A prep course for the month-long World Cup soccer tournament, a worldwide pheno

 per inch of thickness at 400 degrees . To make sure the fire stays hot enough w

hen she divides the hot coals into two piles , she adds an extra eight to 10 coa

ls per side . Then she throws on a handful of wood chips that have been soaked i

n water for a couple of hours . `` I predominantly use hickory , '' she says . `

` I think mesquite is too strong . Cherry is also nice . '' With fresh ham , she

 says , `` before I cook it , I rub it with a combination of freshly grated hors

eradish and honey . '' The heat from the coals dries out the glaze , and when th

e ham is sliced , `` you get little tastes of it '' with each slice , she says .

 For a truly special occasion , she says , she will do a New England-style clam 

bake . She uses a two-part steamer , putting corn in the husk and potatoes in th

e water in the bottom section , then layering lobster , clams , monkfish , shrim

p , mussels and perhaps scrod in the top section . She sprinkles each layer with

 Old Bay ; the steam picks up the spice and takes it back to the water , so that

 everything is just suffused with the flavor . Delightful as it is , grilling ne

edn't always be a big deal . `` If I 'm cooking for myself , which I do quite a 

lot these days because my kids are all grown and my husband travels a lot , '' M

s. Barnard says , `` I would rather go turn the grill on and cook myself up a pi

ece of chicken , than to cook it in the house where I 'd have to dirty a frying 

pan and it 's no more time and no more effort and it tastes a whole lot better .

 `` We have good seafood , '' in Connecticut , where she lives , Barnard says . 

`` Pretty soon we 'll get soft shells . I love to grill those . I do that for my

self . That 's a real treat . ''

 OUR HOURLY BREAD : Bread doesn't demand much of you while it rises just that yo

u be home three or four hours ahead to get it started . If you don't have that l

uxury , you can add club soda or beer to a package of Quick Loaf mix , stir it u

p , let it sit 10 minutes in a loaf pan and bake . The resulting loaf doesn't ha

ve the chewy , elastic texture of kneaded bread , but it has a good fresh-baked 

aroma , and for home-made bread that 's ready one hour after you open the packag

e , with essentially no work , that 's not bad . The cracked wheat and nine-grai

n flavors are particularly good , and there are also garlic , onion , oatmeal an

d cinnamon-raisin mixes . In supermarkets. -0- I ' LL HAVE A RIK .. . A RKATS ..

 . OH , MAKE IT A CHARDONNAY : Wente Bros . Winery of Livermore , Calif. , has a

greed to invest in Sameba Co. , a winery in the Republic of Georgia where some s

cholars believe wine was invented thousands of years ago . Distribution is expec

ted to be in the four Commonwealth of Independent States countries where Wente n

ow distributes its own California wines : Russia , Ukraine , Kazakhstan and Lith

uania . University of California , Davis-trained winemaker Hughes Ryan has alrea

dy moved to Georgia to supervise the fall 's crush . The wines will be made from

 Rkatsitelli , a white grape , and Saperavi , which produces a dark red wine tha

t ages well . `` It 's premature to say , '' says John Schwartz , Wente 's vice 

president/international , `` but we hope to produce a suitable product that meet

s U.S. standards within two to five years. '' -0- SWIMMING FOR THE HALIBUT : Unl

ike other flatfish , halibut are swift swimmers and can easily rise to the surfa

ce to feed . In other words , they don't , as it were , flounder .

