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We are looking at the foods of the Philippine's this week with Amy Besa, author of Memories of Philippine Kitchens: Stories and Recipes from Far and Near, Jane and Michael Stern are at Prince's Hot Chicken Shack in Nashville, TN and Sally Schneider author of the award-winning The Improvisational Cook gives us a cooking lesson for spring.

Recipes

Chicken Adobo

This is the recipe we use at the restaurant. The coconut milk helps keep the chicken moist and it makes a rich sauce. We serve this with Mushroom and Bamboo Shoot Rice (recipe follows) and sautéed mustard greens or bok choy. There are countless variations of chicken adobo; Mary "Inday" Gancayco serves a memorable mixture of chicken and pork adobo coated with mashed chicken livers and topped with fried garlic. Get the full recipe.

Spring Vegetable Ragout

On a glorious trip to Venice over a decade ago, I discovered the extraordinary affinity spring vegetables like baby artichokes, feathery wild asparagus, peas, leeks, and tiny onions have for each other, how their flavors can link and complement. Get the full recipe.

Lynne's Belgian Tartine

If I could take you to one of my favorite Brussels pubs, this is the typical local lunch we'd have along with a cool glass of Belgian white or wheat beer (see Stephen Beaumont's picks on the Web site). A tartine is an open-faced sandwich, usually made with coarse country bread spread with fresh cheese and topped with fresh vegetables or herbs. Get the full recipe.

Features

Jane and Michael Stern: Prince's Hot Chicken Shack

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As the name says, Prince's is all about fried chicken. But not fried chicken as usual. Here it's all about heat and lots of it. You might want to start with the mild (it still packs a punch) and work your way up to extra-hot if you dare. The chicken is marinated before it's fried so the flavor goes all the way through the meat. Jane says there should be a 12-step program for this chicken—it's that addictive.

Prince's is a very casual place. Everything is cooked to order and comes out in a brown paper bag. There are tables inside, but the place is busy and often so crowded that folks pick up their order at the window to take away or eat outside on the sidewalk.

Prince's Hot Chicken Shack
123 Ewing Drive
Nashville, TN
615-226-9442
No credit cards

Always call ahead for hours

Adopt-a-Peach Tree

Visit http://www.masumoto.com/archive/2006-adopt-peach-tree.htm for information about a unique program that's bringing back the old-fashioned heirloom Elberta peach. Those who remember these spectacular peaches from childhood know the likes of them haven't been seen in years. The program is simple. Folks apply to adopt a tree. When the fruit is ready for harvest later in the summer, people go to the orchard and pick their peaches themselves (sometimes up to 800 peaches per tree!). In the meantime, the farm sends updates about the tree's progress. Applicants are screened; not all are accepted.