Jacques Pepin Honors his Mother

Jacques Pépin serves up fast food at home in Jacques Pépin More Fast Food My Way. The beloved television chef and cookbook author has published 25 cookbooks and hosted nine acclaimed public television cooking series.

Jacques Pepin's Mother

Roasted Split Chicken with Mustard Crust

Makes 4 servings

Pepin says he often makes this recipe at home when I in a hurry, because splitting and flattening the chicken and cutting between the joints of the leg and the shoulder reduce the cooking time by half. He uses kitchen shears to split the chicken open at the back and to cut the cooked bird into serving pieces and a knife to cut between the joints. The mustard crust can be made ahead and even spread on the chicken a day ahead, if you like. He pours the cooked chicken juices into a fat separator with a spout and serve over Fluffy Mashed Potatoes, leaving the fat behind.

Mustard Crust

2 Tablespoons chopped garlic

2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard

2 Tablespoons dry white wine

1 Tablespoon soy sauce

2 Tablespoons olive oil

1 tsp Tabasco hot pepper sauce

1 tsp herbes de Provençe

1/2 tsp salt

1 chicken (about 3 1/2 lbs)

Fluffy Mashed Potatoes (optional)

Crisp Pear Tart

Makes 4 servings

Using a 7" flour tortilla as the "crust" or shell and Bartlett or Anjou pears that are ripe enough to eat as the fruit topping, you can make a fast and easy fruit tart. To make certain that the crust is crisp and caramelized on the bottom, butter and sugar the underside of the tortilla before topping it with the pears. Some of the mixture usually runs out from the bottom of the tart and the tart may burn lightly around the edge, giving a caramelized edge to the tart shell. If you object to it, you can trim a little of it off.

1 7-inch flour tortilla

2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

3 Tablespoons sugar

2 medium firm but ripe Bartlett or Anjou pears (about 3/4 lb total)

3 Tablespoons apricot preserves

1 Tablespoon pistachio nuts

Music Break: IZATION-Hunky Dory by Rob Franken Organ