 I didn't know whether to laugh or cry . Last week 's `` 48 Hours '' did an `` e

xpose '' on pesticides and the safety of the American food supply . They actuall

y had a mother in tears because she fed her child grapes , which the host led he

r to believe were highly contaminated and dangerous . Give me a break . While pr

etending to be balanced , actual air time and editing created an alarming , thou

gh distorted , picture of killer fruits and vegetables raining destruction on ou

r kids . And it attempted to create controversy where there is none ( in the nam

e of ratings ? ) . In fact , there is widespread agreement that our produce is s

afe , even for kids , and important to their health . There is also agreement th

at improved research and monitoring are in order . Nobody wants to eat unnecessa

ry pesticides , mostly because we fear they cause cancer . But we have no eviden

ce to show this , a fact admitted by Richard Wiles of the Environmental Working 

Group , the prime promoter of the unsafe food supply theory . In fact , he even 

said that `` the risk from a diet of Twinkies is far greater than the risk from 

a diet of fruits and vegetables , even with these pesticides on them . '' So wha

t we 're dealing with here is fear of the unknown . That in itself is not a bad 

thing . Experience tells us we 'd better be asking these kinds of questions . Re

search on pesticide safety should be thorough and ongoing . But terrorizing ours

elves is not in our own best interest , especially if it puts a lid on our healt

hy behaviors . What we do know is that the fruits and vegetables that we 've bee

n eating all our lives ( and for some of us that 's a long time ! ) are our No. 

1 protector against cancer . During the show , cancer expert Dr. Bruce Ames poin

ted out that people who eat a total of five fruits and vegetables a day have hal

f the cancer rate of those who eat less . In the United States today , we averag

e only 3 servings daily . Clearly , we should be running toward the produce depa

rtment , not away from it . On camera , Carol Browner , an administrator for the

 Environmental Protection Agency , was set up as an insider dissatisfied with th

e system . She said as a mother , she wanted a declaration from Congress that ou

r children would be protected . Then she went on to admit that the EPA is alread

y doing that . A year ago , the National Academy of Sciences issued an exhaustiv

e report concluding that some regulatory improvements should be made to strength

en the food safety system , but that the food supply is safe even for children a

nd parents should continue to encourage them to eat a wide variety of fruits and

 vegetables . As Browner noted , the EPA has begun putting the NAS recommendatio

ns into effect , including increased monitoring for pesticide residues in foods 

most commonly eaten by children . The NAS report has triggered other action as w

ell . The International Food Information Council , a non-profit organization in 

Washington , notes that nearly half of all the produce sold in the United States

 is grown in California and monitored for safety by the California Department of

 Food and Agriculture . The California Department of Pesticide Regulation , whic

h has one of the most stringent pesticide regulatory programs in the country , s

pent the last year reviewing the NAS study . On May 17 it issued its own report 

, indicating that `` the current California and federal pesticide regulatory sys

tems adequately protect infants and children from risks posed by pesticide resid

ues in the diet . '' IFIC also notes that , `` contrary to the Environmental Wor

king Group report , most pesticides are water soluble and can be significantly d

ecreased with washing. .. . The best advice to consumers wishing to further redu

ce their exposure to any possible pesticide residues is to wash produce thorough

ly in cold tap water ; peel the outer leaves or skin of the produce ; and eat a 

wide variety of foods . '' Distributed by the Los Angeles Times-Washington Post 

News Service .

 Outdoor grilling is a very personal form of cooking depending more on intuition

 than formula . Yes , there are barbecue cookbooks , but when was the last time 

you saw someone actually follow a recipe to the letter ? To do so is an invitati

on to disaster , because no two fires are the same . The choice of wines to go w

ith grilled food is a very personal one , too . So this along with the next colu

mn is a very personal answer to a question about food matchups posed by my edito

r . Whole books have been written about wine and food pairings , but I have neve

r seen one that doesn't try to make me feel like a bozo for enjoying matchups th

at aren't on the approved list . So let 's be clear on one thing : These aren't 

rules . They are observations based on unscientific experimentation . At its mos

t basic level , the answer to the question of which wine to serve with grilled f

ood is the same one people have used for all foods : White wine with white meat 

, red wine with red meat . It 's a rule that 's demonstrably flawed , but nine t

imes out of 10 it will produce a wine choice that 's at least acceptable . At hi

gher levels of the game , more variables come into play and the goal becomes mor

e elusive . Instead of an acceptable choice , you aim for an excellent selection

 or even the elusive perfect match . Seldom do you attain it , but on occasion i

t 's fun to play . Sometimes I play on the higher levels , sometimes I don't . S

ometimes my choice is governed by my wanting to drink a certain wine that night 

regardless of whether the pairing is `` correct . '' Grilled food poses some int

eresting challenges other foods don't . In grilling , the manner of cooking is p

art of the seasoning . It 's also a form of cooking in which the food is often c

onsumed outdoors . That can be an important factor in my choice of wine . The mo

st important factors are what and how you grill . And no two people grill in exa

ctly the same way . For me , one of the most important factors is the marinade .

