Chicken

Grating the carrots in a processor makes this one-dish meal really easy to assemble.

Serve these chicken roulades with rice pilaf and steamed baby squash. Slices of purchased chocolate mousse cake would make an elegant dessert.

From Jane Butel's cooking school in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Serve over freshly steamed rice and garnish with chopped green onions.

(Thai Grilled Chicken) For connoisseurs of grilled chicken, Thailand is paradise: Gai yang is a common street food and restaurant specialty. Each region has its own cooking methods, though most recipes begin by briefly marinating pieces of chicken, the bone still in, with the traditional Thai seasonings of black pepper, garlic, coriander root, and fish sauce. In this recipe coconut milk is added to the marinade, making the chicken especially succulent and flavorful. Because coriander root is called for in many classic Thai recipes, buy coriander with the roots on; when finished with the sprigs, wash the roots, wrap them in foil, and keep them in the freezer.

If you have cooked lamb, beef, or turkey on hand, use it instead of the chicken.

Offer some crusty bread with this lovely main-course salad.

Reinforce the southwestern theme with accompaniments like corn bread and a spinach salad with grapefruit segments and toasted pine nuts. For dessert, stir some cinnamon into sweetened whipped cream to dress up slices of chocolate pound cake. Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Like many recipes, Cobb salad evolved as a solution to a rather mundane problem. In the late 1920s, Bob Cobb, manager of the original Brown Derby in Hollywood, California, was becoming tired of his daily meals, which consisted mostly of hamburgers and hot dogs. Then one day he chopped up an avocado, along with lettuce, tomato, and bacon, added some salad dressing, and had the result for dinner. A few days later he elaborated on his creation, adding other ingredients he had picked up on his way to the restaurant: chicken breast, chives, egg, watercress, and a wedge of Roquefort. This salad became a staple at the Brown Derby and, eventually, an American classic.

Throughout World War II, everyone who had even a little plot of land was encouraged to grow a vegetable garden. Back then, this comforting soup would most frequently be made from water and contain no chicken, which was a Sunday treat. For convenience, you can skip the first part of this recipe and use six cups of stock or canned broth and omit the chicken altogether. But if you want to make the stock from scratch, be sure to do so a day ahead.

Although this recipe calls for hearts of romaine, either radicchio or iceberg lettuce would make a nice substitute.

Fragrant lemongrass, chilies and a sweet and tangy sauce flavor this classic Thai appetizer.

Set out black beans, rice, lettuce, salsa and hot flour tortillas to go with the chicken.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.