The overnight marination is essential to the moistness of the finished product: The chicken keeps and even improves over several days of refrigeration; it travels well and makes excellent picnic fare.” In the Tribune test kitchen, we marinated the chicken in a large, plastic food storage bag. We also skimmed off the fat before serving the sauce over the chicken.

Chicken Marbella

Yield: 16 servings

1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 cup red wine vinegar

1 cup pitted prunes

1/2 cup pitted Spanish green olives

1/2 cup capers with a bit of juice

6 bay leaves

1 head of garlic, peeled, finely pureed

1/4 cup dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon salt

Pepper

4 chickens, 2 1/2 pounds each, quartered

1 cup brown

1 cup dry white wine

1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley or fresh cilantro, finely chopped

Combine the olive oil, vinegar, prunes, olives, capers and juice, bay leaves, garlic, oregano, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Add the chicken and stir to coat. Cover the bowl and refrigerate overnight.

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Arrange the chicken in a single layer in one or two large, shallow baking pans and spoon the marinade over chicken evenly. Sprinkle the chicken with brown sugar and pour white wine over chicken.

Bake, basting frequently with pan juices, until thigh pieces yield clear yellow juice when pricked with a fork, 50 minutes-1 hour. With a slotted spoon, transfer the chicken, prunes, olives and capers to a serving platter. Moisten with a few spoonfuls of the pan juices; sprinkle generously with the parsley or cilantro. Pass the remaining pan juices in a sauce boat.

…

“A crisp and colorful carrot salad in the French manner,” write Julee Rosso and Sheila Lukins in “The Silver Palate Cookbook, 25th Anniversaition.”

Carottes Rapees

(Grated Carrot Salad)

Yield: 6 servings

3 large carrots, trimmed and peeled

1/2 cup dried currants

Juice of 1 medium-sized lemon

Juice of 1 medium-sized orange

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup chopped fresh mint

/ teaspoon pepper

Coarsely shred the carrots.

Toss the carrots in a mixing bowl together with the remaining ingredients. Cover and refrigerate. Serve very cold.

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“How many potato salads should a cookbook havefi We stopped with three, not because we ran out of ideas, but because we ran out of room,” write Julee Rosso and Sheila Lukins in “The Silver Palate Cookbook, 25th Anniversary Edition.”

Scandinavian Potato Salad

Yield: 4 servings

8 to 9 new potatoes, about 1 pound

1/4 teaspoon salt

Freshly grated pepper

1 cup sour cream

cup chopped red onion

cup chopped fresh dill

Scrub the potatoes with a soft brush under running water. Quarter them and drop them into a large heavy pot of cold, salted water. Bring to a boil and cook until tender but 8-10 minutes after the water reaches a boil.

When the potatoes are done, drain them and place them in a mixing bowl.

Season with salt and pepper to taste; add the sour cream to the still-hot potatoes and toss gently. Add the chopped onion and dill, toss again and cool to room temperature before refrigerating for at least 4 hours.

Before serving, toss again, correct the seasoning and add more sour cream if the salad seems dry.

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Chilled soups give a summer supper a lush beginning. This recipe includes raw eggs; if that is a concern, use pasteurized eggs, sold at many markets. In the test kitchen, we added an additional mango for more intense flavor. From “The Silver Palate Cookbook, 25th Anniversary Edition.”

Cream of Mango Soup

Yield: 6 servings

2 eggs, well beaten

1/4 cup sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Juice and grated zest of 1 lemon

1 ripe mango, peeled, pitted, coarsely chopped

2 cups whipping cream

3 cups milk

Blueberries and coarsely chopped strawberries

Combine the eggs, sugarilla, lemon juice and zest and mango in a food processor and process until smooth.

Whisk the cream and milk together in a large bowl until frothy. Slowly add the mango mixture, whisking constantly. Cover and chill well.

To serve, stir, ladle into chilled bowls and garnish each serving with blueberries and chopped strawberries.

…

“This one is even better than the one you remember your grandmother making,” write Julee Rosso and Sheila Lukins in “The Silver Palate Cookbook, 25th Anniversary Edition.” Freeze the remaining egg whites in an ice-cube tray for future use, if you like. If you cannot find lemon marmalade, substitute with orange marmalade. We reduced the amount of juice — from 3 lemons to 2 — to make a firmer filling.

Old-Fashioned Lemon Pie

Yield: 8 servings

9-inch unbaked pie crust

11/4 cups milk

1/ cups sugar

3 tablespoons cornstarch

3 egg yolks, slightly beaten

Juice and grated zest of 2 lemons

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup lemon marmalade

3 kiwis, peeled and thinly sliced

Hee oven to 325 degrees. Line a 9-inch pie pan with the pastry.

Heat the milk in a double boiler over simmering water. Mix the sugar with the cornstarch and whisk into the milk. Add the beaten egg yolks. Stir well and cook for 3 minutes. Pour in the lemon juice, zest and vanilla. Blend thoroughly.

Pour the filling into the pastry-lined pan. Set on the center rack of the oven and bake until set, 30-35 minutes.

Cool the pie 10 minutes. Melt the lemon marmalade over low heat and brush a thin layer of it over the surface of the pie. Arrange the sliced kiwis in an overlapping layer to cover the top of the pie completely. Brush again, generously, with the remaining marmalade. Cool completely before cutting.

This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page B6.