1 Chicken + 4 Recipes = 5 Meals

By Tanya Steel,Epicurious.com

Saturday night I had 20 people over for my husband's birthday. Over the course of two days I made six mains, four sides, and four desserts for the party (to find out the details of my menu go to Epicurious' Facebook page). It took A LOT out of me, especially as I had to shop, clean, cook, and clean again. Thank goodness big birthdays only come once a decade.

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So by Sunday night I was worn out, irritable, and didn't want to cook. I defrosted a large chicken from Whole Foods, and did a simplified variation on Joyce Goldstein's Roast Chicken with Orange, Lemon, and Ginger.

Unfortunately, we all had food hangovers, so only a bit was eaten. Monday night, I took some of the meat and turned it into a Chinese Chicken Salad. For everyone's lunch on Tuesday, I took the leg meat and used it in Curried Chicken and Mango Sandwiches. For Thursday's dinner, I am going to use up the last of the meat for Lourdes Castro's delicious Chicken Tamales with Tomatillo-Cilantro Sauce (pictured above). Friday's lunch? The last of the leftover tamales.

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Chicken truly is the culinary equivalent of the black pump. It can be bought inexpensively, served plain or dressed up, and used on a daily basis.

What are some of your favorite chicken recipes?

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