Elegant Chicken Dinners

The name sounds like something you'd find in a three-star restaurant, and the finished dish lives up to the name. Wonderfully creamy polenta and deeply earthy mushrooms complement a simply flavored roast chicken that's juicy and delicious. This dish is perfect for smaller gatherings where a whole turkey or roast would just be too much.

Look for asparagus stalks with deep green or purplish tips that are tightly closed and not slick. Remove the fibrous ends by bending each stalk until it snaps; the tough part will break off naturally.

Sugar snap peas are crunchy and sweet. Choose plump, crisp pods, and refrigerate up to three days.

This flavorful salad was legendary chef Eric Ripert's riff on autumnal fare. He adds savory roast chicken to a fresh salad of apples, Swiss chard, and butternut squash, and tops everything off with a flavorful bacon-mushroom vinaigrette. It's healthful, comforting, and tastes like fall.

This exotic spin on the ordinary boneless, skinless chicken breast earned top ratings from our readers. Sweet-tart dried fruit and salty olives combine for a sweet and savory flavor profile characteristic of North African cuisine. Serve with creamy pearls of jumbo-sized Israeli couscous.

Bacon is the key to a simple sauce that transforms skinless, boneless chicken breasts into a meal that looks and tastes more involved than it really is. A little unsweetened apple cider rounds out the sauce with a subtle layer of flavor. Another sauce secret: Don't forget to scrape the browned bits from the pan when you deglaze it, because they're the key to a richer sauce.

In this recipe, the chicken is first split and then butterflied (flattened), a technique that allows for quicker and more uniform cooking. Rather than cutting through the breastbone, flip the chicken over and use kitchen shears to cut down the backbone. Once the chicken is cut, it will open up and lie flat on the grill for even cooking.

The term new potato refers to any thin-skinned potato harvested in early spring while the plant is still thriving, regardless of its skin color or variety. (Fully mature potatoes are harvested after the plant dies.) If you can’t find true new potatoes, use small red- or white-skinned potatoes.

A 4-ingredient dish worthy of serving to company? You bet! Good-quality goat cheese and fresh rosemary give chicken breasts a special spin that won't bust your budget (or your gut). Canadian bacon makes it taste indulgent.

When it's done right, there's nothing better than a simple roast chicken, and this recipe, created by Williams-Sonoma founder Chuck Williams, gets it absolutely right. Add a bed of vegetables to the nicely seasoned, moist chicken and you've got a one-pan meal. Pour the easy pan gravy over that and you've got near perfection.

Distinctive morel mushrooms grace this dish with their nutty, woodsy flavor and unique texture. Because of their spongelike crevices, wash them well to remove dirt. If you can’t find fresh morels, look for one ounce dried, then rehydrate them in hot water before adding to the sauce.

Contrary to popular belief, baby artichokes are not immature. In fact, they are fully grown but simply positioned low on the stalk. Choose those that are olive green with tightly closed leaves. Because they have a tendency to discolor, place them in acidulated water after cutting.