COOK'S CORNER STAY A SPELL IN COOK'S COUNTRY.

Byline: Natalie Haughton Food Editor

The September issue of Cook's Country magazine arrived recently, and it's filled with a wealth of appealing recipes and other interesting tips (kitchen shortcuts, notes from the test kitchen, etc.) and information (answers to reader questions).

In an equipment comparison of 8-inch chef's knives costing less than $50 each, for instance, you'll learn that a $25.33 Forschner Victorinox Fibrox Chef's Knife was the clear winner. With a curved, sharp blade, it's a premium-quality knife at a bargain price.

A Jalapeno Chicken Salad from San Diego's Dawn Forsberg was the $500 grand prize winner in the magazine's chicken salad contest. The recipe is included along with four other runners-up, among them Apricot Chicken Salad and Curried Chicken Salad.

Other stories focus on summer potato salads, ice cream sundaes with foolproof ice cream sauces, beer can chicken, tomato salads (with a variety of tomatoes, along with color photos of each), splashy ways with watermelon, smoothies, blue-ribbon fudge, zucchini bread and much more.

Two creations that caught my eye - the ``Easier Than You Think'' Quick Pickles and ``Recipe Makeover'' Chocolate Sheet Cake (resulting in Reduced-Fat Chocolate Sheet Cake) - follow.

If you crave dill pickles, all it takes to make your own (which are better than store-bought) is a little more than an hour - and they're chilled, crunchy and ready to eat in less than four hours. If by chance you have any leftovers, they can be kept refrigerated, covered up to two weeks.

A slice (1/20th of the cake baked in 13x9-inch pan) of the frosted reduced-fat chocolate cake (which the magazine touts as having great taste and texture) has 269 calories, 9 grams fat and 6 grams saturated fat, compared to 374 calories, 23 grams fat and 14 grams saturated fat in a slice of a traditional homemade chocolate sheet cake with chocolate frosting. Two tablespoons of chocolate syrup give the cake extra moisture and flavor without adding any fat.

A bimonthly sister publication to Cook's Illustrated, Cook's Country, which encourages reader participation, is $19.95 for six issues. Call [phone] to subscribe.

'KOSHER' DOUBLE DILL PICKLES

1 pound pickling (Kirby) cucumbers, each sliced lengthwise into 4 spears

1 tablespoon kosher salt

1 tablespoon black peppercorns

1 tablespoon dried dill weed

6 garlic cloves, smashed

1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon fresh chopped dill

1 1/2 cups distilled white vinegar

1/2 cup ice

Toss cucumbers with salt in colander set over bowl. Let stand 1 hour. Discard liquid.

Place peppercorns, dill weed, garlic and 1/2 cup fresh dill in paper coffee filter or several layers of cheesecloth and tie tightly with kitchen twine. Bring spice bag and vinegar to a boil in a medium saucepan. Reduce heat to low and add cucumbers. Cover and cook until cucumbers turn dull olive-brown, about 5 minutes (don't overcook cucumbers or they will lose their big crunch). Discard spice bag.

Transfer cucumbers and liquid to a glass bowl, add ice and stir until melted. Stir in remaining 1 tablespoon fresh dill. Refrigerate, uncovered, at least 1 hour before serving. (Pickles can be refrigerated in covered container for up to 2 weeks.) Makes about 16.

REDUCED-FAT CHOCOLATE SHEET CAKE

3 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 tablespoons chocolate syrup

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened but still cool, cut into 1-inch pieces

1 1/4 cups granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 teaspoons instant coffee granules 

1 1/2 cups low-fat buttermilk 

1 recipe Reduced-Fat Creamy Chocolate Frosting (recipe follows)

Coat a 13x9-inch baking pan with cooking spray, line bottom with parchment paper and spray again. Melt chocolate with cocoa until smooth and whisk in chocolate syrup. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl.

Place butter in a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer at medium speed until smooth, about 1 minute. Add sugar and continue to beat until well-incorporated, 1 minute longer, stopping mixer as necessary to scrape down bowl. Add melted chocolate mixture and beat until mixture looks thick and grainy, about 1 minute. Add eggs, vanilla and instant coffee. Beat at medium-high until fluffy and pale brown, 2 minutes. With mixer on low, add 1/3 flour mixture, followed by 1/2 of buttermilk. Repeat, ending with flour mixture. Scrape down bowl, increase speed to medium and beat until creamy and without lumps, about 30 seconds. Give batter final stir.

Pour batter into prepared pan and smooth top. Bake in center of a preheated 350-degree oven, 25 to 30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out with a few crumbs attached. Cool on wire rack 20 minutes. Run knife around pan perimeter to loosen. Invert cake onto second rack, peel off parchment and reinvert onto lightly greased rack. Cool completely (at least 1 hour), frost cake with Reduced-Fat Creamy Chocolate Frosting and serve. Makes 20 servings.

REDUCED-FAT CREAMY CHOCOLATE FROSTING

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces

1 ounce unsweetened chocolate, chopped

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon instant coffee granules

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

3 cups powdered sugar

1 cup nonfat milk

Melt butter and chocolate together until smooth. Stir in salt and coffee granules until dissolved, then transfer to a medium bowl to cool, 10 minutes.

Whisk cocoa and powdered sugar in a medium bowl. Using an electric mixer at low speed, gradually add cocoa mixture to melted chocolate mixture (mixture will appear grainy). Gradually add milk, beating until milk is completely incorporated. Increase speed to medium-high and beat until light and creamy, about 1 minute. Makes 2 cups.

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Make your own pickles in little more than an hour with this recipe from Cook's Country magazine.