Roast

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Watch how to prepare and carve your bird with our streaming video demonstration.

If you can't find haricots verts--thin French string beans--buy the slenderest green beans you can find. Pack the prepared potatoes and beans separately, then arrange them on a platter when you reach your destination.

Poussin à la Confiture d'Oignons Cornish game hens are a delicious and more readily available substitute for the guinea hens that the chef at Restaurant Hiély-Lucullus uses to prepare this. (Have the butcher quarter the hens and remove their backbones.) When in season, peaches are caramelized and served with this dish at the restaurant.

Mashed Yams and Apples and Fried Onion Rings are superb accompaniments.

(GIGOT D'AGNEAU AUX POMMES DE TERRE ET OIGNONS)

Complete the main course with buttered sweet potato chunks (they can roast alongside the chicken) and sautéed Swiss chard. Serve purchased éclairs for dessert.

For a more elegant presentation, ask your butcher to french the rack of lamb (that is, trim the meat and fat from the ends of the bones). Also serve the Potato Silk with Truffle Oil and sautéed cherry tomatoes. A good Merlot is the perfect accompaniment.

Mustard lovers can serve the Mustard and Spring Onion Mash alongside.

Offer these with cocktails before dinner, or sprinkle them over holiday salads.

These easy-to-make vegetables are served at Chamberlain's Prime Chop House in Dallas, Texas.