Whole Chicken

A 3 1/2-pound chicken works well, too, in this dish from Syracuse.

'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

One diner's instructions on how to find Mrs. Wilkes': "Walk along West Jones Street until you smell fried chicken."

We recommend using the freshest watercress possible — if not at its best, it can give the sauce a slightly bitter taste. (Try hydroponic watercress; it's generally better than conventionally grown supermarket cress.) Tanis suggests skimming all the fat from the cooking liquid and serving the broth as a first-course soup, garnished with toasted slices of French bread.

Chef Lisa Ahier likes the flavor of Key limes or Mexican limes, which she can buy locally and year-round, for the marinade below. But even if you use regular lime juice, you'll love this chicken, which is as delicious at room temperature as it is hot. In fact, Gourmet's food editors couldn't get enough of it.

For this robust and easy entrée, chicken is baked with a barbecue-style glaze. Removing the skin cuts back on fat.

Deviled is a southern term for a dish that is highly seasoned. To make life easier, have the butcher cut up the chicken, and use a small chicken — around three pounds — so that it will cook through quickly. If you're cutting it yourself, start by going along both sides of the backbone with kitchen shears or a large knife. Once the backbone has been removed, cut the chicken into eight pieces (two breasts, wings, legs and thighs); include the top third of each breast with the wings for a more generous serving. The chicken needs to marinate for at least a day, so plan accordingly. See how to joint a chicken.

Avgolemono, a classic Greek sauce flavored with lemon juice and thickened with eggs, adds richness to the tender stewed chicken in this outstanding main course. Pour a chilled Chardonnay, and offer purchased baklava for dessert. See how to joint a chicken.

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.