Chicken Breast

Under the weight of a second skillet, the "pressed" chicken releases its fat and juices into the pan and ends up cooking in all that sumptuousness. The result is almost unbelievably moist meat. Adding the quick-cooked vegetables and the spicy perfume of marjoram completes what is sure to become a go-to recipe in your dinner arsenal.

While traditional couscous with its exotic spices is the stuff of cold winter nights, I love that the same spices—ginger, turmeric, cinnamon, and cumin—can make a cool couscous salad that's perfect on even the sultriest days. My favorite go-along is grilled chicken, but the salad is also good with grilled fish. When I've got leftover couscous, I spoon it onto a bed of lightly dressed greens, surround it with slices of tomato (and sometimes hard-boiled eggs), and call it lunch.

Soybeans replace potatoes in this clever take on skordalia (a garlicky Greek dip). It's perfect with the grilled chicken.

We've added an editor's note about broiling the chicken rather than grilling it. If you use regular skewers without decorations, feel free to skewer the chicken before you place it on the grill.

Don’t worry if it looks like some of the Gorgonzola disappeared in the oven. It actually soaks into the chicken, keeping it moist and enriching its flavor.

Cherries, a good source of cancer-fighting antioxidants, add a surprising fruity flavor to this chunky classic from Conlan. Bonus: Walnuts provide healthy fats.

Dried guajillo chiles and New Mexico chiles can be found in some supermarkets and at specialty foods stores and Latin markets.

The sauce packs a great hazelnut crunch, and Madeira's nutty flavors bring it all together.

Like the best cutlet you can imagine, with a crisp crust and the added hint of sweetness from the cornflakes, this chicken is quintessentially American.

This festive main offers something for everyone—baby back ribs, chicken breasts, and smoked sausages. Be sure to start the dish a few hours ahead. The ribs are slow-cooked for an hour and a half, then are finished on the grill with the chicken and the sausages.

Juicy chicken with a crunchy nut coating and a sauce that's both fruity and savory: a terrific dinner-party dish.

This pasta is loaded with appealing flavors: sweet onions and tomatoes, tangy goat cheese, earthy spinach.

How can you possibly improve chicken Parm? By coating the chicken breasts in grated Parmesan instead of breadcrumbs.

A clever, deconstructed BLT: Bread coats chicken in the form of breadcrumbs,bacon is cooked with lettuce and tomato for a simple side, and a dollop of seasoned mayonnaise acts as a sauce.

Even lovelier atop coarsely torn escarole.

Cooking time may vary, depending on the thickness of the chicken. Check for doneness.

Editor's note: The recipe below is from Perfect Parties, by Linnea Johansson.

This soup from Tien Dinh at Pho, in Las Vegas, delivers vitamin A.

Travel editor William Sertl took a weeklong boot-camp course at The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York. For this classic French dish, students were taught how to sauté the chicken on one side—without touching it—until it's golden, before turning it only once. The pan-sauce lesson that followed yielded a simple, elegant cloak for the very juicy chicken.