The touch and influence of Carol Kanabis, the Grande Dame of southeastern Connecticut restaurants at such revered spots as Olio, Red 36 and Bravo Bravo, are as indelible as tattooes — if, that is, tattooes tasted good.

Kanabis and her eager and pleasant crew at Olio Restaurant in Groton were kind enough to share a particularly tasty recipe with the assurance that even a clumsy goof like myself could make this dish. I accept the challenge.

Besides, as Kanabis told me — demonstrating a travel agent's acumen for the exotic — this meal will make folks believe they're either in Heaven or Sicily.

Chicken Parmesan Meatballs

To start:

2 pounds ground chicken

2 eggs, beaten

½ cup grated cheese

1 stick soft butter

1 teaspoon salt

Black pepper, to taste

Next:

Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl. Make one- to two-ounce meatballs. At this point, do not bread them. Pre-heat over to 350 and bake 25-30 minutes.

To prepare bread crumb coating:

1 cup all purpose flour in a dish

2 cups seasoned breadcrumbs in another dish

Combine 2 beaten eggs with ¾ cup of milk and mix well.

Coat meatballs well in flour coating, then into the milk mixture, making sure they are well-coated. Last, coat them well with the breadcrumbs. Place them on a platter. (At this point, you can freeze some if you're not going to use them all.)

Take a large fry pan and fill with enough canola oil to cover meatballs when they're added. Make sure the oil is hot enough before adding meatballs.

Cook four minutes, watching and checking for doneness. If they're darkening too fast, reduce heat a bit.

Take a baking dish large enough to hold all the cooked meatballs you've prepared. Add your favorite marinara sauce to the dish, making sure the meatballs will be a quarter to a fourth covered up from the bottom of the dish. Add lots of mozzarella cheese on top and bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes or until hot and the cheese is bubbly.

Make a large Italian salad and pour large glasses of red wine.