 My marinades tend to rely heavily on herbes de Provence . That skews my wine ch

oices in the direction of southern France . Someone who uses Italian seasonings 

might prefer Italian wines . There are other questions : Do you use mesquite ? T

hat can be a consideration . The extra smokiness and spiciness could tip the bal

ance toward a wine with those characteristics , such as a red zinfandel . Who 's

 coming for dinner ? Are they people who will appreciate your best or who willn'

t notice the difference ? Do they have special preferences ? What 's the weather

 ? Warmer weather calls for lighter , more acidic wines , especially if you 're 

eating outdoors . What are the secondary courses ? Sometimes they can clash with

 a wine that would be your first choice with the main dish . A down-the-list cho

ice might be better with the overall meal . Some vinegary potato salads , for in

stance , might push you toward a simpler , lighter , more fruity wine . Do you u

se barbecue sauce ? If you do , you might want to stick to a fairly simple , fru

ity wine because most barbecue sauces , especially sweeter ones , tend to oblite

rate the flavors of dry , complex wines . You might be better off with a simple 

Beaujolais Nouveau than a better cru such as Morgon . Is there a salsa or spicy 

topping ? That might argue for a wine with some residual sugar , like a Kendall-

Jackson chardonnay . ( Begin optional trim ) Grilling is a good excuse to try ty

pes of wines that aren't so familiar . Chardonnay and cabernet sauvignon are onl

y average in how well they work with grilled foods ; pinot blanc and mourvedre c

an be exceptional . You might discover something you like better than what you '

ve been drinking all along . Some wines that aren't great on their own can reach

 new heights when they accompany grilled food . Some California sauvignon blancs

 do just that . And some of the world 's greatest wines just don't have much aff

inity with grilled food . Even so , it 's difficult to generalize . One style of

 California chardonnay might be a total zero with grilled salmon ; another might

 be a perfect marriage . ( End optional trim ) In future columns , I 'll be taki

ng a look at some specific foods and how they work with specific wines . Until t

hen , don't get concerned . If you 're eating grilled food and enjoying good win

e , you 're already on the right track .

 Here are a couple of recipes from `` The Best Covered and Kettle Grills Cookboo

k Ever '' ( HarperCollins , $ 16.95 ) , by Melanie Barnard . While this first re

cipe is for a whole side of salmon , you can also use steaks or fillets , if you

 adjust the cooking time to about 5 minutes per side . MUSTARD-DILL SALMON ROAST

  cup lemon juice  cup Dijon mustard  cup olive oil 3 tablespoons minced shallot

s  cup chopped fresh dill  teaspoon freshly ground pepper 2 to 3 pounds side of 

salmon fillet , in one piece 1 cup plain yogurt or sour cream 1 tablespoon grate

d lemon zest whole dill sprigs , for garnish In a shallow dish just large enough

 to cover the fish , whisk together the lemon juice , mustard , olive oil , shal

lots , chopped dill , and pepper to blend well . Add the salmon and turn to coat

 both sides . Cover and refrigerate at least 30 minutes and up to 3 hours . Retu

rn to room temperature before cooking . Combine the yogurt with the lemon zest .

 Refrigerate until ready to use . Prepare a medium fire in a covered or charcoal

 gas grill . Cover and grill the salmon , skin side down , until nicely browned 

on the bottom , about 10 minutes . Carefully turn over with one or two wide spat

ulas and grill until the fish is just opaque throughout , 5 to 10 minutes longer

 . Serve the fish garnished with dill sprigs and accompanied by the lemon yogurt

 sauce . Serves six . Barnard recommends the next recipe as simple starter for s

ummer barbecues . Use high-quality ingredients for best results . TOMATO-BASIL B

RUSCHETTA  cup extra-virgin olive oil 2 large garlic cloves , minced 1 pound rip

e tomatoes , peeled , seeded and chopped 1/3 cup chopped sweet white or red onio

n 1/3 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil , plus leaves for garnish 2 tablespoons b

