Chicken

I came up with this recipe one day when I was boiling a big old hen for chicken soup and had plenty of meat left over, but if you don't care to fool with that, the casserole can easily be made with a nicely roasted chicken picked up in a deli or supermarket.

Serve with: A chopped salad of plum tomatoes and cucumbers with purchased ginger dressing. Dessert: Coconut cupcakes.

This recipe was inspired by a dish that a group of our food editors enjoyed at Chez Maître Paul, a Paris bistro. As the name suggests, poulet à la fermière contains a farmwife's bounty—chicken, cheese, vegetables, and herbs.

A grill pan is just the thing for cooking the chicken and zucchini in this recipe.

In a classic pairing, tarragon brightens up chicken for spring. Serve with steamed rice to soak up the luscious sauce.

These birds are one of many excellent grilling ideas from Steven Raichlen, author of The Barbecue! Bible (Workman, 1998) and How To Grill, in bookstores later this month.

Serve with: Rice pilaf and a salad of red-leaf lettuce with rice wine vinaigrette. Dessert: Grilled pineapple and vanilla ice cream.

Petto di Pollo alla Valdostana con Lenticchie Brasate I sometimes suggest some side dishes to go along with main courses and let you make up your mind which you prefer to serve. I love this combination so much, though, that I'm including the side dish as part of the recipe. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

H.F. Lippincott of Montgomery, Alabama, writes: "The chicken marengo at O'Briens Bistro, in Pensacola, Florida, is delicious. I'd love to have the recipe."

Jewish chicken soup is usually served with thin egg noodles or with matzah balls. The zucchini is my, not MGM's addition.

These powerfully seasoned chicken breasts grill up smoky and moist. Serve with minted iced tea and Asian beers. For dessert, offer mango sorbet with pineapple.

To complement this Provençal-style entrée, sprinkle torn radicchio with oil, vinegar and Niçoise olives, and mix chopped chives and grated Parmesan into pasta. Finish with a purchased lemon tart. Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

A high-flavor, low-fat entrée. Serve it over rice to catch all the juices.

This recipe makes very dark, mahogany-colored drumsticks. Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

These quesadillas are cooked on the grill. Serve them with salsa and sour cream.