Meat can be one of the biggest expenses when hosting a dinner party, but that doesn't mean you have to cut it out completely if you're trimming your entertaining budget this year. In fact, cheaper cuts of meat are often juicier, more flavorful, and easier to make ahead, which makes them ideal for entertaining. And as the recipes below prove, they can be just as elegant and impressive as their more expensive counterparts. More

Q: Smitten Kitchen's chicken meatballs are one of my go-to party foods. For an upcoming election results party, I need to find a way to make them kosher — any idea what I could use in a panade that's not milk? (I already omit the pancetta.)

Sent by Nicole More

This is the time of year when Dutch ovens come into their own. Even if you use your big, heavy Dutch oven year-round, as I do, it still seems to come down off its shelf a little more often in the fall. Today I want to show you my favorite Dutch oven — and a soup to cook in it. This soup is one of those magical recipes with just a few ingredients, and all the usual suspects — carrot, onion, beans, chicken broth — that nevertheless turns out to have such a deep, wonderful flavor you don't mind that it makes enough to feed you for a week. And a Dutch oven is really the best vessel for it, because this soup is cooked just a little differently. More

Rotisserie chickens—skewered birds roasted in rotating rows and sold everywhere from grocery stores to member-only club stores—are immensely popular, if you didn't already know. In 2010 six hundred million rotisserie chickens were sold in the U.S. What is the secret to this bird? More

Q: I was recently in Istanbul and ordered a traditional Turkish/Ottoman dish called Şehzade Chicken. It was bite-sized chicken pieces cooked with raisins, almonds, peanuts and cream. It was truly divine, but I have been unable to find a similar recipe. Does anyone have one?

Sent by Jen More

Do you have a smell that so completely reminds you of a certain person, a special memory, or an exact place in time? As I stood above this bubbling pot of chicken and sausage gumbo, my childhood self was immediately transported to my late grandmother's house in Florida, where flavors of her Louisiana heritage always greeted us upon arrival.

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You've got the sniffles. It's chilly outside. You want nothing more than to wrap yourself in a big ol' blanket and settle down with a mug of chicken noodle soup. Am I right? Then this is the recipe for you. It's miles better than anything from a box or a can, but isn't quite so laborious as starting with a whole chicken and making stock from scratch. It's the Goldilocks of chicken soups, and it's just right. More

Fajitas taste best when the meat and veggies come straight off the grill, no question. But don't let that stop you when it comes to getting your fajita fix. I make this recipe entirely on the stovetop, where the spicy chicken picks up a touch of char from the grill pan and the peppers cook until they are completely tender. Add a dollop of creamy black bean spread and we have dinner. More

When I moved from Los Angeles back to the South, I begrudgingly left behind a handful favorite restaurants. Not that there isn't amazing food in Atlanta, but some of these places just can't be replicated. Whenever I return to California, I have to check each one off my list so that I can stay fully satisfied until my next visit. Many times friends ask if I want to try somewhere new, and I just look at them like they're crazy. Why would I ever want to do a thing like that? More

My friend Aura is a very good cook. She lives in Florida with her husband, Leo, and two adorable (I do not use that word glibly) children. When I think of Aura's cooking, I think of fruit salads, smoothies, and the freshest dishes from her native Guatemala — light, healthy, and driven by Florida's tropical fruits and vegetables. So I was surprised, one winter evening a few years ago, to sit down at her table and find a big, bubbling casserole of chicken wrapped in bacon. "It's Leo's favorite," she said, with a grin. More