This may be served warm or cold. It is best prepared when tomatoes are ripe on the vine, usually at the end of the season when tomatoes are plentiful. If you wish to make this when it's not tomato season, use the ripest and best looking tomatoes available. Bob Sendall says that plum, or Italian, tomatoes work best for him.

• Olive oil
• 3 pounds plum tomatoes, cored and halved
• 1/3 cup shallots, minced
• 1 tablespoon freshly chopped garlic
• 6 tablespoons butter
• 4 large Spanish onions, julienned
• 1 1/2 cups leeks, julienned
• Salt and pepper
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 2 cups white wine
• 1/3 cup Cognac
• 3 cups canned Pomi brand tomatoes, chopped
• 4 cups chicken stock
• Juice of 1 lemon
• Chiffonade of basil (for garnish)

Pour 1/8 inch of olive oil into a baking casserole or baking tray. Place the plum tomatoes, cut side up, and top with minced shallots and chopped garlic. Bake at 325 degrees for 1 1/2 hours, until the skins curl away from the tomatoes. (Be careful not to burn the garlic.) Cool; remove tomato skins. Reserve the tomato meat for soup.

In a heavy-bottomed saucepot over medium heat, melt the butter and caramelize the onions and leeks, about 25 to 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Add the flour and cook for 2 minutes. Deglaze with the white wine and Cognac.

Add the roasted tomato meat and Pomi tomatoes, and cook on low for 20 to 30 minutes. Add the chicken stock and cook over medium to low heat for 30 minutes.

In a blender puree the soup in batches until smooth. Pass the soup through a fine strainer pushing the soup through with a ladle. Discard the tomato pulp. (Pureeing this soup in a blender will turn the soup a shade of orange. If you wish to keep it more red, use a food mill to strain out the tomato seeds and pulp).

Transfer the soup to a soup pot to keep it hot and season with salt and freshly cracked pepper and a splash of lemon juice. Garnish with basil.

Serves 12.

-- "The Fallingwater Cookbook" by Suzanne Martinson with Jane Citron and Robert Sendall (University of Pittsburgh Press, $29.95)

• 1 bone-in chicken breast, skin removed, cut into 4 pieces
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• Salt and pepper

For Sweet Soy Sauce

• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 4 cloves garlic, sliced
• 1 red bell pepper, julienned into 1-inch strips
• 1-inch piece of galanga root, sliced (in the ginger family and available at Asian markets)
• 3/4 cup sweet soy sauce
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Canola oil for frying

Rub chicken pieces with chopped garlic and salt and pepper, then allow to rest for at least 30 minutes.

To make the sauce: Heat 1/4 cup oil in a frying pan and saute garlic for about 3 minutes. Add pepper and galanga and saute until the flavor comes out, about 5 minutes, then lower the heat and add sweet soy sauce.

Deep-fry the chicken in canola oil until crispy outside, about 8 to 10 minutes. Coat with the sauce and season with salt and pepper to taste.

-- Chef Harry Bachri

These richly tinted pears are the perfect dessert for winter and the holidays. It's a regal sculptural dessert garnished with pomegranates.

• 6 firm ripe pears (Bartlett or Anjou)
• 5 cups white wine
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 3 whole cloves
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 4 whole allspice berries
• 10 threads saffron
• 6 tablespoons diced dried fruits (cherries, cranberries, apricots)
• 3 tablespoons chopped roasted pecans
• 6 tablespoons pomegranate seeds, for garnish
• Creme Anglaise(see below)

Peel the pears; core them from the bottom so as not to disturb the stem (leave the stem intact). Cut a thin slice off the bottom so the pear will stand tall. In a pot large enough to fit the pears, combine the wine and sugar and bring to a boil. Stir to make sure that all the sugar has dissolved. Add the spices and simmer for about 15 minutes to infuse the flavors into the poaching liquid. The saffron color will become intense. Poach the pears in the syrup, uncovered, until just tender, approximately 5 to 10 minutes.

Let the pears cool in the poaching liquid and refrigerate until needed.

Remove the pears from the poaching liquid and set on paper towels to drain. In a small mixing bowl combine the dried fruit and pecans.

Fill the core of the pears with approximately 1 1/2 tablespoons of the fruit mixture and set aside for service. In a saucepot return the poaching liquid and boil until the liquid has reduced by half and has thickened to the consistency of syrup (a thicker syrup is always better for this presentation).

