Chicken Breast

Easy to prepare and impressive to serve, this dish is perfect for an impromptu week-night dinner party.

For this traditional Asian fondue, raw strips of chicken are cooked quickly at the table in a pot of boiling broth. Guests then place the cooked chicken strips on lettuce leaves, add noodles and whatever garnishes they choose, roll up the leaves and complete the packages with a bit of the Sweet-and-Spicy Dipping Sauce. When all of the chicken has been eaten, divide the remaining broth among the guests.

Chicken gets a south-of-the-border treatment with a tomato-chipotle sauce infused with lime and garlic.

Here's an updated coq au vin that's from Fringale in San Francisco.

You can find the ethnic ingredients for this tasty one-dish meal in the oriental section of your supermarket.

We found that half a chicken breast (about 1/3 lb) per person was plenty when served with the rest of this menu, but you could increase the portion to a whole breast per person.

This chicken is delicious over rice or pasta, which absorbs the tangy sauce. A salad and some crusty French bread would be fine accompaniments.

Steamed chayote squash and white rice cooked with one-fourth cup cream of coconut added to the water are fitting inside dishes. Buy individual tartlets to top off the menu.

Diced apple, dried apricots and golden raisins accent this 30-minute entrée.

Offer a salad of snow peas and sliced radishes in a ginger vinaigrette. End with oranges and almond cookies. Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Not much goes better with fried chicken than braised mustard greens or turnip greens, hot biscuits and sweet pickles. For a perfect dessert, serve squares of warm gingerbread with whipped cream. This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Serve this dish with steamed white rice to catch all the juices.