HAVE PAN, WILL TRAVEL : For some people, staying home is better than going out. That’s because they have cooks. These are a few of those cooks. Their stories and--their recipes--begin on H11. : IRIS OBER : And Leave All the Cooking to Her

“My matzo balls are so light they fly out of the bowl,” says Iris Ober. She leans over and--with her bare hands--pulls a baking sheet out of the oven. She pokes at what she finds there and murmurs, “They need a few more minutes, but wait until you taste my knishes.”

If Ober is not exactly modest about her cooking, there’s a reason. For years le tout Hollywood has been singing her praises. “Arnold Schwarzenegger loves my salmon. Goldie Hawn--we love Goldie--she loves my food.” Ober pulls out a pack of photographs, and there they all are, peering into the camera. And there is Ober in the middle--surrounded by celebrities.

“They all came out to the beach . . . “ she says. “The beach” is the weekend house in Malibu owned by Marvin Davis; Ober says she and her husband lived there, spending their time preparing to feed the Davis clan on weekends. “They’d call at 10 a.m. and say they were coming out for lunch with 20 people,” she says. “I’d spend $1,000 to $1,500 so I’d have everything they’d ever want. And what Marvin Davis wanted was good food and plenty of it.”

But when the entertaining in Malibu stopped with the storm of ‘88, Ober decided to spread her talents around. She stopped cooking for the rich and started cooking for the rest of us.

“It’s a simple idea,” she says. “In eight hours I can make enough food to feed you for a month. I make seven entrees--four servings each--and side dishes as well. Then I package them all up, write up the reheating directions and deliver them to your door. I’ll even put them in your freezer for you. So all you have to do every night is decide what you want to eat and then put it in the microwave.”

Ober’s most famous dish is her noodle kugel--it’s the one recipe she will not part with. She is also proud of her stuffed cabbage, her “Boston-style Chinese food” and her tiny potato pancakes. She relies on herbs, spices, garlic and lemon juice in her cooking--and she never uses salt. “I hate the taste,” she says.

Ober, who works out of her Torrance home, charges $25 an hour (with an eight-hour minimum)--and the cost of groceries. “You choose the entrees,” she says, “but if you choose the inexpensive ones, I can keep the food cost down to $100 to $120.” That works out to maybe $320 for a month’s worth of great dinners.

And you thought you couldn’t afford a cook!

IRIS’ MEAT KNISHES

2 tablespoons oil

2 large onions, chopped

1/2 pound chopped mushrooms

1 1/2 cups ground cooked beef (leftover steak or roast beef)

1 egg

2 tablespoons chicken fat or beef bouillon

Salt, pepper, optional

1 (17 1/4-ounce) package ready-to-bake puff pastry sheets

Heat oil in skillet and saute onions until tender. Add mushrooms and saute until tender. Remove from heat. Add beef, egg and chicken fat. Blend well and season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Roll out each pastry sheet at least 3 inches larger than original size. Cut pastry into thirds, cutting parallel to short end. Place row of 3/4-inch-wide strip of meat along edge of each pastry band. Tightly fold pastry over meat twice, pressing edges to seal.

Using table knife, press down on roll about every inch to make square indentations, then cut through to separate into knishes. Place on ungreased baking sheets and bake at 350 degrees about 30 minutes or until golden brown and crisp. (Can be frozen and rebaked about 10 minutes.) Makes about 6 dozen.

SCHWARZENEGGER SALMON

2 bunches green onions (use all white and 2 inches green parts), thinly sliced

1 cup catsup

1 (8-ounce) bottle Catalina French dressing

1/4 cup chopped Italian parsley or dill

5 cloves garlic, chopped 1/4 cup lemon juice

Freshly ground pepper

6 (4-ounce) center-cut salmon fillets

Combine green onions, catsup, dressing, parsley, garlic, lemon juice and pepper to taste. Stir well to mix. Set aside.

Place salmon, skin side up, in shallow baking pan. Broil close to heat, about 2 minutes. Remove from broiler and pull skin off and discard. Turn fish over and pour sauce to cover fish or as desired. Broil close to heat 8 minutes, or until fish flakes easily with fork. Do not overcook. Garnish with Italian parsley or dill sprigs if desired. Makes 6 servings.