WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHER TO LEAD WORKSHOP, PRESENTATION MARCH 10

LONG BEACH - Chicken can be used in so many ways and the ingredients can be used so efficiently. Spice up your life with the many uses of chicken.

You can shred boiled chicken and return it to the pot for chicken soup, make it into chicken salad or serve it plain as a second course after the soup. When we're talking about homemade chicken soup, a good one does not require any expensive or exotic ingredients - only fresh ones; there is no covering up tasteless chicken or vegetables past their peak.

Homemade chicken soup is easy to make. Start with a chicken (whole or pieces), and enough water in the pot to more than cover. Garlic, onions, leeks and celery can be added.

Once the chicken is cooked, the meat is removed from the bones and returned to the pot. This is when it starts to get interesting.

Since the meat is cooked, the pot is left on the stove to cook any added vegetables. You can add carrots, potatoes or rice. Noodles can be added, but will not require as long a cooking time as the vegetables. Add the delicate items just long enough before serving to cook them thoroughly.

Chicken is so popular because it is extremely versatile. It can be paired with almost anything, it is relatively inexpensive, and it is available in many forms and can be cooked by almost any method. Chicken is an economical source of high quality protein with nutritional values similar to other meats, without all of the fat.

Try the following chicken recipes and spice up your life.

CHICKEN CORDON BLEU

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

flour, enough to roll chicken in

breadcrumbs, enough to roll chicken in

2 eggs; beaten, with 2 T. water

4 thin slices of ham

4 thin slices of Swiss cheese

4 T. butter

Flatten chicken breasts with a mallet, and place one slice of ham and one slice of cheese into center of each breast, rolling in sides egg roll fashion. Roll each in flour, then egg wash and breadcrumbs to coat. Refrigerate until ready to fry. Melt butter in a frying pan, and fry breasts until golden, being careful to keep breasts folded. Keep warm until served. (4 servings)

CHICKEN MOLE'

1/3 c. sesame seeds

1/4 c. almonds, chopped

1/8 c. chili powder

1/2 t. cinnamon

1 t. dried oregano

4 boneless chicken breasts

1/2 c. peanut or vegetable oil

1/2 c. onions, diced fine

8 garlic cloves, mashed

1/2 c. green peppers

1 corn tortilla, toasted

1 can crushed tomatoes

1 c. chicken broth

1/2 c. Mexican chocolate; chopped-bittersweet chocolate may substitute

salt, to taste

pepper, to taste

Mix the first six ingredients in a dry skillet until very aromatic. Remove from heat and brown onions, adding the garlic and peppers. Sauté for a few minutes. Return the seasonings and sauté the mixture briefly. Add the tortilla and tomatoes. Sauté until dry, allowing the sauce to cool. Then puree until it is smooth.

Pour oil in an oven-proof pan; heat and sear the chicken. Add chicken stock and cook until all of the drippings from the chicken have cooked away from the bottom of the pan. Add pureed sauce; mix until it is smooth. Add chicken and bring to boil. Cover pan and braise chicken in a 325-degree oven until tender - about 40 minutes. Remove chicken from pan and keep warm on a serving platter. Reduce sauce by simmering until correct consistency. Add chocolate, simmer and add salt and pepper to taste. Pour sauce over chicken and reheat in oven. When ready to serve, garnish with light sprinkling of toasted sesame seeds. (4 servings)

CHICKEN AND BACON ROLLS

16 strips bacon

8 chicken thighs, skin removed

Marinade:

Finely grated rind and juice of one orange

5 garlic cloves, crushed

1 T. paprika

1 T. Cajun seasoning

1/2 t. dried oregano

1 T. olive oil

1 T. freshly chopped parsley

1 T. mixed orange and lime peel strands

For marinade, combine citrus rinds and juice, garlic, paprika, Cajun seasoning, oregano, and olive oil in a bowl. Wrap two pieces of bacon around each chicken thigh (pieces can be wrapped across, next to each other, or in an X shape).

Pour the marinade over the chicken, reserving one and one-half tablespoons. Cover and marinate for two hours in refrigerator. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Remove chicken from marinade and place in baking dish, spoon reserved marinade over chicken and bake for 40 minutes to one hour, or until chicken is done and bacon is cooked. Garnish with parsley and orange/lime peel strands. Serve with rice or noodles.

Chef Pam Lewis is lead instructor of Southern Miss Gulf Coast Culinary Arts Academy. For information on the

Southern MissGC Culinary Arts Academy, call (228) 214-3240. For recipe/story requests, culinary questions or Comments, e-mail Chef Pam at pamela.lewis@usm.edu, or write to her at

Chef Pam Lewis, Culinary Arts Academy

The University of Southern Mississippi Gulf Coast

730 East Beach Blvd.

Long Beach, MS 39560

OCEAN SPRINGS -- Award-winning wildlife photographer Tom Ulrich will lead two photographic events at the Gulf Coast Research Laboratory on Wednesday, March 10.

He will present a nature photography workshop from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and then a talk and slide show called "Wildlife Images 2003" at 7 p.m., both at The University of Southern Mississippi GCRL.

Admission to the evening event is free and will be held in the Caylor Auditorium at GCRL. The veteran photographer will feature photos from his 2003 photographic safaris abroad and in North America. He will answer questions and sign his books during the reception following his slide show.

The registration fee for the all-day workshop is $50 per person, payable to GCRL. Registration includes a continental breakfast, light lunch and snacks. Participation is limited to 20. Though the workshop is geared toward beginners, Ulrich tailors the experience to meet needs for all degrees of skill.

"The beginners will definitely benefit from the workshop, but I always help the more advanced get something out of it also," Ulrich said. "I lead many photo trips and always find a wide range of levels."

Ulrich said participants do not need to bring their photographic equipment unless they need an explanation about some aspect of their equipment.

Topics include a brief review of the principles of photography, relationships between shutter and aperture settings, fundamental elements of composition, use and timing of fill-in flash, digital versus film photography, techniques of close-up photography, and a brief discussion of slide etiquette, the photography business and marketing.

Ulrich grew up in South Chicago, graduated with a degree in biology from Southern Illinois University and taught for four years before launching his career as a freelance photographer. He has supported himself with nature photography for the past 29 years.

His library of more than 300,000 transparencies includes birds and mammals from all over the world. His photographs have been featured in publications such as National Wildlife, Audubon, National Geographic, Montana Outdoors and Life.

He has published six nature books, including Mammals of the Rockies, Birds of the Northern Rockies, Once Upon a Frame and his 2002 release, Photo Pantanal. Dr. William E. Hawkins, GCRL executive director, said Ulrich brings the scientific and artistic worlds together.

"Tom earns his living photographing wildlife all over the world," Hawkins sad. "He is an outstanding observer and a biologist. His approach to photography is to capture his subjects exhibiting their natural behavior."

The GCRL is home to the university's Department of Coastal Sciences, the Center for Fisheries Research and Development, and the Gulf Coast Geospatial Center. The J.L. Scott Marine Education Center and Aquarium is also a unit of the laboratory. The GCRL is part of the Southern Miss College of Science and Technology. For more information, call the laboratory at (228) 872-4200.

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