Whole Chicken

Active time: 40 min Start to finish: 1 1/4 hr Mashed potatoes are the ideal accompaniment to this dish.

Tarragon and mustard may be a classic French combination, but this menu is all American. A domestic Chardonnay, light beer, or fresh lemonade are perfect partners.

As a working mother with four daughters, my mom had very little spare time, yet she always managed to turn out meals reminiscent of her native Canton, China. This dish, one of her specialties, takes its name from the moist, velvety texture the chicken gets from being poached at a low temperature. My mother loved the short preparation time (the chicken finishes cooking through heat retained in a covered pot) and that the poaching liquid can be strained and then chilled or frozen to be used again. Active time: 20 min Start to finish: 1 1/2 hr

Chicharrones are cracklings — the flavorful solids that are left over from making lard; the resemblance these little morsels of chicken bear to them accounts for the name "chicken cracklings." Chicharrones de pollo is a typically South American dish, variations of which can be found all over that continent and up into the Central American peninsula. The chicken is chpped up Chinese-style — bones, skin and all — into small pieces. Then it is usually marinated, rolled in wheat or corn flour, and deep fried — although sometimes it is not marinated, and sometimes it is fried without any breading at all.

Perfect for a picnic, this roasted chicken is as flavorful cold as it is hot - and it even tastes good at home.

This will make more barbecue sauce than you'll need for the chicken. After measuring out basting and serving amounts, save the leftover sauce for another grilling use. It will keep, covered and chilled, 2 weeks. Active time: 1 hr Start to finish: 3 hr

"When I moved to Seattle last year, I found myself really missing my Studio City, California, neighborhood," writes Tim Westmoreland of Seattle, Washington. "There were so many great places to eat there, especially Pinot Bistro. I am craving its roasted chicken with caramelized onions. Would you see if chef Miki Zivkovic would send me an order? If not, the recipe will do just fine." At the restaurant, the chicken is accompanied by shoestring fries sprinkled with chopped fresh parsley and the chef's own garlic-salt mixture.

Serve a dry Riesling to complement the subtle ginger flavor of the roasted chicken.

With just two ingredients, this has to be one of the simplest-not to mention tastiest-recipes ever devised.

Garnish each plate with pickles, cherry tomatoes and radishes. Start with a steaming mug of potato soup, and end with wedges of apple cake.

One could cook this on the stove and reduce the time by 10 minutes, but oven baking gives the chicken time to thoroughly absorb the flavors of the pepper and garlic. See how to joint a chicken.

Use leftover chicken if you have any on hand, or start with a rotisserie chicken. Be sure to pick up the sliced peppers from the salad bar while you're at the market. Crunchy sesame breadsticks are all you need to complete the meal — except, of course, dessert, which could be pineapple slices sprinkled with coconut and broiled.

In this distinctive dish from Yè Shanghai, the chicken is cooked in simmering water, then brined in salt water and marinated briefly in sweetened rice wine.

What to drink: The menu's sweet-tart flavors call for a floral Riesling or spicy Syrah.

You can easily recreate this recipe with a wonderful free-range chicken. As for the candied chestnuts, I recommend using freshly cooked, shelled chestnuts which are still quite sweet!

This was a specialty of Marie's mother, Sylvia. Because the potatoes were always crowded around the edges of the pan and became crusty during baking, everyone in her family fought for those potatoes "by the wall."