Episode guide | The Cook Up with Adam Liaw S2 | All episodes and recipes

Winner, Winner, Hot Honey Chicken Dinner

Sometimes we publish a recipe on New York Times Cooking that aligns so perfectly with this newsletter and our cause — food for busy people who still want something good to eat — that I get excited to tell you about it. That's the case with Vallery Lomas's new roasted chicken thighs with hot honey and lime. The ingredients are minimal; the flavors are maximal. It's easy to put together, makes clever use of staples (garlic and onion powders, honey, hot sauce), and it's already racking up rave reviews. And really, I just want to have it for dinner as soon as possible, spritzed with lime.

We're hot honey advocates here at NYT Cooking; that chicken recipe is just the beginning. We put it on shrimp, ribs and nuts. We even put it on matzo brei, the egg-and-matzo scramble for Passover, and a recipe you need this week if you celebrate the holiday (though if you want a traditional, less frisky matzo brei, we also have a classic recipe). You might also require this brisket from Joan Nathan, the queen of Jewish cooking in America, whose holiday dishes are essentials.

Comments? Questions? Suggestions? Email me at dearemily@nytimes.Com. It's always good to hear from you.

1. Roasted Chicken Thighs With Hot Honey and Lime

Hot sauces can be very different from one another. Dial up (or down) the level of heat in this recipe from Vallery Lomas by picking a hot sauce that suits your taste. Serve with a crunchy green salad or coleslaw.

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Winner, Winner, 15 Chicken Dinner Recipes

Chicken — whether baked, broiled, barbecued, roasted, broasted, fried, or prepared in some other manner — is a hit the world over. Need some animal protein? Want it to be lean? Looking for something affordable? Chicken is your choice. But how should you prepare it? Whether you want your chicken crisp and spicy or tart and tender, you should find at least one recipe that won't make you cry fowl.

This skillet-roasted chili crisp chicken with vegetables was inspired by James Park's admiration for Ina Garten.  Photo by Heami Lee.

Skillet-Roasted Chili Crisp Chicken and Vegetables

James Park has a thing for chili crisp. He's a self-appointed "chili crisp ambassador" who focuses on his favorite fiery condiment in his book, Chili Crisp: 50+ Recipes to Satisfy Your Spicy, Crunchy, Garlicky Cravings. Naturally, his roast chicken recipe incorporates the stuff. "There are countless roast chicken recipes out there, but what makes this recipe particularly exciting is the use of a spicy olive oil mixture that checks all the boxes. It has a perfect blend of salt, fat, acid, and heat," he says. Scroll down to the bottom. Get the recipe

Honeyed Fried Chicken with Hot Honey Sauce and Biscuits

Food writer, cooking instructor, and ninth-generation Southerner Rebecca Lang shares Southern Fried classics like Buttermilk-Soaked, Bacon-Fried Chicken in Gravy as well as riffs on Japanese Kara-Age and Jerk Drumsticks in her book Fried Chicken: Recipes for the Crispy, Crunchy Comfort Food Classic. This one is a favorite with her family. Get the recipe

"You can take that same technique and do it with carrots or coconut and cabbage or green curry paste and bok choy," Sohla El-Waylly says of her recipe for braised chicken thighs. Photo by Laura Murray.

Seared and Braised Chicken Thighs With Zucchini & Salsa Verde

Sometimes you just need to know where to start. You want a chicken with crispy skin but don't want to overcook the meat. Sohla El-Waylly has a plan for you. In her debut cookbook, Start Here: Instructions for Becoming a Better Cook: A Cookbook, she writes, "Seared and braised is the best way to make chicken thighs. The initial direct heat from the sear develops browning and renders the fat from the skin, so there's no flabby chicken here. Then the thighs are gently braised in a bright tomatillo salsa while floating on a zucchini raft." Scroll down to the bottom. Get the recipe

Roast Chicken with Lemon and Garlic

Documentary producer Laurie David also wrote The Family Cooks, a cookbook that focuses on healthy, approachable recipes and tips. Her roasted chicken is a great weeknight staple for busy families. Get the recipe

Grilled Chicken with Walnut and Pomegranate Sauce

Cheryl Forberg, author of Stop the Clock! Cooking: Defy Aging–Eat the Foods You Love, shared this recipe with us back in 2002. More than two decades later, it still holds up. Get the recipe

Instant noodles are ground to the size of rice grains, incorporated with the seasoning packet and used as a coating in this easy fried chicken recipe. Photo by Yuki Sugiura.

