Food52 Dynamite Chicken: 60 Never-Boring Recipes for Your Favorite Bird

Chef, restaurateur, and James Beard–nominated writer Kord (A Super Upsetting Cookbook About Sandwiches) delivers an enthusiastic book celebrating the “affordability, versatility, and ease” of chicken. He provides thorough information about the basics of cooking chicken, from butchering a whole chicken into 10 pieces to making chicken stock. Many of his tips are valuable (he rubs cornstarch onto chicken skin to make it crispy), but some purists may be surprised with some of his unconventional advice (he doesn’t believe in trussing chicken). Kord’s creations are versatile and inventive­­—­he includes recipes for grilled chicken with pickled blueberry salad, chicken and kimchi pierogis, broiled chicken breasts with asparagus salad and tarragon puree, and lemongrass-poached chicken legs with sugar snap peas. He also adds his own fresh spin to beloved chicken classics such as spicy parmesan chicken potpie, coconut milk chicken à la king, and lime-glazed chicken wings. However, despite his zeal, some recipes aren’t quite as appealing, such as savory chicken oatmeal with braised greens . In all, these recipes will inspire home cooks to jazz up the popular bird for weeknight dinners or weekend entertaining. Agent: Jonah Straus, Straus Literary. (Oct.)