Chicken

Think of this as your standard breaded chicken recipe, all grown up. This panko-crusted chicken recipe is a great weeknight option.

Chef Art Smith of Art and Soul Restaurant in Washington D.C., gives chicken a southern twist: First he smokes it, then he shreds it and coats it in a brown sugar and coffee barbecue sauce. And he serves this chicken over hoecakes, which, as the menu puts it, are sweet cornmeal griddle cakes "traditionally cooked after a hard day's work on the farm."

Of all the chicken drumstick recipes out there, this is the easy, flavorful one that deserves a permanent spot in your rotation. Thank us later.

Someone should warn my fiancé that we are about to eat this dish at least once a week for the next four years.

This dish has everything going for it in terms of ingredients, speed and simplicity. Plus, I have a thing for smoked paprika.