COOKING AT HOME

make the sauce. Add to the pan the garlic, additional butter, chile, herbs, sugar and mint. Saute together 1-2 minutes over medium high heat. Add the flour, sauteing another minute and deglaze the pan while stirring with the Apricot brandy and Worcestershire sauce. Lower heat slightly and simmer several minutes until thickened.

To serve: Place breasts on warmed plates, spoon sauce between them and garnish with apricots and mint sprigs. Serve with beaten potatoes, fanned, grilled vegetables and a tossed mesclun salad.

Beaten Potatoes

(Serves 2)

These too can be made in advance and held in a small casserole dish in a 350 degree oven until ready to serve. You can crank up the heat the last few minutes to get browned peaks on the top.

1lb. russet potatoes, peeled coarsely, cubed 1/2 cube butter, melted pinch of cayenne pepper pinch of nutmeg

1 T. butter

Boil potatoes in salted water until tender. Beat with butter, seasoning and salt and pepper to taste. Transfer to a small casserole and dot top with butter. hold in oven until read y to serve.

Braised Chicken Provençal (for

two)

This is grown-up food, richly, sensually flavored. Wonderful served with a wide ribbon pasta or Crestedi Gallo and a simple butter leaf salad tossed with balsamic vinegar and olive oil.

2 slices bacon

3 lbs. skinned chicken parts, dredged in flour, salt and pepper

1 sliced brown onion

1 tsp. fresh garlic

1/2 cup red wine (or madeira)

14 oz. can plum tomatoes (don’t drain) , coarsely chopped after in the pot

1/2 sliced red bell pepper

1 sliced yellow bell pepper

Zest of half an orange

1/2 tsp. each thyme, rosemary, fennel seeds, turmeric

1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper or cayenne

1/2 cup kalamata olives

3 tbs. minced fresh parsley

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. In a large saute pan (with a lid), cook the bacon. Remove it and brown the chicken. Remove the chicken from the pan and saute the onions. When the onions are translucent, put all of the ingredients except the olives and parsley into the pot. Bring to a boil with the chicken. Cover and bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour. Transfer the chicken pieces to a serving platter, keep warm. Skim the fat off of the sauce. Add the olives and parsley, boil and stir five minutes. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper and pour over the chicken.

Tapenade

Great with a champagne toast! This olive spread has an incredible flavor, is very quick to make and holds well several days. Bring to room temperature before serving.

1 cup pitted kalamata olives, drained

3 to 6 cloves garlic

2 tbs. lemon juice

1 tbs, chopped parsley

2 tsp, drained capers

1/2 tbs, Dijon mustard

1/2 tsp, dried thvme

1 tsp good olive oil

Process all except the oil, pulsing. To incorporate: Add oil through the feed tube while pulsing. Serve with baguette slices brushed with olive oil and toasted. Can be prepared ahead.

Sensuous Warm Crab Salad (Serves 2)

Two excellent wine choices to accompany this meal are Gewurztraminer ‘01 or Muscadet Reserve ‘01 by Chateau du Celera—both under $14.00 a bottle.

1 large head butter lettuce

1 large ripe avocado

1 large ripe, fragrant mango

1/2 red bell pepper

1/4 cup diced red onion

1 lb. fresh crab meat

Lime Vinaigrette (recipe follows)

1 head Belgian endive

Advance preparation (up to 1 hour before serving): Wash, pat or spin-dry the butter lettuce. Separate the endive spears. discard any limp outer leaves, then gently peel off the leaves. (Cutting off 1/4 an inch of the core end periodically will make this task a bit easier. Cut the red bell pepp er, mango and avocado in to 1/2-inch chunks and place these into a bowl with the torn lettuce and red onion. Prepare the lime vinaigrette and then pour it into a medium-sized saute pan. Set aside at room temperature until ready to use.

Ten minutes before serving: Set a small pot of water to boil on the stove. distribute the salad onto two large plates. Garnish with endive spears around the outside. flash-blanch your crab meat by plunging it in to the boiling water for a slow count of 30, then quickly strain it well. At the same time, heat the vinaigrette until you see the first few bubbles pop up, remove from heat and toss in the hot crab. Blend this mixture and top the two salads with it. Serve immediately.