A holiday weekend is a time of reflection and, with the warming weather, thoughts of vacation and summer fun. What better way to get in the mood for the wonderful summer days ahead than with a traditional picnic at the beach or park.

Juicy, beer-simmered, grilled Polish sausage and bratwurst, luscious homemade potato salad and extra-crispy coleslaw head up the menu. And it is not too early for everyone's favourite, buttered corn-on-the-cob. Top it off with ice cold beer or lemonade and a patriotic red marble cake, and the celebration shared with family and friends will be filled with happy memories.

SUCCESS TIPS:

¦ If Polish sausage is not pre-cooked, add it to the beer with the bratwurst and simmer for 20 minutes.

¦ For a variation on grilling Polish sausage, cut them end to end down one side, open without separating the casing, and place on grill skin side down for more rapid, even cooking.

¦ Not all potatoes are the same. Reddish-brown ruby crescent fingerlings, with their low starch and fine texture, are perfect for a great potato salad.

¦ Choosing the right cabbage for coleslaw is as important as choosing the right potatoes for potato salad. Look for a firm head that is tightly packed and feels heavier than one that is loose and mushy.

GRILLED POLISH SAUSAGE AND BRATWURST

4 bratwurst or bockwurst (about 1 ½ pounds)

4 individual-size, fully cooked Polish sausages

2 bottles or cans (12 ounces each) beer

8 frankfurter rolls, split and warmed

Mustard, pickle relish and prepared horseradish

1. Pierce each sausage with a fork in several places. Pour beer into a large, deep frying pan or Dutch oven; bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low, add bratwurst, cover, and simmer gently (liquid should barely bubble or sausages will split) for 20 minutes. Add Polish sausages during last 5 minutes of simmering. Remove pan from heat and drain sausages well.

2. Place sausages on grill, 4 to 6 inches from heat, over low, glowing coals. Turning often, cook until browned on all sides (8 to 10 minutes).

3. Serve whole sausages in split rolls. Add mustard, relish and horseradish to taste.

Serves 8.

POTATO SALAD

4 large boiling potatoes (about 1 ½ pounds)

½ pound sliced bacon, cut into ½-by-1-inch strips

1 large, mild-flavored onion, finely chopped

½ teaspoon salt

? teaspoon white pepper

3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

Chopped parsley (optional)

1. Scrub potatoes with a stiff brush. Cook whole potatoes in a large pot of boiling salted water to cover, boiling gently just until tender when pierced with a fork (about 30 minutes). Drain, then slip off and discard skins as soon as potatoes are cool enough to touch.

2. While potatoes are cooking, cook bacon in a large frying pan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned.

3. Cut potatoes lengthwise into halves; slice into about ?-inch-thick pieces and place in a large bowl. Add onion and hot bacon (including drippings). To pan in which bacon cooked, add salt, pepper and vinegar, stirring well; pour over potatoes. Mix lightly to combine all ingredients thoroughly.

4. Sprinkle salad with parsley, if desired. Serve at once, slightly warm, or cover and refrigerate until cold to blend flavors more completely (salad may be prepared up to a day in advance).

Serves 6 to 8.

EXTRA-CRISPY COLESLAW

½ cup each mayonnaise and sour cream

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

2 teaspoons prepared mustard

1 tablespoon each prepared horseradish and apple cider vinegar

1 medium-sized green cabbage (1 ½ to 2 pounds), thinly shredded

1 medium carrot, shredded

6 green onions (tops included), thinly sliced

¼ cup chopped parsley

1. In a medium bowl, combine mayonnaise, sour cream, salt, sugar, mustard, horseradish and vinegar; stir until well-blended.

2. In a large bowl, combine cabbage, carrot, green onions and parsley. Pour dressing over vegetables; mix lightly to coat well. Cover and refrigerate to blend flavors for at least 2 hours (up to 8 hours).

Serves 6 to 8.

RED MARBLE CAKE

4 cups flour

1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons baking powder

1 cup (½ pound) butter or margarine, softened

1 cup granulated sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 cup sour cream

5 eggs, separated

1 cup crystalline red decorating sugar

Confectioners' sugar

Strawberries

1. Generously grease a 10-inch bundt pan or other fluted tube pan (10- to 12-cup capacity); dust with flour. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Sift together flour and baking powder. To make the light-colored batter: Beat ½ cup of the butter with the granulated sugar; beat in 1 teaspoon of vanilla. Beat 2 cups of the flour mixture into butter mixture alternately with ½ cup of sour cream, beating smooth after each addition.

3. In a clean bowl, beat egg whites until stiff but not dry. Stir a third of the egg whites into batter, then fold in remaining egg whites. Set aside.

4. To make the red batter: Beat remaining butter with red sugar; beat in remaining vanilla and egg yolks, one at a time. Add remaining flour mixture alternately with remaining sour cream, beating after each addition. (Both batters will be thick.)

5. Using a ¼-cup measure, scoop batter into prepared pan, alternating light-colored and red batters. Swirl a thin spatula through batter to marble.

6. Bake until a wooden pick inserted in thickest part comes out clean and cake pulls away from edges of pan (about 1 hour). Cool in pan on rack for 20 minutes. Invert cake onto rack and cool completely.

7. Sift confectioners' sugar over cooled cake and serve with strawberries.

Serves 10 to 12.