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. : SUZANNE WILDE : Keeping It Under Her Hat

Suzanne Wilde likes to wear her white chef’s hat whenever she’s cooking. “I cannot concentrate without my hat,” she says. “I started wearing it in cooking school, and now I don’t feel like I’m cooking without it, even at home.”

During the week, Wilde cooks at the Brentwood home of Leslie and Greg Corcine. Although there are eight people in the household (including three children younger than 5), she doesn’t start cooking until 2 or 3 p.m., is off by 6:15 and has enough time left over to run her own catering service.

Wilde has her own philosophies about cooking and planning menus, but she generally adheres to the family’s preferences. “I pretty much cook based on what’s there,” she says. “There’s a lot of improvisation.” One thing doesn’t change: “In this house they like things overdone--unless it turns into shoe leather.

“In general the foods they like are getting to be simpler, less fancy,” she adds. “They go for a lot of grilled foods--especially vegetables.” While arranging yellow squash, eggplant, asparagus, green onions and sweet peppers on the grill, she says, laughingly, “You should cook them at medium-low, as long as you can. I’m into long, slow cooking--it’s sort of like sex.”

Sometimes she tosses the vegetables with lettuce and grilled chicken. Before grilling the chicken, she makes a simple marinade, using shallots, mint, basil, balsamic vinegar, pepper and olive oil. “The chicken emits juices; the vegetables emit juices,” she says. “You almost don’t need any dressing.”

The Corcines do not give Wilde a budget to work with, and she tends to cook big. “I just assume that other people eat too much, like I do,” she says. “I always make too much.”

In addition to the regular family meals, Wilde also cooks formal dinners for them from time to time. Here’s a sample of one of her more sophisticated menus, the sort of food she also cooks for other clients:

Lobster in wild watercress sauce with squash blossoms and Japanese eggplant flowers Blackened fillet with grilled Maui onions, capers and cornichons with carpaccio sauce Sichuan noodles with green onions Stir-fry of baby corn, snap peas, red peppers and straw mushrooms in garlic oyster sauce Garden tomatoes with basil Wild flower salad Fresh blueberry pie

“I grow sorrel and use it for this delicious soup,” Wilde says. “It’s a great thing to grow because it keeps on growing; you can cut it all off and it grows back in a week.”

SUZANNE WILDE’S SORREL, LEEK AND PARSLEY SOUP

3 leeks

2 tablespoons butter or canola oil

4 (1/2-ounce) bunches sorrel, chopped

1 to 2 bunches parsley, chopped

1 1/2 quarts chicken stock

Salt

White pepper

Cayenne pepper

Whipping cream, yogurt or creme fraiche, about

Wash and chop leeks. Melt butter in soup pot. Add and saute leeks until tender. Remove from heat. Cover and allow to sweat 30 minutes. Return to heat and stir in sorrel, parsley and chicken stock. Simmer over low heat about 30 minutes until thickened.

Season soup to taste with salt, white pepper and cayenne. Puree in blender, then return to heat. Stir in 1/4 cup whipping cream. Heat until hot. Garnish with swirl of extra cream and finely minced parsley. Makes about 7 cups.

GRILLED CHICKEN-VEGETABLE SALAD

2 shallots, minced

2 tablespoons minced mint leaves

2 tablespoons minced fresh basil leaves

3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Extra virgin olive oil

Freshly ground pepper

12 boneless chicken breast halves

Vegetables for grilling: asparagus, zucchini, yellow squash, yellow pepper, red pepper, green onions, Japanese eggplants

Lemon juice

Mixed greens

2 to 3 tomatoes, diced

2 avocados, peeled and diced

Combine shallots, mint and basil leaves, vinegar, 1 cup extra virgin olive oil and pepper to taste. Reserve half for salad dressing and remaining half to marinate chicken breast for about 8 hours.

Remove chicken from marinade and grill over high heat until no longer pink, brushing with some marinade. Remove chicken and cut in strips.

Grill vegetables over low heat until browned, brushing with lemon juice and little olive oil. Cut vegetables in bite-size pieces. Toss chicken and vegetables with mixed greens, reserved dressing, tomatoes and avocados. Makes 8 servings.

Note: Any remaining marinade from chicken may be heated and tossed with salad, if desired.