Chicken dish, sundae pair for great dinner

The best hot fudge sauce is homemade.

Start with the best-quality bittersweet or semisweet chocolate available. Take a taste. If you're not crazy about the flavor, go on to another brand. Melt the chocolate over very low heat with cream and butter so you don't have to worry about the chocolate clumping or burning. Finally, add the secret ingredient — light corn syrup — to give the sauce that toffee-like consistency. If you've been making hot fudge sauce with sugar, try corn syrup and see the difference in texture.

This sauce pairs well with ice cream that is rich but not too sweet. I prefer it with a super-premium coffee ice cream.

Now that you have dessert planned, turn your attention to a simple, yet flavorful entree of sautéed chicken breasts topped with a mixture of corn, garlic and cherry tomatoes.

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, pounded 1/2-inch thick
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin, divided
• Salt, to taste
• Pepper, to taste
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 cup corn kernels, fresh or frozen
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup onion, chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed dried oregano
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved

Season the chicken with 1/4 teaspoon cumin, salt and pepper.

Heat the olive oil in a large nonstick skillet. Add the chicken and sauté for 4 to 5 minutes per side or until cooked through. Remove the chicken and keep warm.

To the skillet, add the corn, garlic and onion, and cook over medium-high heat for 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in the remaining 1/4 teaspoon cumin, the oregano and tomatoes, and heat through. Season with salt and pepper.

Place the chicken on 2 serving plates. Top each plate with half the corn mixture.

Makes 2 servings.

• Fudge Sauce (recipe follows)
• 1 cup coffee ice cream
• 2 teaspoons ground espresso beans; or 1 tablespoon chocolate-covered espresso beans, coarsely chopped
• 2 tablespoons walnuts, coarsely chopped

Prepare the Fudge Sauce and set aside.

To assemble the sundae, spoon 1/2 cup ice cream into each of 2 bowls or sundae glasses. Top each serving with 1/4 cup Fudge Sauce. Sprinkle each with 1 teaspoon espresso beans and 1 tablespoon walnuts. Serve immediately.

Makes 2 servings.

• 3 ounces premium bittersweet chocolate bar, broken into small pieces
• 3/4 cup whipping cream
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• Dash salt
• 2 tablespoons light corn syrup

Combine the chocolate, cream and butter in heavy-bottomed saucepan. Cook over low heat for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until the chocolate melts. Stir in the salt and corn syrup.

Refrigerate leftovers. Microwave on low setting for 1 minute to reheat.

Makes about 1 cup.