RESTAURANT REPLICAS\WOLFGANG PUCK'S CUISINE\Fabulous food stars at new Woodland Hills cafe... and you can\create copycat versions at home.

Byline: Natalie Haughton Daily News Food Editor

Wolfgang Puck says that when he decided to expand his restaurant realm from Spago, Chinois on Main and Granita to a more casual concept, "my vision was to open a 600-square-foot pizza place where you could get salad."

But when his wife, Barbara Lazaroff, became involved with the design of the first Wolfgang Puck Cafe in Universal City three years ago, she wanted to make it larger than that, Puck said, so he expanded the original concept with a larger menu and more kitchen space.

Today, the Santa Monica-based Wolfgang Puck Cafe company has nine cafes, the eighth having opened recently at the Woodland Hills Promenade. It's glitzy and colorful, with an array of interesting mosaics everywhere - even in the open kitchen and on the countertops. Beautiful huge handmade ceramic pots add to the festive decor.

Even though Puck has become an experienced hand at opening restaurants since he started Spago 14 years ago, he said, "I still get nervous every time we open a new cafe." Puck makes the rounds of the cafes often, especially during their first few months.

Mickey Kanzolar, vice president, restaurant operations, said locations on the drawing board now include Disneyland in Florida and possible locations in Denver, Atlanta, Seattle and Phoenix.

"We are strong enough now and have the infrastructure in place to branch out," Kanzolar said. "There are plenty of people in the pipeline now, to make opening a cafe happen more easily."

Puck named the cost as a primary factor. "I wanted to have a family restaurant where people get healthy food without spending $50 each," he said. "Many diners don't want to spend $20 for a main course. The cafe is more like I thought Spago would be," added Puck, noting that in the beginning, the food and the menu at Spago were simpler.

Now, in Woodland Hills, diners are flocking to sample Puck's appetizers, salads, pizzas, sandwiches, pasta and specials, including rosemary garlic chicken and meatloaf, two of the cafe's biggest sellers.

We sampled a selection of menu items on a couple of trips to the restaurant and have come up with copycat versions you can re-create in your own kitchen:

The Butternut Squash Soup, a beautiful, bright golden color, is a winner, great for a lunch or as a dinner opener. It goes together easily with butternut squash, onion, potato, carrots and broth. For ease in peeling and cutting up the squash, pierce in four or five places with a sharp knife and microwave it whole 10 to 12 minutes; then peel and chop.

After cooking the soup until the vegetables are tender, puree it in a food processor in three batches and return to the pot. Then stir in a touch of cream, as the restaurant does, for extra smoothness. After ladling into soup bowls, drizzle a design on top of the soup with a pureed red pepper mixture. The cafe drizzles on the initials WPC (Wolfgang Puck Cafe).

If a salad strikes your fancy, try our facsimile of the upscale Grilled Eggplant, Tomato and Fresh Mozzarella Salad, ideal for a lunch entree or in a smaller serving size for dinner guests. Grill or broil thin eggplant slices, then top with a little Balsamic Vinaigrette, tomato slices and mixed gourmet greens tossed with more vinaigrette. Arrange fresh mozzarella slices on an angle around the sides of the greens for an attractive presentation.

The Balsamic Vinaigrette has pizazz and is quick to fix with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, Dijon mustard, basil, capers and chopped kalamata olives.

If you are a spring roll fan, you'll love Puck's version filled with an assortment of vegetables - including red and yellow peppers, carrots, napa cabbage, celery, green onions and bean sprouts - and seasoned in our replica version with garlic, ginger, soy sauce and oyster sauce. It's a great appetizer or can even be a meal if accompanied by a salad or soup.

Once you've cooked and cooled the vegetables, roll them up in square egg roll skins and fry in a little oil until golden. We've served our version, sliced diagonally in half, with a store-bought plum sauce (available in the Asian food section of markets) and a simple Spicy Mustard Sauce made by combining Dijon and dry mustards, ginger, sesame and vegetable oils and a little water.

One of the favorite pasta selections on the menu is Grandma Puck's Linguine with a chicken bolognese and a beurre blanc sauce. Our copycat version shortcuts the restaurant recipe but delivers the same great taste.

Instead of making a traditional and somewhat tricky beurre blanc sauce for the pasta, we opted to simulate one by tossing the pasta with a little whipping cream, butter and grated Parmesan cheese. For the chicken and tomato sauce, cook ground chicken breast (the restaurant uses both white and dark ground chicken) with onions, garlic and tomatoes. To get the texture and consistency of the sauce served in the restaurant, we processed the mixture in the food processor, then returned it to the skillet and cooked with tomato paste, white wine and seasonings. You can skip the food processor step if you don't mind the chicken in larger pieces. The chicken sauce is served over cooked linguine that has been mixed with the cream mixture.

Two delicious sandwiches are also wonderful to copy at home. For our version of the Vegetable Sandwich, stir-fry zucchini, mushrooms, yellow squash, red onion, eggplant and bell peppers stove top until crisp-tender. Add a little balsamic vinegar, oil, basil, mustard and seasonings. Serve on top of greens and tomato slices on focaccia or large sandwich rolls and sprinkle with goat cheese. If desired, place sandwiches (without the roll tops) under a hot broiler just long enough to melt the cheese. This creation is delicious and received top marks from tasters.

Another time, whip together the vegetable mixture with the seasonings and serve as a warm or cold salad atop greens sprinkled with goat cheese. It's terrific.

A Shrimp BLT is another excellent offering for lunch or dinner fare. Our version layers a sauce made with low-fat sour cream, fresh dill, lemon juice and seasonings with lettuce, tomato slices, grilled (or sauteed) shrimp and crisp-cooked bacon on toasted individual-serving-size rolls.

For dessert, the cafe offers a Warm Chocolate Truffle Cake, a recipe we adapted and streamlined for the home kitchen last year from one shared by Robin Stotter, director of the cafe's kitchen operations. It's sheer heaven for chocophiles. Bake in individual souffle dishes and serve warm drizzled with chocolate sauce, sprinkled with fresh raspberries and topped with a dollop of whipped cream.

Any or all of these recipes, which are worthy of the extra time and effort that may be required, will add pizazz to menus year-round.

When you don't feel like cooking, head to Puck's cafe to relax and dine deliciously. Or try one of Puck's self-service express cafe locations - at Gelson's in Calabasas, Tarzana and Pacific Palisades or at Santa Monica's Third Street Promenade.

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Photo (1--Color) Wolfgang Puck, left, owner, and Robin Stotter, director of the cafe's kitchen operations, showcase dishes at the new Woodland Hills Wolfgang Puck Cafe in the Promenade. (2--Color) Vegetable Sandwich (3--Color) Grilled Eggplant, Tomato and Fresh Mozzarella Salad (4--Color) Vegetable Spring Roll (5--Color) Butternut Squash Soup (6) You can re-create these Wolfgang Puck Cafe specialties at home. John McCoy/Daily News