Melissa Clark

Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are excerpted from David Bouley, Mario Lohninger, and Melissa Clark's book East of Paris: The New Cuisines of Austria and the Danube. Lohninger also shared some helpful cooking tips exclusively with Epicurious, which we've added at the bottom of the page. To read more about Lohninger and Austrian cooking, click here. David Bouley: Mario and I wanted to put fresh herring on the menu, but we couldn't find a consistent source for the best product from the North Sea. So we came up with this dish using mackerel, an underused fish in this country. When you marinate the raw mackerel, it becomes very mellow in flavor. It's a clean-tasting fish, not a bit "fishy" or strong. We marinate the mackerel in Bibb lettuce and cucumber juices, then mix it with beet and apple for sweetness and a little crunch. It's both light and refreshing.

(Kavalierspitz) Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are excerpted from David Bouley, Mario Lohninger, and Melissa Clark's book East of Paris: The New Cuisines of Austria and the Danube. Lohninger also shared some helpful cooking tips exclusively with Epicurious, which we've added at the bottom of the page. To read more about Lohninger and Austrian cooking, click here.

Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are excerpted from David Bouley, Mario Lohninger, and Melissa Clark's book East of Paris: The New Cuisines of Austria and the Danube. Lohninger also shared some helpful cooking tips exclusively with Epicurious, which we've added at the bottom of the page. To read more about Lohninger and Austrian cooking, click here. Spätzle are tiny dumplings that you make by passing a thin batter through a colander (or a spätzle maker) into a pot of boiling water. You can serve them simply boiled and drained, topped with melted butter and poppy seeds, or fried with onions and cheese as we do here. This is a rich mountain-style skiers' dish that will really keep you going.

Beware of packaging announcing a product is "100 percent wheat" — this designation can be used on foods made with refined wheat flour. To be sure of a product's nutritional value, read labels carefully: The first ingredient should be a whole-grain product. Check the fiber content — if the product doesn't contain a minimum of three grams per slice, you are probably dealing with an impostor.

With its slight bitterness, broccoli rabe takes well to assertive flavors. The classic Italian recipe calls for sautéing it with plenty of garlic and crushed red pepper flakes. But for Thanksgiving we've opted for something mellower, choosing sweet raisins, pine nuts, and a bit of sherry.

These tender individual treats are like a cross between a molten chocolate cake and a steamed pudding. The cinnamon gives them a warm, deep scent, which you can intensify by serving them with purchased cinnamon or ginger ice cream in place of the whipped cream.

Using frozen winter squash purée makes putting together this soup extremely speedy; then just let it simmer while the turkey roasts. The lime juice may seem like an unusual Thanksgiving ingredient, but its tart flavor gives a lift to the sweetness of the squash and tempers the spicy toasted pumpkin seeds. The seeds themselves are addictive, so if you think you might want to have extra around for noshing, consider doubling that recipe. They will keep for at least a week or two in an airtight container—if they last that long!

This is a simple, delicious dessert that also makes a warming and special brunch dish or breakfast. Although many baked-apple recipes are on the lean side (my mother always ate them when she was dieting), my version is luxurious yet still homey. I stuff the apples with a mix of brown sugar, dried fruit, and nuts, then bake them in a sauce of apple cider, maple syrup, and plenty of butter, which cooks down to a rich, thick glaze. I like to use Cortlands here because of their good squat shape and their complex fruity flavor, but any firm, tart baking apple will do.

These buttery cinnamon cookies are David's all-time favorite. Make them and you'll see why.