Chicken Wellington, See’s Fudge

DEAR SOS: I have misplaced my recipe for Clinkerdagger’s Chicken Wellington. Can you help?

--GWENN

DEAR GWENN: Here’s the recipe in time for holiday menu planning. Clinkerdagger’s didn’t supply its own hollandaise sauce recipe, so we’ve included a quick blender recipe from Julia Child.

CLINKERDAGGER’S CHICKEN WELLINGTON 12 chicken breast halves, boned and skinned Butter Salt 1/2 pound mushrooms, chopped 1 small onion, chopped 6 frozen puff pastry shells 4 1/2 ounces cooked crab meat 6 tablespoons cold Hollandaise Sauce 1 egg 1/4 cup milk 1 cup hot Hollandaise Sauce 1 1/2 teaspoons finely chopped parsley

Place chicken breast halves on griddle or large skillet brushed with butter. Season to taste with salt. Brown quickly on both sides, about 15 seconds each. Chicken should be pink in center. Cool.

Saute mushrooms and onion in 1/4 cup butter until tender, then cook over high heat until liquid evaporates. Cool then drain.

Thaw puff pastry until soft but still cold. Roll out to at least 8-inch circle. Place chicken breast half, skin-side down, leaving border around circle. Top with mushroom-onion mixture, then crab meat. Top with 1 tablespoon cold Hollandaise Sauce. Top with second chicken breast half. Pull pastry over filling. Pinch seam along side.

Beat egg and milk in small bowl. Brush on pastry. Continue to assemble remaining Wellingtons, using chicken, mushroom mixture, crab meat and cold hollandaise. Brush puff pastry. Bake at 450 degrees 15 minutes or until pastry is browned. Top each serving with hot Hollandaise Sauce and sprinkle with parsley. Makes 6 servings.

Each serving contains about: 721 calories; 992 mg sodium; 250 mg cholesterol; 35 grams fat; 24 grams carbohydrates; 74 grams protein; 0.37 gram fiber.

Hollandaise Sauce 3 egg yolks 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/8 teaspoon white pepper 2 tablespoons to 1/4 cup lemon juice 1 cup butter

Place egg yolks, salt, white pepper and 2 tablespoons lemon juice in blender jar. Cut butter into pieces and heat to foaming hot in small saucepan.

Cover jar and blend egg yolk mixture at top speed 2 seconds. Uncover and still blending at top speed, immediately start pouring in 1/2 of hot butter in thin stream or droplets. Sauce will be thick cream. Pour into saucepan or bowl. Vigorously whisk in remaining melted butter, added in steam of droplets. Makes 1 1/2 cups sauce.

Note: Although many recipes call for uncooked eggs, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has found them to be a potential carrier of food-borne illness and recommends that diners avoid eating raw eggs. Commercial egg substitutes may be used in place of raw eggs in certain circumstances. Check egg substitute package for applications.

DEAR SOS: In 1990 The Times published a recipe for See’s Fudge. Could you reprint it?

--DOROTHIANNE

DEAR DOROTHIANNE: Here it is. The original recipe goes back more years than we can trace.

SEE’S FUDGE 1/2 cup butter 1 (6-ounce) package semisweet chocolate pieces 1 teaspoon vanilla 2 cups sugar 1 (5 3/4-ounce) can evaporated milk 10 large marshmallows 1 cup chopped nuts

Combine butter, chocolate pieces and vanilla in medium bowl. Set aside.

Place sugar, evaporated milk and marshmallows in medium saucepan. Bring to boil over medium heat, stirring frequently. Reduce heat to low and cook 6 minutes, stirring constantly.

Pour hot mixture over ingredients in bowl. Beat with electric mixture until fudge is thick and dull (this doesn’t take long). Stir in nuts.

Pour into lightly buttered 8-inch-square baking pan. Refrigerate several hours to firm. Makes about 36 squares.

Each square contains about: 125 calories; 33 mg sodium; 8 mg cholesterol; 7 grams fat; 17 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram protein; 0.08 gram fiber.