Instructions: Make the Carrot Bread: Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9- by 5- by 3-inch loaf pan.

Cream the butter with the white and brown sugar, and beat until fluffy. Add eggs, and beat well. Sift together the dry ingredients, and beat into the egg mixture. Fold in the carrots and walnuts. Mix thoroughly. Pour batter into the prepared pan. Bake for approximately 1 hour. Cool on rack.

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Butter a baking pan (or pans) very generously. Scatter onion slices and herbs in the pan, and lay the halved breasts on top, skin-side up in a single layer. Sprinkle with lemon juice and salt and pepper. Roast for 30 to 40 minutes, or until just barely done. Do not overcook. Cool.

Remove the skin and bones from the meat, and cut or shred into cubes or slivers. Put in a bowl, and mix with salt, pepper, and tarragon to taste. Mix sour cream and mayonnaise together, and stir into chicken a little at a time until creamy but not wet. Mix in more sour cream and mayonnaise if necessary. Taste for seasoning. Add the celery and pecans, if using.

To serve, spoon chicken salad onto thin slices of carrot bread, or use thin rounds of French bread or cucumber slices.

Makes 8 quarts.

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