Poultry

Like chocolate, the chile peppers that give chili its name and flavor come from Mexico. By assembling the many ingredients below and allowing them to cook together over low heat, you can easily imagine earlier versions of this Mexican stew (despite a few modern concessions). The cocoa powder adds depth and earthiness to the spicy indigenous flavors. This is a big batch and serves 15 people. You can also freeze it.

Authentic, fiery mole sauces from the southern region of Mexico take days to prepare. This is a relatively quick version of the chunky, spicy, and chocolatey, mole negro or “black sauce.” To experience the full flavors of peppers, native spices, and fresh chocolate, book a culinary vacation to Oaxaca, Mexico, the Land of Seven Moles, where you can explore a district known as the Trail of Chocolate. In the meantime, get fresh ingredients from your local farmers’ market. You can substitute jalepeños for the poblano chiles, but the dark dried ancho and mulato chiles are important to bring the sauce to its characteristic deep chocolate brown. This will make a large batch of sauce designed to thin and use for a meal, then freeze and thaw as needed.

Both the turkey supper and the vegetarian version are good over brown rice. Add a cup of soup or a fruit salad to round out the meal.

This bubbling stew incorporates the basics of a traditional Italian dish called ribollita, but it takes much less time to prepare. A savory way to use leftover ham, the stew is just right for warming up before the Friday-night football game.

You may want to prepare this meal quite often—not just for the holidays—when you see how easy it is.

Can’t decide whether you prefer spaghetti sauce or Alfredo sauce? With this double-sauced casserole, you get to enjoy both.

Try these citrus-flavored cutlets with sweet potatoes sprinkled with nutmeg. If you double the recipe except the pineapple slices, you’ll have enough turkey for Turkey Tortilla Soup (page 54), too.

Create this mouthwatering favorite with the extra chicken you saved from Southwestern-Style Roasted Chicken (page 128). Serve with pinto beans and slaw.

Buy marinated chicken fajita meat at the grocery store, choosing the one with the lowest sodium, or marinate chicken tenders in a low-sodium fajita marinade. You can even use leftover cooked chicken or lean beef. Warm it with the pasta and sauce.

Transform leftover cooked chicken into a dish that will delight the senses with color, texture, aroma, and flavor. Lemongrass, Thai red curry paste, and coconut (our heart-healthy recipe uses coconut extract) are the popular Thai ingredients that do the trick.

This simple dish is as pleasing to the eyes as it is to the palate. Savor it as is or over whole-grain toast or rice.