Chicken

(Chicken Stir-Fry with Holy Basil) Two of the common types of basil used in Thailand are now available in North America. Bai horapha tastes like a good strong Italian sweet basil and can be found in Asian markets and some supermarkets, usually sold as Asian basil or Thai basil. The basil traditionally used in this recipes is bai gaprow, or holy basil which can be harder to find because of its shorter shelf life. Holy basil hasn't much taste when raw, but when cooked it becomes strong and distinctive. Asian basil makes a very good substitute, though it can't be cooked as long or it will lose flavor.

Crusty French bread, a spinach and mushroom salad and buttered noodles round out the menu, and a rich bakery chocolate cake finishes it in style.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

A low-fat sausage will work here, though it will not produce as flavorful a gumbo.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less but requires additional unattended time.

A hearty soup that's very low in fat.

This recipe is just one of the countless ways to use preserved lemons.

An elegant main course that's ready in 40 minutes.

Do-ahead tips make this rendition of the Spanish classic perfect for entertaining.

My grandmother made a great Friday night dinner in her two-story limestone in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. She might as well have run a restaurant. There was lots and lots and lots of stuff—kreplach, gribenes, gefilte fish, blintzes, homemade noodles, roast chicken, glazed carrots, egg barley with dried Polish mushrooms. In 1918 during an influenza epidemic my grandmother was 20 years old with two children. First her husband died and two days later her mother died. With eight younger siblings and two of her own, she took care of ten kids in the family. Then an aunt caught the flu and died leaving eight or nine children. My grandmother then married her uncle and raised 18 kids. The secret to her roast chicken was to cook it long enough to render the fat from the chicken and make it crispy. —Eddie Schoenfeld, New York restaurateur

(Poulet aux Echalotes de Mme. Lascourrèges) This is an interpretation of a recipe given to me by Denise Lascourrèges, whom our son christened "Madame Châtaigne." It was she who revealed to us the marvelous Gascon woods, which were so full of chestnuts we had to dodge those falling from the trees. Mme. Lascourrèges raises her own chickens and ducks, and the appear frequently on her table. At her house I found ways of preparing chicken that departed from the norm. This recipe, which relies on the sweet heat of shallots and the bite of vinegar, intrigued me most of all, and I've made it often since I returned from her farm. I use the oven most often, though occasionally I cook it on the grill, which is the way Mme. Lascourrèges usually makes it. In general, French farm cooks use a lot of shallots, which here turn dark and caramelized — some turn almost black — but they don’t get bitter. Instead, their flavor intensifies. The vinegar adds a pleasant tartness; the oil smooths all. At the last minute I like to add parsley, which scents the whole dish with its slight anise flavor. Consider it an option — it is my addition to Mme. Lascourrèges’s recipe. Try this with a lightly chilled dry red Bordeaux, or a Chinon. Watch how to cut a whole chicken into parts to use in this recipe.

Daphne serves the <epi:recipeLink id="5452"Rice with Spinach and Feta Cheese</epi:recipeLink> alongside this flavorful chicken dish.

Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are excerpted from chef Neil Perry's book Rockpool. Neil also shared some helpful cooking tips exclusively with Epicurious, which we've added at the bottom of the page. For your convenience, we've converted the measures — with as much accuracy as possible — from Australian to American. For those who have metric equipment and wish to follow Neil's recipe to the milliliter, we've included the original measures too. This recipe is an accompaniment for Lobster, Soy Chicken, and Mango Salad . Master Stock Chicken is to me the Chinese equivalent of a beautifully roasted chicken with garlic. I find the best thing to do with the chicken the next day is to fry it.