At Nari in San Francisco, chef Pim Techamuanvivit's gaeng rawaeng, a whole Cornish game hen submerged in a deeply savory golden curry redolent with spices is served with impossibly flaky roti for sopping. In this recipe, a small chicken—standing in here for the Cornish game hen in the original dish—gently cooks in a velvety sauce of coconut milk spiced with chiles and galangal, a piney, citrus-flavored cousin of ginger. Don't shake the cans of coconut milk—the solidified cream and liquid are added separately. Refrigerate the cans for about 1 hour prior to cooking to encourage separation. Use a mix of green chile varieties to suit your preference for piquancy.

The secret to this flavorful chicken suya lies in a bouillon cube.

At Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q, chef Chris Lilly butterflies a whole chicken, smokes it, then dunks the bird into a vat of tangy white barbecue sauce. Home cooks can grill pieces of chicken until crispy and nicely charred, then serve them alongside Lilly's terrific white sauce.

Sauvignon Blanc adds zip to the lemon-and-caper-infused liquid.

Melissa Clark's favorite part of the chicken is the drumstick, because it's juicy and easy to brown. She likes using only drumsticks in this mustardy stew—thickened with tangy crème fraîche—so that all the meat cooks at the same rate.

Classic chicken cordon bleu is made with Swiss cheese and sliced ham, but we like to stuff our chicken breasts with grated Fontina and thinly sliced prosciutto.

Pepper Jack cheese looks innocent enough but adds a nice kick to these burritos. If you prefer a milder taste, use regular Jack instead.P

This flavor-packed pie is topped with mozzarella, paneer and a spiced tomato sauce.

Smoky roasted cauliflower and nutty brown butter headline this satisfying vegetarian main course. Like tiny gnocchi, German spaetzle are delicious simply blanched but spring to a whole new level when crisped with butter in a pan. This recipe calls for store-bought dried spaetzle, which turn springy and chewy when cooked. Boiled then crisped in butter, they get a finishing lift from fresh dill and crushed red pepper.