$1,000 PEANUT BRITTLE COOKIES

The fact that these cookies won first prize in a Pillsbury baking contest in 1953 was enough for me. An unusual twist on peanut butter cookies, this recipe uses salted peanuts instead. Once you've tried this recipe, you'll know why Mrs. John Hamlon, from Fergus Falls, Minnesota, won
her $1,000.

$1000 PEANUT BRITTLE COOKIES

makes about 2 dozen



1 C sifted all-purpose flour

1/4 t baking soda

1/2 t ground cinnamon

1 C salted peanuts

8 T softened butter

1/2 C packed light brown sugar

1 t vanilla extract

1 egg, lightly beaten

1. Preheat oven to 325. Sift together flour, baking soda, and cinnamon in a small bowl. Finely chop half the peanuts. Combine with flour mixture and set aside.

2. Beat butter in a medium bowl with a wooden spoon until light and fluffy. Add brown sugar gradually, beating until mixture is smooth. Add vanilla and 2 tablespoons of the beatern egg and beat well. Add flour and peanut mixture and mix thoroughly.

3. Spread dough out to fit a greased 10" by 14" baking sheet. Brush with remaining beaten egg. Sprinkle with remaining peanuts. Bake until brittle is slightly golden and set, about 20 minutes. Be careful not to overbake. Cut or break into pieces while still warm.

KATHERINE HEPBURN'S BROWNIES

When I started my cookbook project, I decided it would contain only food that I had prepared myself. This recipe is the only exception, made in honor of that human icon, a true movie star who (when this recipe was included in my cookbook) had just passed on to that great Hollyood in the sky. In addition to believing, quite irrationally, that if this was her recipe, the brownies must be special, I was also drawn to her own comments about the brownies, here included. Enjoy brownies with dinner, not just after dinner, she advised. So iconoclastic. Just like Hepburn herself; always living by her own rules. And if I've included a meatloaf recipe from Bill Blass, why not one for brownies from Katherine Hepburn?

KATHERINE HEPBURN'S BROWNIES



1. Melt together 1 stick butter and 2 squares unsweetened chocolate over low heat, stirring constantly and being careful not to burn the chocolate. Remove the saucepan from the heat.

2. Stir in 1 C sugar, add 2 beaten eggs and 1/2 t salt.

3. Stir in 1/4 C all-purpose flour and 1/4 t salt. (You can also add 1 C chopped walnuts, if you like.)

4. Bake the brownies in a buttered and floured 8" square pan at 325 degrees for about 40 minutes and depending on how moist you like your brownies. Test with a skewer or toothpick.

5. "Serve with roast chicken, roasted vegetables, scalloped potatoes and a green salad for a festive meal."

UNCLE DUTCH'S PINEAPPLE PUDDING

I'm not sure how my mother's brother came to be called Uncle "Dutch." I suppose it was because he once said he'd be my Dutch uncle, meaing that he'd keep an eye on me to be sure I stayed out of trouble. From that moment on, he was Uncle Dutch to the whole family. His pineapple pudding is easy to make and goes well with things like pork or ham. Uncle Dutch always brought it to our family's Easter dinners at the farm. From my Uncle Dutch, Lewis Marion Cross.



UNCLE DUTCH'S PINEAPPLE PUDDING

serves 6



1 stick melted butter or margarine

5 slices of bread, torn into  small pieces

1/2 C sugar

3 eggs, lightly beaten

1 20-oz can crushed pineapple

ground cloves to taste

1. Beat the eggs in a large bowl, stir in sugar and pineapple until well combined and season lightly with the cloves (be careful; the taste goes a long way).

2. In another bowl, add half the bread pieces to the melted butter and stir until well combined.

3. Pour the bread mixture into a loaf pan and pour the pineapple mixture on top. Sprinkle the second half of the bread pieces over the loaf and bake the pudding in a preheated 375 degree oven for about 45 minutes. The bread on the top should be browned but not burned.

BAKED RICE

This is a different way to prepare rice from the usual simmering method, which, quite frankly, I've never mastered. This seems easier to me and gives the rice a nuttier flavor. Serve this any time but it is especially good with Scallops and Leeks with Pernod. From Pierre Freney.



BAKED RICE

serves 4-6



3 T butter

1/3 C minced onion

1 1/2 C uncooked rice (not instant)

2 1/4 C water

2 sprigs parsley

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

2 sprigs thyme, or 1/2 t dried thyme

1/2 bay leaf

Tabasco sauce (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

2. Melt half the butter in a saucepan and add the onion. Cook, stirring, until wilted. Add the rice and stir to blend.

3. Add the water, stirring to make certain there are no lumps in the rice. Add the remaining ingredients. Cover with a close-fitting lid and when the water boils, place the pan in the oven.

4. Bake exactly 17 minutes. Remove the cover and discard the parsley, bay leaf, and thyme sprigs. Using a fork, stir in the remaining butter. If the rice is not to be served immediately, keep covered in a warm place.