Chicken poppers with instant noodle coating

Writing the book Kung Pao and Beyond, Vogue Hong Kong food columnist Susan Jung made fried chicken at least once a day for three months. She recommends using corn oil or canola oil and avoiding pricier options like sesame and olive oil, which have lower smoke points. Many of her recipes call for double frying, and she suggests a lower temperature on the first fry. Using less oil and fewer pieces of chicken in a large wok will minimize the splatter and mess. Scroll down to the bottom. Get the recipe

Peanut-Parmesan Spiced Chicken

Chef Suvir Saran is an Indian American Chef who works in Delhi, Mumbai, Pune and New York. He first shared this recipe with us in 2005. Garam masala, Japanese panko breadcrumbs, and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese make this a true multicultural creation. Dredge the chicken in 12% light roast peanut flour and fry it in a skillet with olive oil and, boom. You've got a tasty and creative new way to make chicken. Get the recipe

Nigella Lawson's Chicken and Pea Traybake

When Nigella Lawson was writing her 2018 cookbook At My Table: A Celebration of Home Cooking, she wanted to capture the joy and sense of self she found at home while whipping up meals for loved ones. This recipe is very approachable. It features eight ingredients but can feed a family. Requiring minimal effort, iy yields maximum flavor. Get the recipe

Portuguese chicken is the Hong Kong version of mac and cheese, says Kevin Pang, who recalls eating it every Wednesday as a child. Photo courtesy of America's Test Kitchen.

Hong Kong-Style Portuguese Chicken

"For Cantonese kids, this is their mac and cheese, foundational to their Hong Kong childhood," Kevin Pang explains in A Very Chinese Cookbook. "What we call Portuguese chicken (with apologies to the nation of Portugal) is actually a dish of Macau. The Portuguese role in this dish was having once colonized Macau, a valuable sliver of land a 45-minute boat ride to the west of Hong Kong. The Hong Kong version of Macau's Portuguese chicken is a true Fusion dish. Marinated dark meat chicken is cooked in a creamy coconut-curry gravy, topped with Parmesan, and broiled until the top gets charred and crusty." Scroll down to the bottom. Get the recipe

Panino Rustico

Who likes dry, stringy, overcooked chicken breast? No one. That's why Evan Kleiman poaches the chicken in this recipe, which was adapted from her book, Angeli Caffe: Pizza, Pasta, Panini. You want the breasts to cook in the gentle liquid heat so the proteins don't seize up and tighten too much. Use a sturdy bread for this sandwich. There are lots of juices, and they end up becoming their own condiment as they soak into the bread, but you want the sandwich to hold together. Get the recipe

Roast Chicken with Tangerines, Green Olives & Silan

Amelia Saltsman says that one of her favorite ways to celebrate Southern California's citrus is to serve it alongside a beautifully roasted chicken. In this recipe, from The Seasonal Jewish Kitchen, she selects clementines and lightly brined olives like Sicilian Castelveltranos. She then adds extra dimension and kick to the dish by creating a sweet, spicy rub of silan, harissa, and smoked paprika, evoking the sephardic flavors of North Africa. Get the recipe

This is just one of many versions of the dish known as General Tso's Chicken. Photo via Shutterstock.

General Tso's Chicken

General Tso's chicken is a staple of American Chinese menus nationwide. There are probably as many recipes as there are Chinese restaurants in the US (more than 40,000). This particular recipe comes from Ian Cheney and Jennifer Lee, the filmmakers behind the documentary The Search for General Tso. Get the recipe

Roast Chicken with Artichokes and Gremolata Butter

Bon Appétit magazine editor-in-chief Barbara Fairchild serves up simple and flavorful chicken breast dishes. She is the editor of The Bon Appétit Fast Easy Fresh Cookbook. Get the recipe

Chicken wings, which can be prepared many ways, are a hit at parties. Photo by Atharva Tulsi/Unsplash.

