Poultry

Some folks hear “barbecue chicken” and think of seriously sauced-up pieces that are slick and slippery and sweet. I like that kind of chicken just fine and have my own recipe for it, which I call “Wishbone Chicken” (page 36). However, in the traditional barbecue world, “barbecue chicken” is dry-rubbed, without sauce. This is my personal favorite way to prepare barbecue chicken. If you like, you can serve it with some sauce on the side. Sometimes, if we’re not doing a Lowcountry Boil, I make this at our cooking school’s Friday night dinner. It’s simple to make and a great way to test out a new smoker and get your feet wet. I like to use eight-piece cut-up chickens instead of halves or quarters; this way you get more pieces with options for white and dark meat, and it’s better for those who want only one piece. Notice this recipe calls for just chicken and rub—that’s it.

One of my favorite at-home foods is this appetizer/snack, which I love to munch on while I’m cooking out in my backyard. These are great with cocktails and addictive as hell. They’re easy to throw together and put in the smoker alongside whatever else you may already be cooking in there.

Head to a local Chinese supermarket for the ginger in syrup and, while you're there, pick up a package of glass or cellophane noodles to serve this with. Tangy ginger and flavorful hoisin work so well with duck. Make sure you render the duck breasts well when cooking to get that ultimate crispy skin.

Arepas define Venezuelan cooking. These thick cornmeal patties are griddled, then baked, and then stuffed while warm with anything from white cheese to this zesty chicken salad with avocado mayonnaise.

It doesn't get any more classic French than this. The restaurant uses France's iconic (and expensive) Bresse chicken, but any flavorful, free-range bird will do. If fresh morels are not available, put 1 1/2 ounces dried morels into a bowl, cover with boiling water, and let soak for 30 minutes. Set a sieve over a small bowl and strain mushrooms, reserving liquid. Cook according to recipe instructions, pouring in mushroom liquid with wine, leaving any sediment behind. You can also swap out the morels for crimini (baby bella) mushrooms. What you'll lose in taste you'll gain in savings. Use it to buy a decent bottle of Burgundy—white or red—to drink with the dish.

It is a salad, but cobb salad was never meant to be a healthful or low-fat dish. Because Ryan Howard is a conscientious eater, however, this version is a lighter version that still packs some punch from the familiar flavors of the original. Use reduced-fat blue cheese and turkey bacon, serve the dressing on the side, and dig into this classic mega-salad.

My dad brought the family to the States when I was five. Before we moved, he came over to New York on his own to look for a house. One night, as he tells the story, he was playing poker with some guys in one of the players' apartments in Manhattan. They're all sitting around the table, and one fellow says, "What are you doing here?" "I've got a wife and children in Italy and I'm looking for a place to live." "I've got a nice piece of property in New Jersey," the fellow says. "I've been promoted, and I have to move and sell the property." "Well, I'll go over and take a look at it," says my dad. It was a nice piece of land. He bought it and built a house on it, and I grew up there. The name of the fellow who sold it to him was Joe Namath. We were lucky in that many of our friends from Italy also moved into our neighborhood in New Jersey. We all lived within about five miles of one another. My mom's friend Gabriella lived across the street. She's a fabulous cook. I tasted this lemony rosemary-and-sage chicken stew at her house one night and promptly asked her to show me how to make it. It's now a staple in my own kitchen. Serve it with rice to soak up the sauce, or with roasted potatoes.

When I first visited Portland, Oregon, I left with two regrets: that I didn’t plan on more days (so I could eat more) in that glorious food-obsessed city, and that I didn’t pack an extra duffel for all the edible stuff I wanted to carry back home. On that last point, I limited myself to dried sour cherries and dry-roasted hazelnuts. When I wasn’t scarfing them out of hand, I threw them into dishes, alone but often in combination, proving the validity of the saying, “If it grows together, it goes together.” For this dish, I turned the hazelnuts and dried cherries into a sauce that can be made with Mulled Wine Syrup (page 6) or Pinot Noir (another Oregon specialty) to pour over pan-fried Cornish hen. I like to cook it al mattone, which means “with a brick,” a quick method that results in even cooking, a crisp skin, and moist flesh.

Here it is: the recipe that started it all. And once you've made it, you'll know why. It serves up the kind of home-cooked goodness that no restaurant meal can top. The chicken's crispy skin is drenched in herb-infused juices (don't forget to pour the pan dripping back over the chicken before serving or, alternately, to drizzle them over individual pieces on the plate), and the trick of turning the chicken 15 minutes into cooking keeps the meat uniquely moist. Any simple sides will work with a main course this splendid. You can go with either white wine (in which case a Riesling would be nice) or red (try pinot noir). Happy cooking-and an even happier future to you and the lucky person you've deemed worthy of this dish.

A chicken that's allowed to run will provide the full flavor necessary to support the tangy Stilton cheese and tart sweetness of the apples in this dish. Talk to the purveyors at the farmers' market or your butcher, and they'll be happy to tell you about the chickens they sell.

This easy dinner is special enough for company.

Rounding this main course into supper for company is easy. Get store-bought hummus and pita chips for everyone to nibble on while you're at the grill, and serve the skewers with rice or couscous on the side and a bottle of rosé. Have a guest bring ice cream, sorbet, or cookies for dessert.

The barbecued chicken pizza Wolfgang Puck first served at Spago in Hollywood inspired this quesadilla, which we serve as a special at the Market. The combination seems kind of strange to people at first, but once they try it, they love it.

For the best flavor, marinate the chicken overnight. If you're short of time, use a 15-ounce can of cannellini or lima beans instead of the dried beans. With this rich, garlicky sauce, you need only a fresh salad to complete the meal.

The addition of goat cheese, apricots, and pesto lends a Mediterranean flavor to chicken. The pesto is made with fresh mint and almonds, rather than the usual basil and pine nuts.

This recipe appears at just about every occasion in Cajun Country. Whether it's a holiday, funeral, family reunion, or potluck dinner, you can bet there will be at least one form of dirty rice or rice dressing. At the Link family reunion in Robert's Cove, I counted six versions, all different. The essential ingredients are few, but flavor and texture vary greatly. The main difference between dirty rice and rice dressing is that rice dressing is generally made with ground beef or pork, whereas dirty rice is made with pork and chicken livers. Many people think they don't like liver, but when it's balanced with other flavors, the liver taste is not overpowering. I've served this deeply flavored rice to many people who claim they hate liver, only to have them love it.

Even though this version of hot wings is healthier than the classic—which is deep-fried and tossed in lots of butter and hot sauce—it's every bit as tasty.

Kale goes by another name, one much more dashing, especially in Italian. Cavolo Nero, black cabbage, may not evoke superhero status, but it's close. Kale does seem invincible and it's known to make the eater more so, too. It's also called dinosaur kale (also called lacinato), maybe because its leaves look like the back of a lizard. Those thin knobby leaves squeak. Do not confuse cavolo, accent on the first syllable, with cavallo, accent on the second, or you'll be ordering black horse, and in certain parts of the world will find it. Hearty and good for the spirit. I like soaked and cooked cannellini better than canned ones.