Thanksgiving

Marrying textures and tastes to one another is one of the most satisfying pleasures of cooking: the soft with the crisp, the steamily hot with the icily cold, the spicy with the mint cool. I somehow had a feeling that crisp crumbs might work well with the soft, collapsing flesh of a squash. They do, but are more interesting when the crumbs are not packed on top like a crumble but lightly scattered over and between the pieces of squash.

Luscious persimmon fruits blow in and out of markets in late fall. They grow wild in North America—I’ve found them while foraging in Maryland—but the native species is small and astringent. The two kinds found in stores are cultivars from Asia. Hachiyas are oval-shaped and must be completely soft, all the way down to the base, before being eaten. Fuyus, which look like flat tomatoes, are eaten firm. If you can wait until it ripens, the Hachiya has more flavor, but the Fuyu works just as well in this recipe.

Even though peaches are considered the quintessential Southern fruit, the phrase “as American as apple pie” applies to the South, too. Apples grow in the cooler mountainous regions from Georgia to Virginia. There is no longer an issue with refrigeration, but apples were an important fruit for people in the country who lived off the land. When held in a cool cellar, apples lasted for months, providing much needed vitamins and nutrition in the winter. Many factors affect an apple’s juiciness: the age of the apple, the weather and climate where it was grown, and how it has been stored. In a pie, there’s sometimes a fine line between juicy and sopping wet. Flour is one ingredient that will help absorb some of the cooking juices. This is my sister’s favorite dessert and she always requests it on special occasions.

Too many pecan pies are mostly goo without enough pecans, making them far too sweet. The secret to the success of this pie is that its pecan-to-goo ratio is just right. As a child, I helped Mama make this pie. It was my job to help her coarsely grind the nuts. She still uses a hand-held grinder; it has a crank that forces the nuts through two opposing forklike blades and a glass jar to catch the nut pieces. The metal top that screws into the glass jar is bent and dinged, but the tool still coarsely cuts the nuts just right.

At Thanksgiving Meme always prepared her dressing on the side, as opposed to stuffing her turkey. Although there are exceptions, it seems most Southerners “dress” instead of “stuff.” I’ve taken a few liberties with Meme’s recipe, adding brioche and panko. It’s okay to use store-bought cornbread, but make sure it is not sweet. Typically, Southern cornbread is savory and rich with the taste of corn, with no sugar added. Sweet cornbread produces a dressing that’s just not quite right. This dish is another in the book that serves more than the four to six people, and is best for larger gatherings of friends and family. It can be halved, or divided into two smaller pans—one to cook now, the other to wrap tightly in plastic and freeze for later use. After thawing to room temperature, cook as directed.

The first time Mama and I brined a turkey, it was a revelation. The bird emerged from the oven glistening and a rich, golden brown, like the glorious totemic beast from the Rockwell painting. Meme didn’t brine her bird, so I have taken a little liberty with this recipe. Let’s just say it’s the spirit of Meme with a dash of revised technique. We have never stuffed the bird in our family, but if the turkey is stuffed, make sure the temperature reaches 160°F in the center of the stuffing. When the stuffed turkey is done, remove it from the oven and let the turkey with stuffing stand for 15 minutes. This standing time allows the stuffing temperature to climb to 165°F, for an added measure of safety.

Meme made a paste of mustard, brown sugar, and sometimes Coca-Cola when she baked a ham. She baked it in a heatproof oven bag to avoid having a messy pan to scrub. Adding bourbon, which I use here, would have never crossed her mind. Only when she baked fruitcake was she anywhere near a bottle of bourbon. She and her neighbor, Cousin Eunice, would drive to the liquor store every November to acquire the spirits for the holiday baking—she would have never gone by herself.

