We asked Coppa what he considered his best dish and he gave us the
Irishman's reply by asking another question:

"What do you think of it?"

There are so many to choose from that our answer was difficult but we
finally stopped at "Chicken Portola." It was then that the old smile
came back to Coppa's face.

"Ah! Chicken Portola. That is my own idea. It is the most delicious way
chicken was ever cooked."

This is the recipe as Coppa gave it to us, his little wife standing at
his side and giving, now and then, a suggestion as Coppa's memory
halted:


Chicken Portola a la Coppa

Take a fresh cocoanut and cut off the top, removing nearly all of the
meat. Put together three tablespoonfuls of chopped cocoanut meat and two
ears of fresh, green corn, taken from the cob. Slice two onions into
four tablespoonfuls of olive oil, together with a tablespoonful of diced
bacon fried in olive oil, add one chopped green pepper, half a dozen
tomatoes stewed with salt and pepper, one clove of garlic, and cook all
together until it thickens. Strain this into the corn and cocoanut and
add one spring chicken cut in four pieces. Put the mixture into the
shell of the cocoanut, using the cut-off top as a cover, and close
tightly with a covering of paste around the jointure to keep in the
flavors. Put the cocoanut into a pan with water in it and set in the