Chicken marbella and strawberry mousse

I lived in New York City from about the year that The Silver Palate opened on Upper Columbus, then a little desolate and scary, until the year after Silver Palate owners Julee Rosso and Sheila Lukins published The Silver Palate Cookbook. I brought it with me to Cincinnati, clinging a little to what I thought was my New York sophistication, eager to make just about everything in it. Of course, I was not alone; the whole country was soon cooking from the book--it had fabulous recipes that worked (a lot relied on rich ingredients) that presented classics in appealing, accessible ways, had cute illustrations and useful information.

That was 25 years ago, and the book is being re-issued, with color photos. Author Julee Rosso will be at Joseph-Beth on May 12 at 1 p.m. to sign it.

Looking it over, I'm surprised at how many recipes I still use. I started using it when I didn't have a million cookbooks, and many became my default recipe. I still make:
The Chili for a Crowd: some weird ingredients, but boy does it work. (I add way more beans than the recipe calls for.)
Strawberry mousse: I used to put this in cream puffs. I did it again recently--delish.
Linzer heart cookies: so delicate and pretty
The asparagus with sesame mayonnaise--once every spring--it's rich and perfect wth asparagus
Pork chops with black currant preserves
Chicken Monterrey, with oranges and tomatoes and all kinds of bright summery flavors
chicken raspberry: I thought this was the height of sophistication, with raspberry vinegar, which was so unusual then. It seemed a little too one-dimensional last time I tried it., though it's very pretty
And, of course, chicken Marbella, which I recently came across at one of those assemble-your-own dinner places. A true classic. Prunes and olives--how could anyone resist making it?