Poultry

Wild rice and winter squash are perfect with this easy and elegant entrée.

If the excess fat essential to this recipe has been trimmed away from the tail end, ask your butcher for some extra chicken fat, which will be used to help brown and crisp the skin. Uncork a California Pinot Noir. See how to cut up a whole chicken (also called "jointing a chicken") in our streaming technique video.

The Smashed Yukon Gold Potatoes and a quick sauté of blanched green beans with red bell pepper strips are colorful side dishes. Finish with slices of angel food cake sauced with thawed sweetened raspberries and generous dollops of brandied whipped cream.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Complement the chicken with Aromatic Yellow Rice and haricots verts or other green beans, and offer a crisp Riesling or cold Asian beer to drink. Finish the meal simply with a platter of tropical fruit.

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

A refined version of a New Orleans classic. Ask the butcher to remove the backbone and quarter the duck.

Active time: 1 3/4 hr Start to finish: 2 1/2 hr

Le Cirque's elegant take on roast chicken.

This midsummer fare is adapted from a dish I enjoyed at 192, our favorite wine-bar-restaurant in London's Kensington: its inspiration is, I am sure, from Spain. You can buy a whole chunk of chorizo sausage — or a string of smaller ones — to slice yourself. Most good gourmet stores stock chorizo (mild or spicy), and many supermarkets do, too.

Not only is the yogurt marinade an excellent tenderizer, but it imparts a nice, mild tang as well. Begin marinating the chicken one day in advance.

Spoon some of the sauce over noodles that have been tossed with Parmesan cheese; serve with a salad of balsamic-dressed mesclun and with crusty bread. Almond cookies and grapes are a simple finale.

Mole Verde While this mole is best eaten soon after it is made, to appreciate the flavor of all the fresh greens, it can be prepared ahead up to the point of blending and adding the greens. Heat varies very much according to taste, so the number of serranos is optional. Typically this mole has a thickish texture and thickens more as it stands so it may require diluting. For all dishes of this kind, the larger and more compact the chicken the better — no fryers please. And adding extra giblets for a stronger broth is not a bad idea. This mole verde is also popularly made with espinazo, the backbone of the pig, which gives it a delicious flavor. I often make the mole with country-style spareribs cut into pieces.

"Dinner at J. Alexander’s in nearby Troy is a treat my family enjoys regularly, and there’s one thing we always order: the chicken soup. says Katie Randlett of Wixom, Michigan."Although it sounds ordinary, this version definitely isn’t — it has a rich, creamy texture, and it’s full of goodies like pasta, sugar snap peas and carrots." Sugar snap peas add crunch to this comforting soup. The restaurant uses penne pasta, but macaroni would also work well.

In most of France, turkey with chestnuts has become a standard Christmas dish, but in the southwest, goose is preferred.

Brining the turkey in the refrigerator for two days ensures an incredibly moist result. We do not recommend stuffing brined turkeys because the brine can make the stuffing too salty. A do-ahead gravy base eliminates last-minute stirring and thickening. Look for fresh bay leaves in the produce section.