Poultry

To bake individual pies, use 6 10-ounce ramekins, and reduce cooking time to 20 to 30 minutes.

Moussaka may be assembled 1 day in advance and refrigerated; bake for an additional 15 to 20 minutes, or until the center is hot.

It may seem like a bit of trouble to brine the turkey, but it is well worth it: This is the best turkey we’ve ever tasted. If you don’t have a stockpot large enough to hold the turkey, you can use a new plastic tub instead. It is helpful to have an extra refrigerator to brine the turkey, as it takes up a lot of space.

Add the giblets and neck to the pan with the turkey 1 1/2 hours after the oven temperature is reduced to 350°F in step 5 (recipe above).

If you can’t find precut chicken quarters, ask your butcher to quarter a 5-pound chicken and remove the backbone.

We brined our turkey for 24 hours, so leave plenty of time for this recipe. If you don’t brine yours, skip steps 1 and 2. The USDA recommends cooking the turkey until the thickest part of the thigh registers 180°F. For a moister bird, we cooked ours to 165°F; it continues to cook outside the oven as it rests.

Season the chicken a day ahead so it has time to absorb the flavors.

You can bake the chicken wings a day ahead and store them, covered, in the refrigerator; bring them to room temperature before grilling.

Hard cider has been fermented, so it contains alcohol. It is a traditional ingredient in Normandy, France, but you can substitute dry white wine.

These can be made up to 1 day ahead or frozen up to 1 month ahead. Bring to room temperature before baking.

This recipe yields excess chicken stock. The excess can be kept in plastic containers and frozen for several months.

The potatoes must be parboiled so they will be done at the same time as the chicken.

Serve this stewlike chicken dish over couscous or mashed potatoes, or with a crusty baguette to soak up the flavorful broth. We used Cerignola olives from southern Italy; they are large and firm enough to hold up to slow cooking methods like braising.