Poultry

Ga Ngu Vi Huong The best five-spice chicken I have had in Vietnam was made by a street food vendor in the port town of Hoi An in the central region. The vendor used a spice mix of freshly toasted star anise and turmeric. When she grilled the chicken, the whole neighborhood was perfumed with the most enticing fragrance. This is my version of that dish.

We like to serve warm Asian-style slaw with these wonderful, easy chicken legs. Vegetable fried rice or even plain noodles would work well, too.

Serve these festive birds with roasted broccoli (as easy as steamed) and a wild rice pilaf with sliced green onions. Finish with caramel ice cream topped with chocolate sauce and chopped walnuts.

These crisp turnovers are traditionally enclosed in pastry dough. Making and rolling out the dough can be quite time-consuming, so potsticker wrappers are used in this recipe instead.

Sautéeing duck foie gras is not hard to do, but be careful; otherwise, you'll end up with a puddle of very expensive melted fat.

A superb pairing from cooking teacher and recipe developer Rochelle Palermo Torres.

"I go to Spain frequently, and I've tried many kinds of paella there," says Bruce Cummings of Baltimore, Maryland. "Recently, though, I discovered an outstanding one right here in Baltimore, at Tio Pepe Restaurante."

Every trick in the barbecue kit is used to create this incredible dish: a spice rub for deep-down flavor, a mop to keep the chicken moist during cooking, wood chips for old-fashioned smoke taste, and, of course, a delicious sauce that features root beer. Using root beer is a great idea since it is sweet and aromatic—qualities you expect in barbecue sauce. Ask your butcher to halve the chickens and remove the backbones.

Purchased roast chicken and frozen corn kernels simplify the preparation. Serve the chowder first, then a variety of grilled sausages with the mixed-greens salad and corn bread alongside. Kids will likely prefer the Pastry-Wrapped Sausages over plain grilled ones.

'50s I LOVE LUCY When Ricky and Fred switch roles with Lucy and Ethel ("Job Switching" first aired on September 15, 1952), Ricky decides he wants to make his native Cuban arroz con pollo for dinner. You know there's going to be trouble when Ricky asks Fred if a pound of rice per person sounds right — and sure enough, before long, mountains of rice are bubbling out of a pot, and chicken is exploding from a pressure cooker. Here's a tamer approach. Active time: 1 1/4 hr Start to finish: 2 1/2 hr

Let the supermarket do the roasting; mayonnaise and tarragon are the secret to great flavor here. Serve with: Marinated grilled vegetables and French-style potato salad. Dessert: Fresh raspberries with whipped cream and sugar cookies.

Steamed Swiss chard and buttered egg noodles sprinkled with chives are nice sides for this Hungarian-inspired meal. Apple strudel makes the perfect dessert.

This flavorful chicken makes an impressive impromptu dinner when accompanied by the Caramelized Onion and Roasted Red Pepper Linguine and a nice salad (use a bagged lettuce mixture, of course). Frozen chicken will work here if that's what you have on hand; just defrost it quickly in the microwave.

"I come from a big family, so I learned how to cook to help my mother feed all of those hungry mouths," says Molly Shannon Daum, Evergreen Park, Illinois. "Dad loved whatever I made, and he would always tell me that I should have my own restaurant named Molly's Marvelous Makings. But despite Dad's suggestion, I decided to study nursing. Nowadays I usually don't get home until seven o'clock at night, which means that dinner has to be quick. Sometimes my husband, Tom, helps out in the kitchen, but mostly it's up to me to get something delicious on the table fast. Since the opportunity to prepare challenging meals doesn't come up often, I save the complex cooking for the times when we entertain. That’s when I get to use the recipes that might have appeared on my menu if I'd taken Dad's advice." Molly also uses the dressing on salads.

Begin the meal with toasted baguette rounds topped with sautéed wild mushrooms. Marinate the chicken three to six hours before cooking. what to drink: A crisp, fresh white wine, such as a California Sauvignon Blanc.

Bonnie Wilkens Metully of Cincinnati, Ohio, writes: "As much as my husband and I love to go out to eat, it's just more fun, intimate, and cozy to cook and entertain at home. I've taught a lot of our friends just how easy it is to prepare restaurant-quality dishes themselves. Who taught me? My older sister, who's a professional chef. She showed me the importance of getting everything prepped beforehand and seeking out the freshest ingredients." This terrific dish also works well as an appetizer if it's cut into bite-size pieces.

Complement this earthy entrée with braised brussels sprouts and buttered orzo. Warm gingerbread squares make a great ending.

Marinate the duck two days ahead.