Poultry

Chef Art Smith gives chicken a southern twist: First he smokes it, then he shreds it and coats it in a brown sugar and coffee barbecue sauce. And he serves this chicken over hoecakes, which, as the menu puts it, are sweet cornmeal griddle cakes "traditionally cooked after a hard day's work on the farm."

If you don't get enough fat from the chicken, supplement with purchased chicken fat (from the freezer section of the supermarket). Go here for pastry-making tips.

Complex and richly flavored with aromatic spices, this chicken curry is also quick and easy to prepare. To save even more time, use an already cut-up "best of fryer" chicken (preferably organic) for this dish.

Ras-el-hanout is a Moroccan spice blend available at some specialty foods stores and from adrianascaravan.com. Couscous is delicious tossed with brown butter: Simply melt butter over medium heat until browned, then toss it with the cooked couscous.

Pollo al ajillo Here is another popular al ajillo preparation. I use chicken thighs for this dish because they remain juicier and are more flavorful than breasts, but chicken wings also work well. If you like a little heat, add a pinch of hot paprika or cayenne pepper with the sherry.

A restaurant kitchen can be a virtual United Nations, with a staff made up of people from around the world. A dishwasher at Aquavit who comes from Mali told me about the typical midday meal he had growing up: peanut stew made with onion, tomatoes, and spinach served over rice. His description was the starting point for this peanutty stew, an elegant interpretation of a dish eaten throughout West Africa every day.

Here's an excellent reason to make a beeline for the ground-chicken section of the meat department: moist, flavorful meatballs speckled with pancetta and glazed with tomato paste. These are wonderful made with white or dark meat.

This sandwich gets a toasty power-up from your grill pan. Melted mozzarella bolsters chicken cutlets, and its gooey richness is offset by the fiery spark of cherry peppers. A tomato-basil salad rounds out the meal.

Comfort food, August-style: A creamed-vegetable stew tastes mighty fine ladled over pillowy biscuits dotted with chives. A store-bought smoked turkey leg deepens the stew's flavor almost effortlessly—its bone and skin go into making the broth (along with the corn cobs and silk), and its meat is stirred into the stew.

A classic American sandwich gets a makeover: The avocado dressing has an inviting creaminess to it, and the crunchy grilled croutons are a revelation.

Farro is a nutty-flavored grain that's popular in Tuscany. It's not as heavy as some other whole grains, but it's still packed with protein, fiber, magnesium, and vitamins A, B, C, and E. Here, it's the base for a satisfying summer salad.

These are equally delicious hot off the grill or cold the next day.

A simple Moroccan-spiced aioli is mixed in with the ground turkey to keep the burgers moist and give them tons of flavor. Smoked paprika is available in the spice aisle of most supermarkets.

This salad is a wonderful mix of flavors and textures. Serve it with warm flatbread, such as naan. Make a simply beautiful dessert by tossing together chopped honeydew, cantaloupe, and watermelon.

The salsa has a perfect sweet-spicy balance, and it's an easy way to turn simple grilled chicken breasts into a dish that's dinner-party special.

Chef and owner Akasha Richmond creates local, seasonal, organic dishs for green-chic celebs. This high-protein favorite fuels stars in need of mega energy on-set.

The many components of this big salad—served side by side on a platter—all have quite different flavors and textures and go together brilliantly.

Although this main-course salad sounds suspiciously Waldorfesque—it includes walnuts, celery, and apple—the fresh vinaigrette gives it a modern flair that sets it apart from its mayonnaise-dressed muse.