Heat follows sweet in MPT chefs specials

Sweet and spicy foods will be public television's focus next month as it airs two one-hour programs in which famous chefs share their recipes for mouth-watering chocolate desserts and South-of-the-border entrees.

Chocolate lovers will enjoy watching "Chocolate Passion: A Great Chefs Special" at 2 p.m. March 12. The acclaimed chefs will show viewers how to work with chocolate, creating desserts fit to satisfy any sweet tooth, says Colleen H. Wright of Maryland Public Television.

Chefs to be featured on the first episode include Robert Linxe, internationally famous for La Maison du Chocolat in New York, and Jacques Torres, the pastry chef at New York's Le Cirque. Chocolate heart-shaped truffles and silky ganaches are among the many desserts to be prepared during the program.

The next day, the network celebrates a culinary heat wave. Presenting the country's leading Southwestern chefs, "Mexican Madness: A Great Chefs Special" will air at 6 p.m. March 13.

Among the chefs to be seen are Bobby Flay, twice nominated as a "rising star" chef by the James Beard Foundation, and Mark Miller, owner of the Red Sage in Washington. Dishes to be prepared include loin of lamb in flatbread and seafood fajitas.