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To make a chicken club, slice warm fillets and layer the slices on a soft roll with mayo, lettuce, tomato, avocado, and a strip of bacon (see Chapter 8: Party Snacks).

Slice the chicken, fan the slices out on plates, squeeze some fresh lime juice over them, and top them with a dollop of guacamole (store-bought or homemade—see Chapter 8: Party Snacks) and/or salsa. Serve with sizzling Fajita-Style Peppers and Onions (Chapter 7: Sides) and warm tortillas.

Use the chilled leftovers to make Chinese Chicken Salad (Chapter 2: Salads) or a chicken sandwich.

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simplest (and best) roast chicken

Makes 3 to 4 servings

This stellar, ultra-easy method of roasting chicken uses an ancient, brilliant seasoning: high heat. That and a large amount of salt produce a bird with crisp skin and very juicy meat. It’s a technique simplified from renowned chef Thomas Keller’s already simple one (brought to my attention by my son, Sam, who has become quite a master of it). Salt and pepper are the only flavor accents until the very end of roasting, when you can opt to add an herb or two to the juices and baste with them for a final touch. If you have the time and the refrigerator space, season the raw chicken with the salt and pepper, and then let it sit, uncovered, on a deep plate in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours. This will dry the skin out a bit and make for crisper results.

Any reasonably heavy roasting or baking pan (or even a cast-iron skillet) that is large enough to hold the chicken will work. There’s no need for a rack. This method does make a fair amount of smoke, so don’t forget to turn on your kitchen fan and/or open the window.

1 whole chicken (3 to 4 pounds)

1 tablespoon salt

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1. Adjust the oven rack to the center position and preheat the oven to 450°F.

2. Rinse the chicken (inside and out) under cold running water and pat it completely dry (inside and out) with paper towels.

3. Combine the salt and pepper in a small bowl. Place the chicken, breast side up, in a roasting pan. Season both the outside and the inside of the chicken with the salt and pepper, rubbing the mixture into the skin. (I usually put about a teaspoon of the mixture inside and the rest all over the outside, but it’s not an exact science.)

4. Turn on the stovetop fan and/or open the window. Place the pan in the oven, and leave the chicken alone for a good 50 minutes, or until the skin is becoming nicely browned. At that point, start checking for doneness with an instant-read thermometer. To do so, remove the chicken from the oven, insert the thermometer under the leg where it joins the thigh (avoiding the bone), and watch the temperature register. It should stop at 170°F. If you stick the thermometer into the breast meat (again avoiding the bone, and sliding the thermometer in lengthwise along the breast, starting at the top), it should register 160°F. If not, return the chicken to the oven for another 10 minutes and check again. When the chicken has reached 170°F in the leg/thigh area, remove it from the oven.

5. Use a baster or a spoon to suction or scoop up the juices that have gathered in the bottom of the pan (and inside the chicken itself), and gently squirt or dribble them over the entire chicken. Do this about ten times in a row to coat the chicken. When you’re finished basting, let the chicken sit in the roasting pan at room temperature for 15 minutes.

6. Hold the chicken upright (drumsticks down) over the pan to drain off any juices that have collected inside it. Transfer the chicken to a cutting board. Skim off and discard as much of the clear yellow fat that has floated to the top of the pan juices as you can, leaving the dark stuff to use as a sauce.

7. Use a knife or poultry shears to cut the chicken into pieces. Serve hot, warm, or at room temperature, with the roasting juices spooned over each serving.

GET CREATIVE

Add up to 1 tablespoon dried thyme, sage, or rosemary (or a combination) to the pan when you take the chicken out of the oven for