I call it Sticky Sweet and Sour Chicken. It's a recipe I received when the ladies at my church in Orlando, Fla., threw me a kitchen shower. They stocked my kitchen with great gadgets, and everyone gave me a copy of her favorite recipe.

In the original recipe, bone-in chicken breast halves were placed in a baking dish, covered with a combination of apricot preserves, onion soup mix and French or Russian salad dressing and baked for one hour. While the amount of preserves and dressing vary, these four ingredients remain constant in each version I've seen.

Many years ago, our friend Lisa Sheetz served the Tea-Time at the Masters version of the recipe, called sweet and sour chicken, with sides of Connoisseur's Casserole (another classic from Tea-Time) and Cheddar-topped mashed potatoes for one of my husband, Bond's, favorite meals.

While the original recipe is great as it is, I've never been one to leave well enough alone. So this summer I began experimenting and found that there's more than one way to serve this tasty combination.

200 My first variation used chicken wings. I had been experimenting with crockpot recipes for wings but landed on an oven-baked version here. (The crockpot wings required 10 minutes of broiling per side and then a four-hour stint in the crockpot. I found that the results were just as tasty when you simply baked the chicken wings in the dressing mixture for an hour.)

The sticky, tangy wings quickly became a favorite of my daughter C.C. They're perfect party, picnic or tailgate fare because they're good hot, warm or at room temperature. At a tailgate party, they could be reheated briefly on a grill and brushed with some reserved sauce. Be sure to have plenty of napkins. I do, after all, call it "sticky chicken."

My final experiment with the dish has now become one of my favorite recipes. The preserves, soup mix and dressing are combined and used as a marinade for chicken breast tenderloin fillets. The fillets and dressing mixture are combined in a zip-top plastic bag and placed in the refrigerator for several hours or overnight.

Chicken wings coated in the marinade are then baked for an hour for a perfect tailgate party snack. CHRIS THELEN/STAFF

The fillets are skewered and grilled, and the remaining marinade is boiled and served as a dipping sauce. The fillets take on a pretty peach hue and are a nice change from the peanut chicken skewers (chicken sate) served by many caterers at cocktail parties.

The fillets also can be baked without skewers. Simply place them in a glass baking dish and bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes. For a child-friendly entree, boil the remaining marinade and serve it as a dipping sauce.

Choosing fat-free French or Russian salad dressing can reduce the fat and calories in the recipe. However, any recipe using this many convenience products is bound to be high in sodium and is best avoided by those on sodium-restricted diets. The sodium can be reduced slightly by substituting 1/4 cup of dried minced onion and 1 teaspoon Kitchen Bouquet Browning and Seasoning Sauce for the soup mix.

Sticky Sweet and Sour Chicken can be grilled with skewers and served with reserved marinade for a simple yet flavorful hors d'oeuvre. CHRIS THELEN/STAFF

Three-Way Sticky Sweet and Sour Chicken

Marinade/sauce:

1 package French onion soup mix

1 12-ounce jar all-fruit apricot spread or apricot preserves

1 8-ounce bottle regular, reduced-fat or fat-free French or Russian salad dressing (1 cup)

Chicken: Choose one

6 bone-in, skinless chicken breast halves

2 pounds chicken wings, tips removed and separated at the joint

2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken tenderloin fillets

Combine marinade ingredients in a bowl and set aside.

For chicken breast halves or chicken wings: Heat oven to 350 degrees. Place chicken breasts in a 9-by-13-inch glass baking dish. Pour sauce over top and bake for 1 hour, basting several times during baking. (If using wings, toss wings with the sauce to coat before baking.)

Using chicken wings

Calories: 350

Fat: 11.2g

Saturated Fat: 3.1g

Protein: 16 g

Fiber: 1.3g

Carbohydrates: 48g

Sodium: 845mg

Cholesterol: 47mg

For chicken tenderloin fillets: Place marinade/sauce in a gallon-size zip-top plastic bag. Add the tenderloin fillets and marinate in the refrigerator several hours or overnight.

Heat grill. Skewer fillets with bamboo or metal skewers and grill for 4 to 5 minutes per side, basting with additional marinade towards the end of cook time. Boil any remaining marinade, cool slightly and serve as a dipping sauce.

Each version makes 6 servings.

Nutrient analysis provided by Fran Frye, a licensed and registered dietitian of the Augusta District Dietetic Association. Send questions via e-mail to augustadietitian@yahoo.com.

Using chicken tenderloins

Calories: 310

Fat: 5g

Saturated Fat: 1.4g

Protein: 34 g

Fiber: 0.8g

Carbohydrates: 32g

Sodium: 616mg

Cholesterol: 91mg

COOKBOOK RELEASE

Quick Cooking with Karin Calloway, a new cookbook with 125 of Mrs. Calloway's recipes, goes on sale Thursday at the Southern Living Cooking School at Bell Auditorium. The book costs $14.95. Mrs. Calloway will sign copies at both shows scheduled for 10 a.m. and 7 p.m.

The show offers step-by-step instructions on recipe preparation, decorating and entertaining from the staff of the Southern Living Cooking School. Tickets are $5 in advance, $10 at the door. Tickets are on sale at The Chronicle cashier's office, 725 Broad St., at the newspaper's Aiken County bureau, 123 Pendleton St., and Columbia County bureau, 4143 Columbia Road. For more information, call 364-6400.

Mrs. Calloway's cookbook may be purchased at The Chronicle's offices as well as the following stores:

Using chicken breast halves

Calories: 355

Fat: 4.6g

Saturated Fat: 1.2g

Protein: 31g

Fiber: 1.3g

Carbohydrates: 48.7 g

Sodium: 874mg

Cholesterol: 83mg

Fat Man's Forest, 1545 Laney-Walker Blvd., and 4301 Washington Road in Evans

Borders Books & Music, 257 Robert C. Daniel Jr. Parkway

Merry Times, 395 Highland Ave., in Surrey Center

Trends and Traditions, 3617 Walton Way Extension

BOOK SIGNINGS

Mrs. Calloway will sign copies of her book from noon to 2 p.m. Saturday at Merry Times and from 3 to 4:30 p.m. Sunday at Borders.