, reduce flame, simmer slowly for half an hour, and then strain into a wide shallow saucepan. Fold under the nether end of each filet and place them in saucepan with this liquid. Add wine, bring to boil, simmer five minutes, and then transfer to a shirred-egg dish or oval ramekin. Season the remaining cooking liquid to taste, and pour over the filets. Arrange two carrot slices (retrieved from strainer) on each filet, sprinkle with chives and chill in the refrigerator until liquid is gelled. Serve with horseradish dressing (1/2 cup mayonnaise. I tablespoon heavy cream and I tablespoon horseradish) and a fresh cucumber salad.

[recipe_title]Cold Smoked Pork Loin[/recipe_title]

(Serves four)

[recipe]2 lbs. smoked pork loin[/recipe]

[recipe]Juice of 2 lemons[/recipe]

[recipe]1/4 cup brown sugar[/recipe]

[recipe]1/2 cup cold water[/recipe]

[recipe]2 onions, sliced[/recipe]

[recipe]2 pieces celery, sliced[/recipe]

[recipe]1 green pepper, sliced[/recipe]

[recipe]1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper[/recipe]

(In procuring this hearty meat -- known also as Canadian bacon "with the bone" -- ask the butcher to split the backbone for easy carving.)

Place loin in a shallow casserole or baking pan, add remaining ingredients and allow to marinate at least four to five hours, overnight if possible, turning meat occasionally. Duly steeped, place in preheated 375° oven with the marinade. Roast 1-1/2 hours, basting periodically in its own juices and seasonings. Then chill the loin thoroughly, cut into chops and serve with fresh potato salad and cold red cabbage.

[recipe_title]Chicken Mousse With Pistachios[/recipe_title]

(Serves six)

[recipe]2 whole breasts of chicken[/recipe]

[recipe]1/2 cup chicken broth[/recipe]

[recipe]1 envelope unflavored gelatin[/recipe]

[recipe]1/2 cup dry white wine[/recipe]

[recipe]1 medium onion, diced[/recipe]

[recipe]1/2 cup mayonnaise[/recipe]

[recipe]Salt, pepper, nutmeg[/recipe]

[recipe]1 cup heavy cream[/recipe]

[recipe]1/3 cup shelled, peeled pistachios[/recipe]

Boil chicken until tender, remove skin and bones, and dice meat fine. Bring chicken broth to a boil, remove from flame, add gelatin -- pre-softened in the wine -- and stir well. Pour mixture into the well of an electric blender, add onion and mayonnaise, and blend at high speed for about half a minute, while adding chicken in small pieces until puréed. Then season with salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste, and chill in a shallow bowl until gelatin begins to set -- about 30 to 40 minutes. Beat cream until whipped, fold with pistachios into chilled mixture, turn into a six-cup ring mold (previously rinsed in cold water, but not dried), and chill in refrigerator until firm. When ready to serve, run a knife along the inside rim of each ring, dip the mold into warm water for a few seconds and unmold onto a platter. Serve with cold asparagus vinaigrette.

[recipe_title]Cold Filet Of Beef Platter[/recipe_title]

(Serves six)

[recipe]1 whole filet of beef Salad oil[/recipe]

[recipe]Salt, pepper[/recipe]

[recipe]Boston lettuce leaves[/recipe]

[recipe]2 4-1/2-oz. jars artichoke hearts in olive oil[/recipe]

[recipe]1 8-oz. tin cocktail mushrooms[/recipe]

[recipe]3 medium-size fresh tomatoes[/recipe]

(Filet of beef is the long cut from which filet mignon is sliced, and may have to be ordered a day or two ahead of time. In any case, ask the butcher to remove all surface fat in order to allow for maximum browning; and to fold under and tie the thin tail end.) Once trimmed and trussed, place the filet in a shallow roasting pan, brush generously with salad oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and roast 30 to 40 minutes in preheated 425° oven, turning once. Remove and cool to room temperature; then chill in the refrigerator. Carve into slices about 1/4 inch thick, and arrange fan-wise in center of a large platter. Wash and dry lettuce carefully, and place twelve of the inner cup-shaped leaves around meat. Fill these alternately with chilled artichoke hearts and mushrooms; cut tomatoes into wedges, and place between lettuce cups. Then uncork a beaded bottle of bone-cold Rhine wine, decant its crystalline contents into waiting goblets, and commit your frigid fare with sang-froid to the hungry horde at hand.