recipes from her most recent cookbook "A Kwanzaa Keepsake''.

DRAMBUIE APRICOT SAUCE (Makes about 2 cups) 1 cup dried apricots 2 tablespoons apricot nectar 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice 2 cup apricot preserves 2 tablespoons Drambuie liqueur or Bermuda Gold.

PLACE the dried apricots in a saucepan, add water to cover, and bring to a boil over high heat. Then lower the heat and allow the apricots to simmer for 10 minutes, or until they are plumped. Drain the apricots and snip them into small pieces with kitchen shears, and set them aside.

Place the apricot nectar, lemon juice, apricot preserves, and Drambuie in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until you have a thick syrup.

Remove the syrup to a bowl, add the snipped apricots, and stir them in so that each piece is well coated with the liquid.

The sauce can be refrigerated for half an hour and served chilled, or it can be placed in a saucepan and warmed. Either way, it transforms plain cake into something special.

*** SENEGALESE CHICKEN YASSA (Serves 6) 1 cup fresh lemon juice 4 large onions, thinly sliced Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste 1 teaspoon minced fresh habanero or other hot chili, to taste 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon peanut oil One chicken (2 1 to 3 1 pounds), cut into serving pieces 1 habanero or other hot chili, pricked with a fork 1 cup pimiento-stuffed olives 4 carrots, scraped and thinly sliced 1 tablespoon Dijon-style mustard 1 cup water IN a large non-reactive bowl, prepare a marinade with the lemon juice, onions, salt, pepper, minced chili, and the 1 cup peanut oil. Place the chicken pieces in the marinade, making sure that they are all well covered, and allow them to marinate for at least 2 hours in the refrigerator.

Preheat the broiler. Remove the chicken pieces, reserving the marinade, and place them in a shallow roasting pan. Broil them until they are lightly browned on both sides. Remove the onions from the marinade.

Cook them slowly in the remaining 1 tablespoon oil in a flameproof 3-quart casserole or Dutch oven until tender and translucent. Add the remaining marinade and heat through.

When the liquid is thoroughly heated, add the broiled chicken pieces, the pricked chili, the olives, carrots, mustard, and water. Stir to mix well, then bring the yassa slowly to a boil.

Lower the heat and simmer for about 20 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through. Serve hot over white rice.

*** GARLIC/SESAME STRING BEANS (Serves 6 to 9) 2 pounds fresh, unblemished string beans 2 tablespoons unsalted butter 1 tablespoon minced garlic, to taste 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds BRING 4 cups of water to a boil in a medium-sized saucepan. Wash the string beans and cut off the stem ends with a paring knife. When the water has reached a rolling boil, plunge the string beans into the water and allow them to cook for 5 to 7 minutes or until they are cooked but firm and crisp. Remove them from the heat, drain them, and reserve.

Heat the butter in a medium-sized skillet. When it is foamy, add the garlic and the sesame seeds and cook, stirring constantly, until the garlic is lightly browned.

Add the string beans and continue to cook, stirring constantly, until the string beans are completely coated with the garlic and sesame seeds. Serve hot.

*** PAN-ROASTED ALMONDS 2 cups shelled almonds 2 tablespoons virgin olive oil Salt to taste (optional) PLACE 4 cups of water in a medium-sized saucepan and bring to a boil. Plunge the almonds into the boiling water and allow them to boil for 2 minutes.

Drain the almonds and, when slightly cooled, slip the brown skins from the almond kernels with your hands. Discard the skins and reserve the kernels.

Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a heavy cast-iron skillet. Add half of the almonds to the skillet and toast them in the oil, stirring occasionally, until they are golden brown. Drain them on paper towels. Repeat the process with the remaining olive oil and the other half of the almonds.

Salt the almonds to taste, if desired, by placing them in a plastic bag with some salt and shaking them until they are evenly coated. Serve warm.

The almonds will keep for a few weeks in the refrigerator, but they are better when prepared fresh, so make small batches.

(All Recipes from: "A Kwanzaa Keepsake'' by Jessica B. Harris)