Serves 4
Light coconut milk can be substituted for regular coconut milk. Serve this dish over rice.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
Adobo is the national dish of the Philippines, and chicken adobo is among the most popular. The dish consists of chicken simmered in a mixture of vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, bay leaves, and black pepper. The problem with most recipes we found was that they were aggressively tart and salty. Our secret to taming both of these elements was coconut milk. The coconut milk’s richness tempered the bracing acidity of the vinegar and masked the briny soy sauce, bringing the sauce into balance.

Serves 4
The flat pad thai–style rice noodles that are used in this recipe can be found in the Asian foods section of most supermarkets. If you can’t find broccolini, you can substitute an equal amount of conventional broccoli, but be sure to trim and peel the stalks before cutting.

Pairs with:
Wente Vineyards Riverbank Riesling
Translating Thai street food into a quick weeknight dinner is easy—once you admit that most of what you thought you knew about stir-frying is wrong.

Serves 6
If you are able to purchase boneless, skinless turkey thighs, substitute 1 1/2 pounds for the bone-in thigh. To ensure the best texture, don’t let the burgers stand for more than an hour before cooking. Serve the burgers with Malt Vinegar–Molasses Burger Sauce or your favorite toppings.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
To create juicy, well-textured turkey burgers, we ditched store-bought ground turkey in favor of home-ground turkey thighs, which boast more fat and flavor. To ensure that our turkey burger recipe delivered maximum juiciness, we made a paste with a portion of the ground turkey, gelatin, soy sauce, and baking soda, which trapped juice within the burgers. Finally, we added coarsely chopped raw white mushrooms to keep the meat from binding together too firmly.

10 enchiladas, serving 4 or 5

If you prefer, Monterey Jack can be used instead of cheddar, or, for a mellower flavor and creamier texture, try substituting an equal amount of farmers’ cheese.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
Chicken enchiladas are a complete meal that offers a rich and complex combination of flavors, textures, and ingredients. The problem with preparing enchiladas at home is that traditional cooking methods require a whole day of preparation. We wanted a recipe for an Americanized version of chicken enchiladas that could be made in 90 minutes from start to finish. To save time preparing the tortillas, we sprayed them with vegetable oil spray and warmed them on a baking sheet in the oven. We created a quick chili sauce with onions, garlic, spices, and tomato sauce, and to further enhance the sauce’s flavor, we poached the chicken right in the sauce. This step also made for moist, flavorful meat. And cheddar cheese spiked with canned jalapeños and fresh cilantro made a rich, flavorful filling.

This serves a crowd and should receive rave reviews. You may freeze parts of it to have on hand later for a quick easy dinner. It freezes and lasts well. Although many ingredients, it is very easy to make. A crowd pleaser and best part is you can make it ahead and heat it up at the last minute.

Serves 4

You will need 4 sturdy, uncolored toothpicks for this recipe. We prefer the taste and texture of homemade bread crumbs (simply tear 1 slice of white sandwich bread into pieces, grind in a food processor, and toast in a dry skillet until golden), but store-bought bread crumbs are acceptable here.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
For the stuffing in our Greek-Style Grilled Stuffed Chicken Breasts, herb purees made with garlic and olive oil packed the most flavor and came together quickly, but oozed out of the chicken when cooked. We found that binding the herb puree with creamy and strong-flavored cheeses like fontina, pepper Jack, and feta worked better, especially when combined with just a few tablespoons of bread crumbs (or crushed corn chips).

To stuff, we sliced a pocket into the thickest part of the breast, spooned the filling into the pocket, and sealed the breast back up with a toothpick. Because of the added bulk from the stuffing, these chicken breasts needed extra time on the grill, so gently grilling the chicken with indirect heat worked better. A soak in oil, lemon juice, and garlic gave the chicken added protection against drying out on the grill, plus an extra boost of flavor to complement the stuffing.

Serves 4

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
We captured the flavors of Morocco without buying out the spice aisle by rubbing bone-in chicken breasts with ground cumin and pumpkin pie spice, a blend of warm spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and allspice. While the spice-scented chicken baked, we prepared a hearty five-minute couscous studded with fruit, chickpeas, and olives.

SERVES 4

Bone-in chicken parts can be substituted for the whole chicken. For best results, use four chicken thighs and two chicken breasts, each breast split in half; the dark meat contributes valuable flavor to the broth and should not be omitted. Use a vegetable peeler to remove wide strips of zest from the lemon before juicing it. Make sure to trim any white pith from the zest, as it can impart bitter flavor. Serve with couscous (see related recipe).

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
For the depth and flavor of an authentic tagine in about one hour, we developed a Moroccan chicken recipe that followed our standard braised chicken procedure: browning the skin-on pieces to give the braising liquid deep flavor; removing the chicken from the pot; sautéing onion, strips of lemon zest, garlic, and a spice blend (paprika, cumin, cayenne, ginger, coriander, and cinnamon) in a little oil; adding chicken broth and honey; and finally returning the chicken to the pot.

SERVES 4

Use a vegetable peeler to remove wide strips of zest from the lemon before juicing it. Make sure to trim any white pith from the zest, as it can impart bitter flavor. If the olives are particularly salty, give them a rinse. Serve with couscous.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
For the depth and flavor of an authentic tagine in about one hour, we developed a Moroccan chicken breast recipe that followed our standard braised chicken procedure: browning the skin-on pieces to give the braising liquid deep flavor; removing the chicken from the pot; sautéing onion, strips of lemon zest, garlic, and a spice blend (paprika, cumin, cayenne, ginger, coriander, and cinnamon) in a little oil; adding chicken broth and honey; and finally returning the chicken to the pot.