Chicken With Couscous and Sage Sauce; Zucchini Muffins

DEAR SOS: I wonder if you can persuade Al Amir restaurant in Los Angeles to part with the recipe for Rewa’s special, one of the best ways of preparing chicken breasts ever.

--FANNIE

DEAR FANNIE: True enough. The marinated, grilled chicken breasts are served over a bed of couscous and laced with a cream sauce flavored with sage. A terrific party dish.

AL AMIR’S REWA’S SPECIAL (Chicken With Couscous and Sage Cream Sauce) 6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves Salt, pepper 2 cloves garlic, crushed 1/4 cup lemon juice Couscous Sage Cream Sauce 6 sprigs sage

Place chicken breasts in shallow pan. Season to taste with salt and pepper on both sides. Rub with garlic and brush with lemon juice. Cover and marinate several hours or overnight in refrigerator.

When ready to use, prepare Couscous and Sage Cream Sauce. Grill chicken breasts over medium coals or under broiler until done on both sides.

For each serving, spoon some Couscous onto plate and arrange 1 chicken breast over Couscous. Pour 1/4 cup Sage Cream Sauce over each serving of chicken. Garnish with 1 sprig of sage. Makes 6 servings.

Each serving contains about: 1,021 calories; 711 mg sodium; 316 mg cholesterol; 78 grams fat; 43 grams carbohydrates; 36 grams protein; 0.41 gram fiber.

Couscous 1 (10-ounce) package couscous Water 1 1/2 cups chicken broth 1/4 cup butter Salt, pepper

Place couscous in bowl with water to cover. Let soak 10 minutes. Drain excess water.

Bring chicken broth and butter to boil in saucepan. Add couscous and season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir until broth is absorbed. Cover pan and remove from heat. Let stand 5 minutes. Fluff couscous lightly with fork. Makes 6 servings.

Sage Cream Sauce 1 quart whipping cream 1/2 teaspoon chicken base granules or powder 1 teaspoon lemon juice 2 tablespoons white wine 1 bunch sage, chopped Salt, pepper

Bring cream to boil and cook over medium-high heat until reduced by half. Add chicken base, lemon juice, wine and sage. Place mixture in blender container and blend until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

DEAR SOS: Several years ago you printed a recipe for zucchini bars. I have misplaced the recipe. They were delicious.

--NADINE

DEAR NADINE: Why don’t you try these muffins? The batter can also be turned into a nine-inch cake pan to bake and cut into bars. The recipe is from Chez Melange in the Redondo Beach.

LORI SWARTZ’S ZUCCHINI MUFFINS 3 cups grated zucchini 1 1/2 cups oil 3 cups flour 3 cups sugar 4 eggs 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon soda 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon 1 cup chopped nuts 1 teaspoon allspice 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Combine zucchini and oil in large bowl. Add flour, sugar, eggs, salt, baking powder, soda, cinnamon, nuts, allspice and nutmeg. Mix until just blended.

Turn into 30 well-greased or paper-lined muffin cups. Bake at 350 degrees 45 minutes or until wood pick inserted in center comes out clean. Makes 30 muffins.

Each muffin contains about: 253 calories; 70 mg sodium; 28 mg cholesterol; 14 grams fat; 30 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams protein; 0.28 gram fiber.