Rosemary

Use these in salads (croutons in every bite!), sprinkle over pastas, dust atop tender braised meats, or just eat them out of hand (naturally).

Who doesn't love roasted turkey?! Everything about it warms the soul—the smell, the taste, the post-Thanksgiving dinner food coma. This recipe captures all of these associations, save the food coma, into a perfectly delightful sipping broth.

These dangerously addictive little bites fueled countless 1950s and '60s bridge parties from Greenwood Mississippi, to Greenville, South Carolina, before being rescued from recipe-box oblivion by modern Southern cooks like Martha Hall Foose. And thank goodness. Magic happens when a cracker slowly sops up the fat from smoky, crisping bacon; it transforms into something more akin to piecrust. Unadorned, bacon crackers are pure pork perfection. The addition of a tine bundle of rosemary needles makes for a fancified version, while topping the "belt" of bacon with a bit of brown sugar adds a hint of sweet to the smoke.

This super-moist turkey breast is part of our over-the-top Thanksgiving bird; for the rest of the recipes, click here.

Any combination of nuts and seeds will be fine, so feel free to finish up any odds and ends you have around.

I learned the joys of putting potatoes in bread during my time in the Napa Valley, so the flavors here are resonant of that magical place, but don't be afraid to change up the herbs or play with nuts and olives.

Bone-in turkey breasts are easy to find, and as impressive as a whole bird when you roast them in butter and herbs.

Ask your butcher for a whole leg, which will include part of the sirloin.

These potatoes steam away in the coals while you grill the rest of your meal. If you're not eating them right away, keep them in their foil pouches and rewarm them on the grill or in a 350°F oven before serving.

Spatchcocking (or splitting and flattening) this Italian-flavored chicken before grilling helps it cook more quickly and evenly.

It's funny how family sayings get picked up by friends. When I was around ten and my sister was about five, we were acting up at the dinner table. My daddy had worked a long hard day, and when he couldn't take another minute of our shenanigans, he pushed his chair back, folded his dinner napkin, and left the table. Totally unaffected by his frustration, my innocent little sister immediately piped up: "Can I have Daddy's pork chop?" I've often told friends that funny tale over the years. Now when I serve pork chops and someone wants seconds they'll chime in, "Can I have Daddy's pork chop?"

The Zuni roast chicken depends on three things, beginning with the small size of the bird. Don't substitute a jumbo roaster—it will be too lean and won't tolerate high heat, which is the second requirement of the method. Small chickens, 2-3/4 to 3-1/2 pounds, flourish at high heat, roasting quickly and evenly, and, with lots of skin per ounce of meat, they are virtually designed to stay succulent. Your store may not promote this size for roasting, but let them know you'd like it. I used to ask for a whole fryer, but since many people don't want to cut up their own chickens for frying (or anything else), those smaller birds rarely make it to the display case intact; most are sacrificed to the "parts" market. But it is no secret that a whole fryer makes a great roaster—it's the size of bird favored for popular spit-roasted chickens to-go. It ought to return to retail cases. The third requirement is salting the bird at least 24 hours in advance. This improves flavor, keeps it moist, and makes it tender. We don't bother trussing the chicken—I want as much skin as possible to blister and color. And we don't rub the chicken with extra fat, trusting its own skin to provide enough. But if the chicken is about method, the bread salad is more about recipe. Sort of a scrappy extramural stuffing, it is a warm mix of crispy, tender, and chewy chunks of bread, a little slivered garlic and scallion, a scatter of currants and pine nuts, and a handful of greens, all moistened with vinaigrette and chicken drippings.

Don't forget to set your clocks forward on Sunday—and don't forget to infuse vodka with rosemary now so that you can enjoy this citrusy cocktail then.

Toasted breadcrumbs, tossed with horseradish and rosemary, give this rich, filling pasta a vibrant finishing touch.

These fluffy pancakes get an extra dose of nutrition (not to mention serious crunch) from a combination of poppy and sunflower seeds. Use any citrus you like for the batter, but we're especially fond of how oranges pair with the rosemary-infused maple syrup. All-purpose flour may be substituted for spelt, however we love the unique nuttiness that spelt brings to this recipe.