GOOD TASTES.

COOKBOOK: Become a dinner magician with the newest book for cooks in a hurry. ``Half-Scratch Magic,'' by Linda West Eckhardt & Katherine West DeFoyd, (Clarkson Potter; $17.95) includes 200 recipes relying on a bunch of shortcuts like jarred marinara sauce, canned soups, cooked chicken, prewashed vegetables and lettuces, bottled sauces, frozen vegetables and the like. Here's how the authors explain their half-scratch concept. ``Basically, it means you let the food manufacturers do more than half the work.'' Their goal is to get an attractive dinner on the table in about a half-hour with a short list of ingredients and punched-up flavor. The mother-daughter team (this is their fourth cookbook together) also hope to make cooking easy and pleasurable.

Chapters are divided according to the ingredients and have titles like Protein Power, From the Dairy Case, Opening Can Illusions, Thinking Out of the Box and such. The authors have also tossed in some desserts including cakes made with a mix and other made-in-a-flash creations. Although some ingredient lists are lengthier than others, several of the recipes sound appealing and easy.

- Natalie Haughton

NEW: Three new entree flavors - Sesame Chicken, Orange Beef and Chicken With Almonds - have been added to the Stouffer's Asian-Style Lean Cuisine line for a total of 17 different choices now. In addition, seven of the existing entrees in the line have been improved (whatever that means), notes the product's manufacturer, Nestle USA. Suggested retail price of the three new 8.5- or 9-ounce boxes of entrees is $2.99 each. Other items in the line range from $1.99 to $2.99.

- N.H.

DINING OUT

A modern interpretation of the Cuban eating experience has materialized in the heart of Hollywood. Called Paladar Bistro Cubano, it sits adjacent to Nacional, a Cuban-inspired bar and lounge.

With fare described as Nuevo Cubano, Paladar purveys a mixture of moderately priced, traditional Cuban food tinged with Carib and South American influences.

Its chef, Joe Herreros, grew up in a Chilean home. He cooks a shredded flank steak version of Cuba's ropa vieja (old clothes) that's served with rice, beans and sweet plantains ($14) and a dish of braised oxtail (rabo encendido) in red wine sauce with stewed vegetables ($15). His grilled pork chop ($18) is accompanied by a garlicky boniato mash, a quince and mango chutney and a demi-glace flavored with tamarind. Chicken comes roasted with a yucca mash and a Creole sauce ($13) or grilled with a chipotle mash, a buttermilk dressing and a three-bean salad ($14).

Appetizers range $9 to $14, with the house salad at $5 and soup de jour for $7. Nine regular entrees are ticketed from $13 to $19 and the popular Cuban pressed sandwiches are $10 each. In addition to the expected mojitos ($8 each), diners can order wines by the glass ($6 to $12) or the bottle ($24 to $380), and there are four special rum drinks ($8 each).

Paladar, 1651 Wilcox Ave., Hollywood, is open for lunch, dinner and snacks from 11:30 a.m. to midnight weekdays and for dinner only from 7 p.m. to midnight Saturday and Sunday. Information and reservations: [phone].

- Larry Lipson

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(1) no caption (Book: ``Half-Scratch Magic'')

(2) no caption (Lean Cuisine)