Monday-to-Friday Chicken

By Michèle Urvater

Monday to Friday It's no surprise that chicken appears on America's dinner table so often-it's versatile, low in fat and quick and easy to prepare. Michèle Urvater's Monday-to-Friday Chicken breaks the routine of preparing the same chicken dishes week after week. More than just another collection of recipes, each of the 180 dishes includes chicken and vegetables or a starch to easily make a complete meal centered on chicken.

Monday-to-Friday Chicken joins Michèle's James Beard Award-winning Monday-to-Friday Cookbook and Monday-to-Friday Pasta as a trio of solution filled books for the weeknight cook. Like the books that preceded it Monday-to-Friday Chicken is based on the premise that with a well-stocked pantry and a little planning you'll be organized enough to make delicious meals even if you haven't been to the supermarket in a week. From chicken soups, salads, and sandwiches to roasted, grilled, baked, stir-fried and sautèd chicken, they are all here and easy enough to make in the middle of the week.

Most of the recipes take half an hour or less, but just because they're quick doesn't mean there isn't time for flavor. Each of these well-crafted recipes has such good taste you'll always look forward to a chicken dinner. Michèle's appealing recipes are as American as Cheddar Chicken Chowder and Florida-Style Grilled Chicken Salad and as worldly as Quick Chicken Mole over Rice and Thai-Style Chicken Skillet.

Chicken marries well with nearly any ingredient in the pantry and Michèle's versatile recipes make it easy to diversify dinner. Lemon Chicken has options for curry, Southwestern or Chinese sauces. And the flavors of a simple Chicken and Vegetables recipe can be dressed up with caponata, salsa, pesto or sesame and cilantro. No matter what you crave, there's a chicken recipe to suit your taste for dinner tonight.

Monday-to-Friday Chicken offers hundreds of solutions for leftovers, too. With Michèle's ideas, tonight's Chicken with Tomatoes and Basil is as delicious as the soup you can make from the leftovers tomorrow. The Salsa Chicken with Pasta you enjoyed on Tuesday turns into a quick casserole on Thursday. With a few fresh ingredients, last night's Chinese Chicken Casserole becomes today's salad.

In addition to all the satisfying recipes, there's a comprehensive discussion on buying, storing and handling chicken safely, suggestions on making the recipes appealing to children and vegetarians and time saving kitchen tips. Monday-to-Friday Chicken is a complete guide to preparing your favorite bird in delicious ways that take minutes-not hours.

Monday-to-Friday Chicken
By Michele Urvater
Workman Publishing
Paperback, $12.95
288 pages; illustrations throughout
ISBN 1-56305-931-2
Information provided by the publisher.