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If Chicken’s Boring, You’re Doing It Wrong 🍗
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Hi Reader, I’ve always thought chicken gets a bad rap. People talk about it the way they talk about wallpaper—necessary, but boring. Ever since The One came on the scene, though, chicken has never been bland. There's his quick weekday roast he makes when he has three minutes and an attitude, the jug-cooked chicken from my cookbook that he swears could cure heartbreak, and a simple and simply superb Sunday supper: his brined roasted chicken that sits on a raft of carrots, onions, and potatoes so all that schmaltzy goodness renders into the veggies. The first time he made it, it made me question all my life choices. Magnificent Meryl: As Versatile as ChickenThe truth is, chicken is like Meryl Streep: it can play any role. Humble weeknight dinner? Done. Elegant centerpiece for company? Easy. Comfort food when the world feels a little jagged? Absolutely. If your chicken is dull, it’s not the bird—it’s the script you’ve given it. So here’s my advice: stop thinking of chicken as a fallback and start treating it like the star it is. Because when a bird comes out of the oven golden, fragrant, and sputtering with juices, napkins will be waved like standing ovations. And yes, you deserve that applause. How to Make Sure Your Chicken Gets a Standing Ovation
WHAT'S INSIDE...
Batter-Fried Chicken (Easy & Extra-Crispy)⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.75 from 172 votes
This batter-fried chicken calls for the pieces to be quickly brined and then dipped in a seasoned batter for a crisp Southern-style crust. Simple as can be. This is the real deal. Includes secrets for that crunchy crust.☞ Try this recipePan-Fried Chicken Tenders⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.88 from 16 votes
Pan-fried chicken tenders are an easy and tasty way to get dinner on the table in a hurry. Covered in a crisp batter, the toothsome filets of white meat beg to be dipped and devoured.☞ Try this recipeIna Garten's Lemon Chicken⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.84 from 24 votes
Ina Garten's lemon chicken is "the best roast chicken I've ever made." That's what we hear time after time from everyone we know who makes this roast chicken from the Barefoot Contessa. Tasting is believing.☞ Try this recipeBreaded Oven Fried Chicken Thighs⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.53 from 17 votes
These breaded oven fried chicken thighs come together quickly with just a handful of pantry ingredients. They have all the crispy goodness of fried chicken, without the mess and hassle of deep frying.☞ Try this recipeFrench Onion-Skillet Chicken
Take the elements of French onion soup--beef broth, a hunk of bread, tons of caramelized onions, and a raft of cheese--and mash it up with perfectly seared chicken thighs, and you have French onion-skillet chicken. Sounds weird, I know, but I swear it works.☞ Try this recipeFrench Roast Chicken ~ Poulet Rôti
Poulet rôti, or French roast chicken, is a classic of the Franco culinary empire. And it's so simple: just season a chicken with herbs, place it on top of root vegetables, and, for extra flavor, baste it with plenty of butter. C'est incroyable, non?☞ Try this recipeChicken Shawarma
Serve this incredibly flavorful chicken shawarma with your favorite sides and toppings for an easy weeknight meal everyone will love. Plus, nothing beats a sheet pan dinner, am I right?☞ Try this recipePan Seared Chicken Breast
This pan seared chicken breast from Cook's Illustrated calls for just four ingredients—chicken, olive oil, salt, and pepper—but boasts shatteringly crisp skin, tender meat, and a stovetop that isn't spattered with grease. This is going to change your weeknight chicken game.☞ Try this recipeRosemary Chicken & Beans in a Creamy Cider Broth⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.86 from 14 votes
This recipe for rosemary chicken, beans, and leeks is a cozy weeknight meal that combines tender roasted chicken, cannellini beans, and leeks in an apple-infused broth. The simplicity of the recipe and the outstanding flavor will have you returning to it over and over again.☞ Try this recipeCornmeal Crusted Fried Chicken⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.8 from 10 votes
This cornmeal-crusted fried chicken from Sydney Meers, thanks to a quick brine and an easy dredge in flour and cornmeal, turns out tender, juicy meat, and shatteringly crisp skin. Here's how to make it.☞ Try this recipe |
Leite's Culinaria
Why, hello! Leite's Culinaria is the James Beard Award-winning site that helps home cooks and bakers put dinner on the table and laughs in the kitchen. Hungry for more? Join more than 30,000 food lovers and subscribe.
Hi Reader, When I was a kid, beans were not optional. Ho-no! They appeared with the regularity of my godfather's Saturday-night stock car race. White beans with pork, black-eyed peas with tuna, lentils simmered until they slumped into submission. My mother insisted they were “good for you,” which, in childhood, was code for “culinary punishment.” This is what AI thinks I looked like as a child, sifting through a pan of chickpeas. But somewhere along the way, I stopped sulking and started...
Hi Reader, Every year when the first chill sneaks into the air, I’m hit with the same scent—apples and cinnamon—and suddenly I’m thirty-something again, standing in my postage-stamp-size kitchen trying to impress a man I’d met only weeks before. (Spoiler: I succeeded. He’s still here, three decades later, eating the evidence.) The One in my impossibly small kitchen in Brooklyn, tucked under a staircase. That first autumn, way back in 1993, was our season of Love Food. We knew nothing about...
Hi Reader, Open my refrigerator on any given day and you’ll find two things: (1) far too many jars, and (2) Alan sighing dramatically every time he can’t find the milk behind them. But here’s the thing—those jars are my secret weapons.There's tomato jam. Spooned into squat little jars, it looks innocent enough, but one taste and suddenly grilled cheese became a culinary event. And red pepper paste and garlic confit. And let's not forget milk mayonnaise (yes, mayonnaise made with milk—don’t...