If you're serving this with the scallops, cook the rice first and keep it warm while you complete the scallop recipe.

SCALLOPS WTH LEEKS AND PERNOD

Of all the recipes in my cookbook, "Phil's Favorite Food," there is no other that combines such elegance with such simplicity and tastes any better. A simple combination of scallops and leeks, touched with cream and flavored with Pernod. What could be better? Save it for specail occasions and make no apologies; it has loads of calories. But then, what's a special occasion for, if not to indulge? I've made this many times and once served it for a benefit dinner in frozen puff pastry shells, removing the tops of the pastries and filling the delicate cavities with this delectable combination. Wonderful!

COQUILLES ST. JACQUES ET POIREAUX AVEC PERNOD

(SCALLOPS AND LEEKS WITH PERNOD)

serves 4-6

1 quart scallops, preferably bay scallops (smaller than sea scallops)

6 T butter

3 leeks, carefully cleaned and chopped, about 3 1/2 C

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

2 T dry white wine

2 C heavy cream (use only one cup if you're worried, but 2 cups makes it memorable!)

3 T finely chopped shallots

2 T Pernod or Ricard or other anise flavored liqueur

1. Although bay scallops are best for this dish, sea scallops may be used. If so, cut them into quarters.

2. Heat 2 tablespoons butter in a skillet and add the leeks. Sprinkle them with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, about 2 minutes. Sprinkle them with wine and cook, about 1 minute more. Add the cream and cook, stirring often, about 5 minutes.

3. As the sauce dooks down, in a separate skillet, heat 2 tablespoons butter, add the shallots, salt and pepper. Cook about 1 minute. Add the scallops. Sprinkle with Pernod or Ricard and heat for only a minute or two. Combine the two mixtures. Bring to a boil and swirl in the remaining 2 tablespoons butter.

The perfect accompaniment for this dish is Baked Rice. See the recipe for tomorrow.



THE AUTHENTIC, TRADITIONAL MINT JULEP

Since the Kentucky Derby is fast approaching, I thought I'd provide my recipe for a traditional Mint Julep. This came long ago from Rob Kasper at The Baltimore Sun and I've used it for years. I have four Jefferson cups, given to me by my parents many Christmases ago and I use them for the Juleps, making some of each julep on the night before and holding the prepared cups in the fridge until the next day.

THE AUTHENTIC, TRADITIONAL MINT JULEP

makes one drink



6 mint leaves

2 T club soda

2 T sugar (yes, honey lamb, 2 tablespoons)

bourbon

1. The night before you want to serve these, plunge one julep cup per person into a pot filled with ice, almost to the rim. Pluck six mint leaves from the top of a sprig of mint and drop them into each cup. Crush the mint against the sides of the cup with a wooden spoon. Add the sugar and club soda to the cup and muddle a little more.

2. The next day when guests arrive, fill each glass with crushed ice. Not ice cubes, crushed ice. Pour the bourbon to the top of each cup, top with a srpig of mint and serve with straws pushed to the bottom of the cup and cut off so that they come just above the rim of the cup.

3. The purpose of the short straw is two-fold: the drinker will be forced to smell the mint as he is drinking the julep and since we taste with our nose as much as our mouth, this will enhance the julep's flavor, and the straw gets sugar from the bottom of the cup, thereby preventing a jolt of bourbon and helping the julep move immediately into the bloodstream! Heaven!

PERNOD FLAN

This is a much easier version of flan, without the caramel. The combination of flavorings makes the taste subtle and complex and not altogethr recognizable. Be careful to use only the amounts recommended here; the proportions are important and the Pernod is essential. And be careful when removing the ramekins from the water bath; they're hot and slippery. I once dropped a couple of them into the water and had to make them all over again. I think these are best served chilled and can be made ahead and left in the refrigerator, covered with plastic wrap, for several hours without damage. I once served these for a benefit dinner dessert. My guests raved; so will yours!

PERNOD FLAN

serves 6



2 C half and half

1/2 C sugar

grated zest of half an orange, the finer the better

6 egg yolks

2 T Pernod

1 t vanilla extract

1/4 t coconut extract

2 drops almond extract

1/2 t ground cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 325. Put half and half, sugar and orange zest into a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan and heat over medium heat, stirring with a wooden spoon, until sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes.

2. Meanwhile (I do this first; I'm not good at stirring and beating all at the same time), put egg yolks into a medium mixing bowl and whisk until thick and frothy. Gradually add hot half and half to yolks, whisking constantly (so as not to scramble eggs). Stir in Pernod and vanilla, coconut, and almond extracts, then strain mixture through a fine sieve into six 6-oz ramekins. (Those little white things we all bought at Pier 1 will do just fine.)

3. Arrange ramekins in a deep baking pan and add enough boiling water to the pan to reach halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Carefully transfer pan to oven and bake until flans are just set and centers are slightly soft when ramekins are jiggled, 25-30 minutes. Serve flans warm, at room temperature, or chilled.