SHORTCUTS on page 73

ONE OF JEFF LAZAR'S
"100,000 CHICKEN RECIPES"
"I don't really follow recipes, a little
of this, a little of that," says Jeff.
Cut chicken into little nuggets.
Make a sauce out of a little olive oil,
a little-mustard, basil, oregano,
whatever other seasonings suit you,
onions, peppers, garlic,
veggies you like.
Brown the meat.
Mix it all
together. "At
times, I'll
add
brown
sugar to make it a little sweeter; you
can make it with fajitas."

PAUL KOHN'S
MAKE-IN-ADVANCE IDEAS .
"A major secret to great beef: it's
exactly the opposite of what your
mother taught you. You've got to
age it. Your mother taught you buy
fresh, serve it."
Using whatever cut of meat you
enjoy, rub with cracked pepper and
kosher salt; you can use fresh herbs.
Rub the outside of the meat really
well. Put it on a rack in your refrig-
erator, elevated so air can circulate
underneath it. As it ages, it will
release some of the juices. Let it stay
in your refrigerator for at least three
days, turned low — just above
freezing. The meat tenderizes
itself as the muscle breaks
down.
To cook, slice the meat
thin, put on skewers, then
cook it in a wok, in a mixture of
chicken stock, soy sauce and ginger,
boiling and bubbling. Stick the
skewered piece of meat in the wok
for 15-20 seconds, then serve with
hoisin sauce, wasabi sauce, tea infu-
sion or an Asian barbecue sauce.
Side dish: step up your normal
potatoes by mashing a Yukon gold.
"It's more buttery tasting, more
appealing," says Kohn. "We like to
add turnips into the potatoes and
mushrooms."

ALLY'S EASY
THAI CHICKEN
Mix coconut milk,
A Taste of Thai
peanut sauce
mix and chick-
en breasts, bake for an
hour. "It's really, really
good," says Allyson.

FRAYA'S FAVORITE
ASPARAGUS
LEMON PASTA SALAD
1 pound of penne
1 cup and 1 t. olive oil
1 bunch asparagus
1 cup water
3 T. lemon juice
grated rind of one lemon
salt and pepper
one jar of red peppers diced
2 T. pine nuts
Prepare penne according to package
directions. Once cooked, toss with 1
t. olive oil and chill. Cut off 1-2
inches of the base of asparagus and
discard. Slice asparagus into 1 1/2
inch pieces, simmer in skillet in
water until tender, about 12 min-
utes. Drain asparagus and plunge
into a bowl of ice water (this will
help maintain the bright green color
and stop asparagus from cooking
further).
Toast pine nuts in oven until
golden. In a small bowl, squeeze
juice from lemon and grate
the rind to create lemon
zest. In large bowl
- whisk together
lemon and rind,
salt, pepper, and
remaining olive oil. Add
asparagus, drained red pep-
pers, pine nuts and pasta. Serves 2-4
people. Good cold.

RENEE PHILLIPS'
FAVORITE "FOUND" RECIPE
Chop a package of Empire skinless
boneless chicken into little pieces
and marinate in your favorite prefab
teriyaki sauce. Heat oil in a skillet,
cut up an onion, cook the onion
and chicken. Set aside. Then, with-
out cleaning the pan, fry 5 eggs (can
use 4 Egg Beaters and 1 egg); add in
pre-cut carrots and frozen peas.
Meanwhile, you've already made a
cup of dry rice (which comes out to
about 2 cups of cooked
rice). Throw every-
thing back in the
pan, stir together.

.

How Soon
Is Too Soon?

LYNNE MEREDITH COHN
Scene Editor

Opinions vary, but the young adults who agreed to go on the record say
it depends on the person, the relationship and how you feel.
"It," of course, is deciding when to cook a romantic dinner for a
new significant other.
They agreed that the first home-cooked meal was a very important moment
in a relationship, one that reveals a lot about the person doing the cooking
beyond just what sort of utensils he or she keeps in the kitchen. The kinds of
food, how they are seasoned and how they are presented all get read as telltales
of character.
The first meal isn't always make-or-break for a relationship, they said. But it
isn't something to be rushed into ill-advisedly.
Here's what
,./ they had to say about how early you can make a romantic dinner
at home:

Talya Drissman
"I think if
you've gotten to
the point where
you're past that
third-date, fine-
line thing, and you
get to know the
other person and
you actually want
to be with them past three dates — and
it's mutual — then I think if the per-
son's actually willing to put out the
effort and the time and all that's
involved, I don't believe it can be done
too early. -
You don't want to scare off the
other person, but if you're already on
to that point, it's just part of it, I
think."

Jason
Rettenberg
"I would say it
depends on the
person. Someone
like me, for
instance, I don't
mind cooking, so
I'd do it early. I
don't think it's
ever too early in a relationship to cook
dinner at one's home. I think it's just,
in a way, more of a friendly gesture. I
would think of it more as having a
guest over for dinner and you're enter-
taining them."

Michelle
Rubinstein
"You have to
know the person
better and you
have to have
things in corn-
mon and be in
the relationship
for a while, like
about a couple months-, six months."

Ian Flashner
"It's not a
first-date kind of
thing, that's for
sure. It's proba-
bly more of a
fourth date.
You've got to go
out a few times,
feel it out, then
after a few times it's probably OK,
because to bring someone into your
home is a step, you two alone, in a
room.
"All the other times you've gone
out, probably a coffee shop, movies,
whereas this time it's alone ... it's
opening your doors and letting
someone see inside of you a little
more that maybe you didn't let them
see up to that point. They could see
dust on your TV. It tells more about
people." ❑