Tamarind Chicken Wings

Before the pandemic, Nguyen and Thi Tran of Starry Kitchen were serving three kinds of fried chicken at Button Mash in Echo Park. We adore these ones, which are fried twice then tossed in a sticky tamarind glaze that gets its kick from ginger, chili garlic paste and black pepper. Sprinkle on a few pomegranate seeds so it looks pretty for the 'gram. Get the recipe

Roast Chicken with Garlic, Lemon, and Herbs

When roasting a chicken, Joyce Goldstein, author of Solo Suppers: Simple Delicious Meals to Cook for Yourself, opts for kosher chickens because they've been brined and are especially tasty. "If my market is out of them, I buy a local free-range bird and rub it with salt and lemon. If I have time, I might put it in a brine solution, but more often than not, I pick one up and get cooking with little preparation." Get the recipe

Kara's Sights & Bites: Make Your Own Meatballs And Roasted Chicken

Cinnamon Pepper Chicken has been one of the most utilized and favorite recipes of Come On In! A Junior League of Jackson cookbook, since it was published in 1991.

    Saying anything negative about local supermarkets goes against my beliefs. The 12+ years I worked for a supermarket chain still rank near the top of best work experiences of all time (flying around in the private jet didn't hurt) and gave me a lifelong appreciation for neighborhood grocery stores. Fast forward to today and I'm happy to see shoppers in local stores instead of buying food online. So, advising against purchasing supermarket products – in this case, frozen meatballs and rotisserie chicken – is a little shocking. But hear me out before you judge too harshly.

    First, I have valid reasons for preferring not to buy rotisserie chicken. In the interest of staying off supermarkets' bad list, I won't share them here. I know they're popular with some shoppers and that's perfectly fine. Additionally, I don't care for frozen, premade meatballs, probably because the homemade ones are so easy to make and taste, well, much better. And here's another reason to make your own – they can be used as the base for tons of delicious recipes instead of boring browned ground beef.

     Personally, I love having extras in the freezer that I can pull out and defrost when I'm in the mood for spaghetti and meatballs. I make a few dozen at a time and freeze them in small batches. While this may sound very similar to using frozen meatballs from the supermarket, there's a big difference between the two. I made them, I know what's in them and unlike some (not all) products, all my ingredients are pronounceable.

   The Junior League of Jackson's Come On In! Cookbook published the recipe for Cinnamon Pepper Chicken over 30 years ago. It's withstood the test of time and remains a favorite of many to this day. In fact, one friend says her family will revolt if she doesn't make the dish weekly for dinner.

     I hope I've convinced you that making your own meatballs and baked whole chicken is worth the time and effort. Trust me, the taste alone will sway you if I haven't. In the meantime, try these recipes - I can almost guarantee you'll need no further encouragement from me to make meatballs and chicken at home.

1 whole chicken (4 pounds)

½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

     Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Clean chicken and season well inside and out, with salt, peppers, cinnamon and allspice. Bake, uncovered, 2-1/2-3 hours, basting occasionally with pan juices

Recipe from Come On In! By Junior League of Jackson

Favorite Homemade Meatballs

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

1/4 cup finely chopped onion (can substitute packet of Lipton's Onion Soup Mix instead)

2 teaspoons minced garlic

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

     Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray. In a large bowl, combine the meat, egg, breadcrumbs, cheese, onion, garlic, salt and pepper, and parsley.

     Use a medium cookie scoop or spoon to scoop the meat mixture. Form into 1 1/2-inch balls and place on the baking sheet. Bake uncovered 17 to 20 minutes, or until no longer pink in the middle. Turn halfway through to brown evenly.

Americanized Crockpot Swedish Meatballs

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 can beef broth, low sodium

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1 packet Lipton's Onion Soup Mix

20-25 meatballs (I prefer homemade, but you can use frozen version; defrost before using)

16-ounce carton sour cream

Large bag of wide egg noodles

     Place first 5 ingredients into a Crockpot and cook on low for 5-6 hours or high for 3-4 hours.

     At the end of cooking (and when meatballs are done if using frozen variety), add sour cream. Stir and replace lid; cook 15-20 minutes while boiling egg noodles. When noodles are done, drain and add to Crockpot, stirring to combine.

Kara Kimbrough is a food and travel writer and travel agent from Mississippi. Email her at kkprco@yahoo.Com.

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