Safeway's Fourth of July Patio Picnic Menu

Welcome to 1962!  This menu comes from the Safeway's Meal Planner cookbook, a gift from a reader.

SAFEWAY'S Fourth of July Patio Picnic Menu

Just For YOU...

Golden Barbecued Chick-a-Dee

Tropical Sweet Potatoes

Chili-ghetti

Pineapple Cole Slaw

Peaches and Cream Pie

Cool Lemon Tea

Suggested Bread Type: Grilled Roma Torpedo Rolls with Lawry's Garlic Spread wrapped in foil.  

To my sorrow, and I assume to yours, I was not able to make everything on the menu.  Forgive me.  Like myself, you must be contented with the bolded dishes.  Besides which, chicken AND a meat casserole?  What?  I thought this was 1962, not 1862.  D'oh ho ho!

For those who take offense to the fact that it is not July 4, I refer you to the title of the blog.  

Tropical Sweet Potatoes (Serves 6)
1 can, No. 3 squat, TOWN HOUSE sweet potatoes, drained
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon CROWN COLONY pure rum flavoring
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons butter

Place each sweet potato on a double thickness of heavy duty aluminum foil.  Brush with combined lemon juice and rum flavoring.  Sprinkle generously with brown sugar and cinnamon; dot with butter.  Wrap the foil securely around the sweet potatoes, twisting ends.  Barbecue on grill 7 to 9 minutes or on briquets 4 to 5 minutes.

Let your table setting be in the spirit of the occasion by having the theme colors of red, white, and blue.  Start with a white paper tablecloth, blue napkins, and red and white insect repellent candles that may be found in your Safeway hardware section.  Spread the theme throughout your entire patio with pale blue candy dishes filled with Roxbury mint straws and balls.  

Chili-ghetti (Serves 10)
In a large skillet melt 2 tablespoons butter; brown 1 clove garlic, minced, 3/4 cup chopped onion, and 1 pound ground shoulder.  Drain off excess fat, then add 1 can, No. 303, TOWN HOUSE solid pack tomatoes with 2 15-oz. cans chili con carne with beans; simmer for 45 minutes.  Meanwhile, cook 3/4 of one 12-oz. package CHIEF brand spaghetti according to package directions; drain.  Remove skillet from heat and stir in 3 cups shredded Cheddar cheese until melted; then fold in 1/2 pint LUCERNE sour cream.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Combine chili mixture and spaghetti, mixing well; turn into a 2-quart casserole.  Top with 1/4 cup SAFEWAY grated Parmesan cheese and bake 45 minutes.

Chili-Ghetti may be prepared ahead and refrigerated until ready to bake.  It may also be frozen after baking.*

Peaches and Cream Pie
Arrange 4 cups sliced fresh peaches, one layer deep in an unbaked 9-inch pastry shell.  Mix 1/2 cup sugar, 2 tablespoons flour, 1/8 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, and 1/2 cup sweet or sour cream, pour over peaches.  Bake 450 degrees F. for 10 minutes, reduce heat to 350 degrees F. for 40 minutes.  Bake until filling is set.  Cool and serve.


Verdict:

Tropical Sweet Potatoes: Wow, these are... rummy.  Please note, you don't sprinkle rum on, you sprinkle rum flavoring.  It is VERY STRONG.  This is also maddening to make.  You have to double wrap every tiny nubbin of sweet potato.  INDIVIDUALLY.  Grahhhhhhhh!  And what do you end up with?  Little wrapped nuggets of soggy brown moosh that make you smell like a bum in the gutter. 

Chili-Ghetti: This is the culinary equivalent of a warm, fuzzy blanket.  Eating it on a cool day is like snuggling up in front of the fire with hot chocolate and a purring tabby, while fat flakes of snow drift gently down upon the land.  I did freeze half of it, and it was even better the second time.  Yes, it is terrible for you.  But let us not speak of that.  It is your grandmother's kugel.  It is the love of a child.  It is the Moonlight Sonata. It is cookies fresh out of the oven.  It is a hammock on a perfect summmer's day.  You shall not say a word against it, for I will defend its perfection to my last breath.**

Peaches and Cream Pie: An uglier pie I have rarely seen, especially the next day.  Brrrrr.  The sugar in the sour cream sauce draws out the juice in the peaches, leaving wells and rivulets of juice cracking the surface.  Not bad in taste, but not terribly inspiring either. 



*Chili-Ghetti may cause shortness of breath, rash, fertility, hipsterism, lollygagging, aphasia, balding, tomfoolery, and shenanigans.  Time Travel Kitchen cannot be held liable.  

**Probably of heart attack.