alsamic vinegar  teaspoon salt  teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper 8 slices c

rusty Italian bread , cut  inch thick 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese In a smal

l bowl , combine the olive oil and garlic and let stand 15 minutes . In medium b

owl , combine tomatoes , onion , basil , vinegar , salt , pepper , and 2 tablesp

oons garlic oil . Stir gently to mix . Let stand 15 to 30 minutes to allow the f

lavors to blend . Prepare a medium to hot fire in a covered charcoal or gas gril

l . Brush both sides of the bread with the remaining 2 tablespoons of the garlic

 oil . Grill until lightly toasted on one side , about 45 seconds . Turn the bre

ad over and quickly spoon the tomato mixture over the toasted side . Sprinkle th

e cheese on top . Grill until the bread is toasted , the cheese melted , and tom

ato mixture slightly warmed , about 45 seconds . Garnish each piece with a basil

 leaf . Serves eight .

 Tasty home-baked dog biscuits can be a tail-wagging treat for the canines you k

now . And , if you don't have a dog to give a bone to , perhaps you 'd enjoy bak

ing some for a friend who does . Shirley Wright of Baltimore requested a recipe 

for dog biscuits and writes , `` I doubt if your chef would be willing to sample

 them but that wouldn't be necessary because I 'll bake them and try them out on

 Tasha , my Bouvier des Flandres . '' Chef Gilles Syglowski had no problem findi

ng some special tasters of his own . His dogs , Chi Chi and Shena , ages 4 and 6

 , whom the chef says are white Eskimo dogs , were more than willing to sample t

he entries . `` My dogs would look at me in wonder when I offered them so many t

reats , '' he said . Three responses were chosen . T.J. Leeds of Columbia , Md. 