• 1/2 cup egg yolks (save whites for another use)
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 cups milk
• 1/2 fresh vanilla bean, split in half lengthwise

In a bowl combine the egg yolks and sugar; beat until thick and light. In the top of a double boiler scald the milk with the vanilla bean. Slowly add the hot milk to the egg-sugar mixture, whisking constantly. Whisk until smooth.

Return the mixture to the double boiler and stir with a wooden spoon until the mixture coats the spoon, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from the heat, discard the vanilla bean, and strain the mixture through a fine sieve into a cool glass bowl.

This procedure will strain out any lumps and will stop the sauce from cooking.

Cover and cool in the refrigerator.

Pour a small portion of the sauce on the serving plate and coat the plate with the sauce by tilting the plate until covered. Place a stuffed pear in the middle of each plate and garnish with the pomegranate seeds. Serve chilled or at room temperature.

Serve the thickened syrup on the side for added sweetness if desired.

Serves 6.

-- "The Fallingwater Cookbook" by Suzanne Martinson with Jane Citron and Robert Sendall (University of Pittsburgh Press, $29.95)

• 8 ounces canola oil
• 4 onions, sliced
• 4 tomatoes, medium diced
• 6 shrimp bouillon cubes
• 4 teaspoons sambal oelek, a paste made from ground chili peppers (available in your grocer's Asian section)
• 1 package of galanga root (in the ginger family and available at Asian markets)
• 3 pieces of lemongrass
• 1 teaspoon of ground ginger
• 3 teaspoons turmeric
• 10 candle nuts (at Asian markets)
• 2 teaspoons chopped, fresh garlic
• 13 to 15 large shrimp with tails on
• Salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil. Add onions and tomatoes and saute until translucent. Add bouillon cubes, spices, nuts and garlic and cook for 20 minutes. Mix in shrimp, stir up and cook for 30 minutes.

Makes about 15 servings.

-- Chef Harry Bachri

Each rack of lamb has 7 or 8 chops. Two pieces equal one whole rack. A high-quality rack of lamb makes this menu a premier meal.

• 2 whole racks of lamb, trimmed (4 pieces)

Sauce

• Meat and bone trimmings
• Butter as needed
• 1/2 cup red wine
• 1/2 cup Port wine
• 4 to 5 cups veal stock or good quality chicken stock, divided

Mustard coating

• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 2 to 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 3 or 4 tablespoons olive oil

Crumb topping

• 1 1/2 cups fresh white bread crumbs
• Enough olive oil to moisten crumbs (3 or 4 tablespoons)
• 3 or 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 tablespoons finely chopped parsley

For the lamb

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees.

Trim the racks, removing almost all fat. Clean the meat trimmings of all fat and reserve.

For the sauce

Brown the meat and bone trimmings in a small amount of butter in a frying pan. Turn the meat frequently to brown well, being careful not to burn.

When the trimmings are brown and crisp, blot dry, then transfer to a 3-quart sauce pot. Discard any fat in the frying pan.

Return the pan to the heat and deglaze with red wine. Add the Port wine and deglaze again. Add 1 cup stock, reduce liquid to about one-third, and transfer to a sauce pot. Add 2 more cups of stock, bring to a boil, lower heat, cover, and cook at a simmer for 30 minutes.

Strain the stock and remove as much surface fat as possible. Pour in a clean frying pan and cook over moderate heat, uncovered, until the stock has been reduced to a sauce-like consistency. At this point, a cornstarch slurry (1 tablespoon cornstarch dissolved in 2 tablespoons cold stock or water) may be gradually added to simmering sauce to thicken to desired consistency.

For the mustard coating

Mix salt, pepper, mustard, and olive oil. Paint the racks with mustard coating. Set the racks, meat side up, in a shallow roasting pan and in the upper middle level of the oven. Roast 10 minutes at 500 degrees.

For the crumb topping

Mix bread crumbs, oil, garlic, and parsley. Lower the oven temperature to 400 degrees, pat the crumb topping evenly over top and roast 12 to 15 minutes longer.

For a brown topping, place the meat under a hot broiler for a few seconds. Allow to rest 10 to 15 minutes before carving.

Makes 8 servings.

-- "The Fallingwater Cookbook" by Suzanne Martinson with Jane Citron and Robert Sendall (University of Pittsburgh Press, $29.95)

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