Chicken

An adaptation of a classic Northern Italian dish, spezzatini di pollo al pomodoro e vino bianco (chicken sautéed with tomato and white wine). Serve sautéed broccoli rabe and a crusty ciabatta alongside. What to drink: Barbera or Italian Chardonnay.

Bangkok-style noodles with shrimp, chicken and Thai chilies from Arun's in Chicago.

In this Basque-inspired dish, a bell pepper mixture is slow-cooked to produce an unusual — and flavorful — confit.

This chicken is incredibly crispy and intensely flavorful, making it an exciting alternative to milder roast chicken recipes. Weighting the chicken ensures that each piece is of the same thickness, so they cook quickly and evenly. The weight also causes the fat under the skin to render, melting out and leaving the skin deliciously crisp. When you buy the chicken for this recipe, ask your butcher to remove the back and breast bones and halve the bird so that there is a drumstick and wing on each side.

Yogurt, curry, and cumin flavors combine in this delicious Indian-inspired appetizer. It makes terrific cocktail party fare.

In this recipe, based on a dish from the Republic of Georgia called tabaka, small chickens are flattened and weighted so they cook evenly and quickly. We call for poussins or Cornish game hens, but the same technique works well with a frying chicken.

"My husband and I often visit the Frenchglen Hotel at the base of Steens Mountain in southeastern Oregon," writes Janis Gavin of Albion, California. "We go there for the bird-watching, the stunning views and the fabulous dinners— one of which was the inspiration for this dish." These game hens would be delicious served with mashed potatoes and sautéed greens.

Sautéed radishes give a nice kick to this dish, an easy version of fajitas.

Toss salad with the Sunshine Vinaigrette just before serving, so that the greens won't discolor.

The chicken is redolent of garlic, but not overly so; cooking the garlic cloves whole in their skins keeps the flavors in balance. What to drink: A spicy red from Spain's Ribera del Duero region. Try the 2000 vintage from this appellation, known for its rich blends of Tempranillo, Cabernet, and Merlot.

Once the mustard butter is prepared and the chicken is marinated, this quick sauté comes together in just minutes. Any leftover fennel-mustard butter makes an instant sauce dolloped onto grilled fish.

These rolls are based loosely on b'stilla — a phyllo-crusted "pie" of shredded chicken that's been simmered with Moroccan spices and then mixed with egg and nuts. The egg lends the filling an almost custard-like richness.

A delicious entrée that's easy enough for a weekday dinner, yet pretty enough for a dinner party. Serve with: Stir-fried summer squash and red peppers, couscous salad, and seeded Italian bread.

This salad is so much lighter and fresher-tasting than mayonnaise-based versions. It gets crispy sweetness from sugar snaps and peppers and nuttiness from tahini. Keep in mind that tahini can turn rancid rather quickly (even in unopened cans, in our experience). We recommend buying it from a place with a high turnover, such as a Middle Eastern market or a natural foods store. Active time: 30 min Start to finish: 2 hr