, Jean Partch of Kelso , Wash. , and Sally Niemann of Longmont , Colo. , sent in

 the chef 's choices . Dogs belonging to the three responders who enjoy home-bak

ed offerings include a border collie , a springer spaniel , Brittany spaniel , a

 Maltese and a golden retriever `` who really woofs them down . '' NIEMANN 'S DO

G TREATS 1 cups whole wheat flour 1 cups white flour  cup quick oats ( soaked in

 warm water , just enough to cover )  cup corn meal  cup ground nuts ( sunflower

 or sesame seeds work well ) 1 teaspoon garlic powder 4 tablespoons Brewers ' ye

ast 4 tablespoons oil ( corn or canola ) water Combine dry ingredients . Add oil

 then add enough water to make a stiff dough . Knead. Roll out and cut out in sq

uares or in animal shapes . Bake 50 minutes in a 325-degree oven . Substitutions

 for wheat flour may include oat , rye or other flours . Oats may be substituted

 with multigrain cereals soaked or dry , or soaked stale crackers , rice cakes o

r corn chips . PARTCH 'S DOGGIE BISCUITS 3 cups all-purpose flour 2 cups whole-w

heat flour 1 cup rye flour 2 cups bulgur 1 cup cornmeal  cup instant non-fat dry

 milk 4 teaspoons salt 1 envelope dry yeast  cup very warm water 2 to 3 cups chi

cken broth 1 egg 1 tablespoon milk Mix first 7 ingredients together . Sprinkle t

he yeast over the warm water then add it and 2 cups chicken broth to the flour m

ixture and mix with your hands until the mixture is stiff . If necessary add the

 remaining cup of broth a little at a time . Roll dough out to  inch thickness o

n a floured surface and cut into shapes . Place on ungreased baking sheets . Mix

 the egg and milk and brush over the biscuits . Bake at 300 degrees for 45 minut

es . Then turn off oven and leave biscuits in closed oven overnight . Store in r

esealable bags . They keep well . LEEDS ' DOG BISCUITS Makes about 2 dozen 1 cup

 all-purpose flour 1 cup whole wheat flour  cup wheat germ  cup dry milk  teaspo

on salt ( optional ) 6 tablespoons shortening 1 teaspoon brown sugar 1 egg  cup 

water ( approximately ) Combine all dry ingredients , cut in shortening until th

e mixture resembles cornmeal . Beat together the brown sugar and egg and add to 

dry mixture . Add water gradually , enough to make a stiff dough . Roll out to -

inch thickness and cut with a cookie cutter , if possible a bone shape . Bake at

 325 degrees for about 30 minutes or until lightly browned . Chef Syglowski , wi

th the help of chefs and students at the Baltimore International Culinary Colleg

e , selected and tested these recipes . -0- Recipe requests R.M. Allen of Reiste

rstown , Md. , is looking for a dandelion jelly recipe which has been misplaced 

. Gladys A . Field of Bend , Ore. , has lost her recipe for `` a delicious white

 cake using bing cherries which was in the American Home magazine sometime betwe

en 1957 and 1963 . I think the cherries were used on top and as a filler between

 layers , '' she wrote . Eleanor Wendt of Woodstock , Ill. , writes that her hus

band brought home a spaghetti salad from a local grocery chain and `` I believe 

` homemade ' would be a better description . Please help , '' she wrote . If you

 are looking for a recipe or can answer a request for a long-gone recipe , maybe

 we can help . Please print each response or request clearly on a separate sheet

 of paper with your name , address and phone number . Send to Ellen Hawks , Reci

pe Finder , The Baltimore Sun , 501 N . Calvert St. , Baltimore 21278 .

 Q : Did Johnny Crawford , the boy on `` The Rifleman , '' appear in any other s

eries ? A : Crawford appeared on television as early as 1955 ( he was born in 19

46 ) . He came into prominence as a regular on `` The Mickey Mouse Club '' ( 195

5-56 ) and then saddled up for `` The Rifleman '' ( 1958-63 ) . Following his ru

n as Mark McCain , he guest-starred on scores of prime-time series and TV movies

 throughout the 1960s , '70s and '80s . His early '60s pop/rock singing career i

ncluded such hits as `` Cindy 's Birthday '' ( No. 8 ) , `` Rumors '' ( No. 12 )

 and `` Your Nose Is Gonna Grow '' ( No. 14 ) .

 If you don't know where you 've been , how do you know where you 're going ? To

day , women in America have the right to vote . The right to obtain credit . The

 right to jobs that for decades were strictly for men . Reproductive rights . Th

e right to serve in their country 's military . Rights now taken for granted . Y

et , do women really understand how they got those rights ? `` A Century of Wome

n , '' a six-hour production premiering Tuesday on TBS , offers a glimpse of the

 enormous inroads and societal changes women have affected throughout this centu

ry . It 's a story filled with sadness , joy , passion , drama , tears , death ,

 struggle and hard-won victories . And it 's not for women only . Narrated by Ja

ne Fonda , `` Century of Women '' utilizes diaries , letters and personal memoir

s , never-before-seen archival footage and photographs and interviews with the w

omen who have made a difference . Interwoven throughout the footage connecting p

ast with present is an original family drama directed by Oscar-winning documenta

ry filmmaker Barbara Kopple ( `` An American Dream , '' `` Harlan County , U.S.A

. '' ) . The generational story stars Olympia Dukakis , Teresa Wright , Talia Sh

ire , Brooke Smith , Justine Bateman , Jasmine Guy and Madge Sinclair . The docu

mentary is divided into three topics : `` Work and Family , '' `` Sexuality and 

Social Justice '' and `` Image and Popular Culture . '' `` When we sat around di

scussing the themes of the six hours , '' says executive producer Pat Mitchell ,

 `` we found that everybody talked about the same issues . We thought if there w

as a way to mirror our conversations in the office with the conversations in liv

ing rooms , then people would understand this is not about history . It 's also 

about right now and how we are living our life . That was the genesis of our ide

a to create that connection for the viewers that this isn't just about what wome

n did for the past 100 years . This is what women are talking about now and copi

ng with and laughing about and crying about . '' Co-writer and executive produce

r Jacoba Atlas points out that a century ago , women were beset by many of the s

ame problems confronting contemporary women . Turn-of-the-century writer Charlot

te Perkins Gilman , Atlas says , grappled `` with the role of men and women , ho

w to raise their children , how to be a writer and postpartum depression and exp

ectations. .. . `` What we hope comes across is that we are all part of the same