When I think of meals that completely embody the leftover philosophy, I think first of roast chicken. It follows all the rules: It’s perfectly delicious as is, it keeps nicely for days, and you can use every bit of it to make a variety of other meals. But I’ve noticed that people are afraid to roast a chicken. After all, there’s a whole bird of things that could go wrong.

But guess what? Even if you don’t tie the bird perfectly (or at all), or don’t season it evenly, you’re still going to wind up with many fantastic meals. In reality, roast chicken is probably a lot more forgiving than many other dishes you make.