Fond Remembrances of a Peanut Butter Chip Cookie From Coalinga

Dear SOS: The Harris Ranch in Coalinga has a Peanut Butter Chip Cookie that makes my mouth water every time I think about it. Please, please, try to get the recipe.

--LYNN

Dear Lynn: You are not alone. The cookies were a hit with the Test Kitchen taste panel too.

PEANUT BUTTER CHIP COOKIES

1 1/4 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 egg

6 ounces peanut butter chips

Combine flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside. Combine butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla in large bowl. Beat until creamy. Add egg. Slowly add flour mixture. Mix well. Stir in peanut butter chips. Drop by rounded teaspoons onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees 7 to 9 minutes. Makes 30 (3-inch) cookies.

Dear SOS: Do you have in your files a recipe for chow mein? Recipes I have seen in my cookbooks or from other people just don’t seem to be the right ones.

--MRS. J.B.

Dear Mrs. J.B.: Hailing from New York, I like a cornstarchy version using mixed Oriental vegetables with some beef or chicken served over crispy noodles or rice (even though by definition mein means “noodles.”) One such New York-style chow mein recipe, which we have printed several times since 1971, is from Wan-Q restaurant in Los Angeles.

WAN-Q RESTAURANT

BEEF CHOW MEIN

2 tablespoons peanut oil

1 clove garlic, minced

6 ounces thinly sliced beef tenderloin or chicken breast

1 1/2 cups sliced celery

1/2 cup thinly sliced water chestnuts

1/2 cup Chinese pea pods, thinly sliced lengthwise

1/2 cup shredded carrots

1 cup shredded bamboo shoots

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 teaspoon Sherry

1 cup chicken broth

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1/2 cup water

Hot cooked rice

Heat oil in skillet or wok. Add garlic and meat and quickly brown meat. Remove meat and set aside. Add celery, water chestnuts, peas, carrots, bamboo shoots, salt and soy sauce and cook and stir until vegetables are tender-crisp. Add Sherry and broth. Cover and bring to boil. Mix cornstarch with water, then add to broth. Cook until slightly thickened. Serve with rice. Makes 4 servings.