Chicken Thigh

We use a slow cooker with a browning option to crisp the chicken skin for this Moroccan-flavored dish. The stew is great on its own but couscous would be an easy and fitting side dish.

You'll find fresh rice noodles in well-stocked Asian markets (or search for them on amazon.com).

Boredom? Never. Try swapping in baby turnips for the radishes and kale or Swiss chard for the mustard greens in this effortless dish.

Chicken thighs are an inexpensive and delicious alternative to chicken breasts. This one-pan dinner is perfect for a weeknight because it's so simple to put together and cleanup is a breeze.

In a world where chipotle is almost a supermarket staple, it's fair to say that authentic Mexican food has gone mainstream. And we couldn't be happier: We love the complex layering of flavors in real Mexican cooking. Mole, the signature sauce of Mexico, is a particularly delicious example of this trend. The only problem? Traditional mole usually requires a pantry's worth of ingredients and an entire day in the kitchen. Here, we’ve streamlined the ingredient list—and figured out how to make an incredible sauce in a couple of hours. But this simplified version doesn't skimp on flavor. Mexican chocolate adds an intriguing complexity to the smoky, savory sauce. Stir in some cooked, shredded chicken and you've got a whole new go-to chili.

Our best-ever chicken stock begins with wings, which have a high skin-to-meat ratio. Browning the wings results in lots of caramelized nooks and crannies that imbue the stock with a deep, savory flavor.

This comforting pie of shredded chicken and softened leeks takes inspiration from cock-a-leekie, a traditional Scottish soup.

These zesty chicken fingers get their flavor from a tangy buttermilk marinade and a breading spiked with smoked paprika.

The root vegetables in this dish have a secret umami booster: miso paste. This recipe also offers a delicious way to use those oft-discarded beet and turnip greens. If you can’t find beets or turnips with greens, simply reduce the amount of each vegetable to 1/2 pound.

How does fried chicken achieve No. 1 status? Brined, boneless thighs are responsible for incredible dark-meat flavor, and the dredge technique creates an insanely crunchy coating.

Dark-meat chicken is the best for grilling: Unlike lean breasts, thighs have plenty of fat, so they won't dry out.

An overnight soak in buttermilk and a few key spices makes for the most flavorful, tender fried chicken.

Chicken thighs are appealingly fatty, but this can sometimes cause flareups when grilling. Bank the coals before igniting so that you have a cooler side, and move the chicken there if needed.

A little bit of sweetness makes these especially appealing to pint-size palates.

Harissa is a great shortcut ingredient to flavor, but no two jars (or tubes) are the same. Taste first—if it seems very spicy, use a bit less. You can always stir more into the chickpeas when the dish is finished.

Don't be put off by the sugar in this recipe—it's balanced by the vinegar and soy sauce.

My wife, Jazmin, is of Honduran descent. When you walk into her mother's house, everything is Latin-inspired, especially the cooking. This dish is a Latin staple, and because Jazmin likes it so much, arroz con pollo has become a staple for us. You can throw in half a bag of frozen peas toward the end to up the nutritional content. We serve it with a bottle of hot sauce on the table and a bowl of yogurt.

If paella escaped from Spain, sailed to China, and did some soul-searching along the way, you'd have arroz gordo, the namesake dish at Chicago's Fat Rice. The generous pot of aromatic rice, curry-scented chicken, and (much) more can be traced back to Macau, the former Portuguese colony in China, where it's almost always served at home. Chefs Conlon and Lo took inspiration from foreign-language cookbooks; their version is a blend of Portuguese and Chinese cooking that Conlon calls "the original fusion."

This silky, aromatic soup is a complete meal in a bowl.

Finish these spicy, smoky, guacamole-topped tacos with crisp, thinly sliced radishes and bright lime, and get ready to watch them disappear.