For our own take on Zuni Cafe’s roast chicken with bread salad, we started by butterflying a whole chicken and salting it overnight so it would cook quickly and evenly and be juicy and well-seasoned. Before roasting the chicken in a 475-degree oven, we covered the bottom of a skillet with bread cubes that we…

Roast chicken, seasoned simply with salt, pepper, lemon juice, and herbs, is perhaps the epitome of effortless cooking. For six people, look for an organic or free-range oven roaster (5 to 7 pounds) or two smaller birds (3 to 4 pounds), knowing that either way you will have some leftovers. I started adding hot Italian…