from our kitchen

Bloody Mary Bar

Create a Bloody Mary bar at your next tailgate or party. Our staff agrees that the quality of the mixer is far more important than the caliber of vodka in making a delicious cocktail. We tasted quite a few Bloody Mary mixes and chose Major Peters' (Original or Hot & Spicy), Zing Zang, Mr. & Mrs. T's Bold & Spicy, and Whiskey Willy's (all available at www. hotshoppe.com) as our favorites. Offer guests an array of festive garnishes such as celery sticks, carrot sticks, pickled okra, assorted olives, pepperoncini salad peppers, and lemon and lime slices to add pizzazz. The drinks will look as good as they taste. Cheers. -DONNA FLORIO, REBECCA KRACKE GORDON

START WITH FLATTENED CHICKEN

Consumers love chicken breasts, so much so that birds are bred to have plenty of white meat. The breasts are often so large that they don't cook easily. And one end is thinner than the other, causing uneven cooking. Here's an easy fix. Place boneless chicken breasts between pieces of plastic wrap, and pound them with a meat mallet or rolling pin until they're a uniform thickness.

Flattened breasts are used in Chicken With White Wine and Mushrooms. It has fine-dining flavor and appearance with down-home goodness and ease.

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Chicken With White Wine And Mushrooms

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

PREP: 15 MIN., COOK: 30 MIN.

4 skinned and boned chicken breasts

1 ½ tsp. kosher salt

½ tsp. pepper

¼ cup butter, divided

1 (16-oz.) package !inguine

1 (8-oz.) package sliced fresh mushrooms

1 cup dry white wine

1 (10 ¾-oz.) can cream of chicken soup

Garnish: fresh parsley sprig

1. Place chicken between sheets of plastic wrap; flatten to ¼-inch thickness, using a meat mallet or rolling pin. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper.

2. Melt 1 Tbsp. butter in a skillet over medium-high heat; cook 2 breasts 4 to 5 minutes on each side or until done. Remove chicken; cover and keep warm. Repeat with remaining chicken and 1 Tbsp. butter; reserve drippings in skillet.

3. Prepare pasta according to package directions.

4. Melt remaining 2 Tbsp. butter in skillet over medium-high heat; add mushrooms, and sauté 8 minutes. Add wine, and stir to loosen particles from bottom of skillet; bring to a boil. Remove from heat; add soup, and whisk vigorously until smooth.

5. Arrange pasta on serving plate; top with chicken and sauce. Garnish, if desired. DIANNA HUTTS ASTON

BUDA, TEXAS

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