Poultry

This elegant roast chicken is easy to make.

The Ashkenazic and Sephardic traditions feature dishes with sweet-and-sour combinations such as honey and lemon. Serve this chicken with potatoes or matzo farfel, and you've got a great meal.

Healthy bonus Vitamin K and folate from the escarole

Stir any remaining pesto into steamed vegetables or couscous.

The classic dish is updated by adding oven-roasted tomatoes, mushrooms, and onions to deepen the flavors. What to drink: A soft, fruity Sangiovese.

The chicken and pickled vegetables are meant to be wrapped up in lettuce leaves and eaten with your hands.

A platter of marinated chicken is always a popular buffet item, and I've been serving this at my parties for years. Choose cilantro, basil, or even parsley to fit your fancy or your guests' taste (I have cilantro-haters in my crowd, and you may, too). For the juiciest results, use bone-in, skin-on chicken. This marinade works well to protect skinless chicken from drying out — just reduce the baking time by a few minutes. Make Ahead: The chicken can be marinated 8 hours ahead. The chicken is best served just after baking.

The delicious sauce has the complex, aromatic flavors of a Thai curry, but is very easy to prepare, thanks to purchased curry paste (now sold in many supermarkets). Look for fresh or frozen kaffir lime leaves—whose beautiful fragrance is the signature of many Thai dishes—at Asian markets. If unavailable, don't use dried ones; substitute grated lime peel instead. Goes great with: Long-grain rice cooked with a few cardamom pods and grated lemon peel and sautéed spinach. What to drink: Spätlese Riesling or Oregon Pinot Noir.

Boneless chicken thighs give a moist result, but chicken breasts work well, too. Mix wild mushrooms with cultivated button mushrooms for a deeper flavor. Goes great with: Mashed potatoes flecked with chopped fresh parsley or tarragon. What to drink: Chardonnay or Merlot.

Barbecue without beer is, well, too depressing to contemplate, and I'm not just talking about to drink. Beer's malty sweetness and pleasantly bitter edge of hops make for an interesting marinade. These Calgary Hot Wings were inspired by the Big Rock Brewery, in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. I taught a memorable cooking class at Big Rock—memorable not only for the impressive assortment of interesting beers on tap but also for the fact that it snowed 3 inches during my outdoor class, a first for this Miami-based grill guy.

Asopao de Pollo Angel Rodriguez of New York, New York, writes: "My family in Puerto Rico used to make this asopao for special occasions or when we needed something to eat while fishing by the river. This dish is made with sofrito, a flavor base in Latin American cooking.

Pozole can refer to hominy, as well as to the name of the stew made with it.

Muhammara — a toasted walnut, roasted red pepper, and cumin sauce — can also be spread on pita toasts.

Roast ducks are readily available at Chinese markets and for takeout from many Chinese restaurants. Since red curry pastes vary in heat, we suggest tasting a tiny bit of the one you buy before using it.

The trick to stuffed soup buns is to fill them with a solid form of soup. The tender wrappers are filled with an aspic made from pork and chicken bones, which melts into a savory broth during steaming.

Editor's note: This recipe is from Brini Maxwell's Guide to Gracious Living. For Maxwell's tips on throwing a summer pool party, click here. This dish is the perfect chicken for meals out-of-doors. It's good both hot and cold and can be eaten with your fingers without making too much of a mess. It also originated with my mother and has always been a crowd-pleaser in our family. These chicken legs make wonderful leftovers, so don't be afraid to overestimate!

We made our potpie in an oval baking dish, but you could also use a square or rectangular one.