THE ARTFUL CHICKEN, by Linda Arnaud, Steward, Tabori, & Chang, New York, 2000, 174 pages, $29.95

Did you know that certain chickens were considered by the Romans to be sacred and viewed as oracles, that “the patterns of their pecking and scratching for grain were used for divination?” Or that Escoffier created “Chicken Jeanette, a cold dish of stuffed chicken breast served on a ship carved out of ice, after the doomed ship Jeanette was crushed by icebergs?”

Probably not. But if you find yourself serving chicken often, if you’re always searching for new recipes for chicken or for a source of old favorites and classics, “The Artful Chicken” might well be the book for you. And if you’re interested in antiques – ceramics, fabrics, paintings, prints – the cookbook is definitely for you.

Linda Arnaud has put together not only a collection of interesting and reasonably simple recipes, but also a beautiful book about chickens in art. Accompanying the recipes are perfectly reproduced full-color photographs of Greek vases, Roman frescoes, fabrics, Staffordshire nesting hens, vases, tableware, serving dishes – every conceivable work of art that bears the image of the chicken. “This book,” Arnaud writes in the introduction, “is about food and art”; both are represented equally well.

In addition to a section on “The Chicken in History,” the art objects are individually identified and, when appropriate, written about. Readers can learn about Toile de Jouy fabrics, for example, or Robert Ludlow lithographs, or why the Black Rooster is the emblem of Italy’s Chianti region.

“The Artful Chicken” is more than a treat to the eye. Logically divided into chapters by methods of cooking (Roast and Bake; Grill and Broil; Saut? and Fry; Stew, Braise and Poach; and Eggs), this is a cookbook whose recipes call for ingredients easily purchased but put together in imaginative ways. Pan-grilled cutlets, for example, are coated with a chili and cinnamon mixture; a whole chicken is marinated in wine, basil and pastis overnight; Colombian Pot au Feu calls for onions, corn, yams and avocados.

In addition to a wide variety of methods of cooking, the book includes recipes for whole chickens, chicken breasts or thighs, ground chicken, chicken livers and eggs. Arnaud provides helpful hints as well – how to insert stuffing between the skin and the meat; how to buy good chickens (she recommends either organically-fed poultry or free-range); how to adjust cooking times for outdoor grilling on anything but a covered gas grill.

Her occasional suggestions for accompaniments are just as good as the recipes and just as imaginative. As in the case of the recipe below, which was accompanied by whole-grain bread topped with blue cheese and melted under the broiler. And the suggested wines are readily available and not terribly expensive.

All in all, reading “The Artful Chicken” will make your mouth water; you may not know, however, whether to run first into the kitchen or into your local antique shop.

Chicken in Beer

2 tablespoons corn oil

2 bay leaves

4 large chicken legs, drumstick ends chopped off

1 large sweet onion (about 11/4 pounds), peeled and thickly sliced

2 tablespoons flour

1/2 pint stout

11/2 cups chicken broth or stock

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Freshly ground pepper

? teaspoon dried thyme

10 ounces baby carrots

6 ounces prunes, pitted and cut in half

1 to 2 tablespoons unsalted butter (optional)

1 to 2 tablespoons flour (optional)

2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley

Heat the oil in a flameproof casserole or Dutch oven. Add the bay leaves and gently saut?, turning over, for 1 to 2 minutes.

Add the chicken legs a piece or two at a time and brown on all sides. Remove the chicken pieces and set them aside.

Add the onion slices to the casserole and cook them on both sides until they are a light golden color.

Sprinkle the onions with the flour and brown.

Return the chicken pieces to the casserole with the onions. Pour in the stout and just enough broth to cover; add more broth if needed. Season with the salt, pepper and thyme.

Bring the liquid to a boil over high heat, then lower the heat, cover and gently simmer for 20 minutes.

Add the carrots and continue cooking for an additional 10 minutes. Add the prunes and cook for 15 to 20 minutes longer or until the chicken is cooked through and the carrots are tender. Discard the bay leaves.

If you like your stew sauces thick and creamy, proceed as follows. I found the sauce thick enough without this step.

When the chicken and carrots are done, ladle some of the liquid from the casserole into a measuring cup. For each cup of liquid, work 1 tablespoon each of flour and butter together with your fingers or a fork into a smooth paste (a beurre mani?). Whisk the beurre mani? into the liquid in the measuring cup, then pour it back into the casserole and gently stir it into the other ingredients.

Sprinkle with the parsley and serve piping hot.