Not that long ago, for most of America, “cheese” meant pre-sliced singles wrapped in plastic, or insipidly flavored orange wheels produced in America’s heartland. Any cheeses considered “gourmet” were imported from Europe. Fortunately, artisanal cheesemaking is now thriving all over the country, including the South. I love the fresh goat cheese from the Wehner family’s Green Hill Dairy and Sweet Grass Dairy in Thomasville, Georgia. Their cows and goats roam freely in the woods and graze in lush, green pastures. This idyllic existence, the family maintains, makes them so content that they produce the most delicious milk, which, in turn, makes the best cheese. Sweet, roasted Bosc pears, tender baby arugula, and mild creamy goat cheese make this simple, elegant salad sing.

Hearty winter root vegetables take well to long hours in the slow cooker. Turnips or rutabagas can be substituted for the parsnips in this easy slow-cooker classic. For a richer flavor, treat yourself to a bit of cream.

I love pumpkin in just about any form, but put it in a cake with cream cheese frosting, and there’s no holding me back. This cake is perfect to bring to a hang-out night with your friends or for you and your roomies to munch on for dessert. Or breakfast! Hey, pumpkin is a fruit and cake has grain and dairy products . . . sounds like breakfast to me.

I know that bars may sound old-fashioned, but they’re just like cookies and they’re a lot faster to make. These bars are like pecan pie with a thicker crust and less filling so you can eat them with your hands. If you are making these for a special occasion, it looks cool if you use pecan halves instead of chopped pecans and arrange them in rows on top of the filling.

The arrival of cranberries in the fall magically coincides with the holiday food shopping frenzy. A wonder of nature? Or just good timing? Regardless, I’m happy whenever I find cranberries in abundance. Their flavor is invigorating and restorative, which is probably why they’re so popular around the time of year when many of us could use help after overindulging in copious holiday feasts.

This recipe uses canned pumpkin rather than home-cooked fresh pumpkin simply because the moisture content is consistent and no one wants to take any chances with a cheesecake after spending all that money on cream cheese. This is a fantastic holiday recipe, and as with regular cheesecakes, the secret to great results is to begin with all the ingredients at room temperature and to not overbeat the filling.

The literal translation of the name of this drink is “the Virgin’s tears,” as the red color of the beets resembles tears of blood said to have been shed by the Virgin Mary. This beverage originated in the state of Guanajuato, maybe as long ago as the end of the sixteenth century. I found a few different variations, but this one seemed to be the most common, and it’s quite special. Although this beverage is customarily prepared during Lent for the festivities of Friday of Sorrows (the Friday before Good Friday), it’s a wonderful drink during fall, when beets and apples abound. This recipe makes a large batch to share at your next gathering.

Here’s a picture-perfect apple pie—filled mile high with juicy apples. Sprouted spelt flour makes the crust unbelievably flaky and easy to work with. Serve it hot with a generous helping of vanilla ice cream and listen to the raves. For a vegan version, use butter substitute instead of butter, and serve with Soy Vanilla Ice Cream (page 83).

This refreshing apple pie is made with enzyme-rich raw apples and contains no fat. Completely fat-free, dairy-free, egg-free, sugar-free, and wheat-free—it’s totally guilt-free.

This is a new take on an old favorite. Dates add great flavor and texture to the creamy spiced filling in this vegan pie. The nutty pecan crust is the perfect contrast to the velvety smooth pumpkin filling. Don’t wait until Thanksgiving to try this one!

This is favorite autumn recipe that I like to serve at Halloween or Thanksgiving get-togethers. The little ones just love these moist, spicy cupcakes. They’re delicious with fat-free yogurt frosting, too.

Pecan pie is usually off-limits to me: it’s full of corn syrup, which nutritionally speaking is a recipe for disaster. These Pecan Pie Squares, served warm, have the same rich, nutty taste with a fraction of the fat and no refined sugars.

When I was in college, I always loved coming home at the holidays—in part because of my mother’s pumpkin pie. I still love pumpkin, as does my husband, so this recipe is for him. I was looking for something that could deliver that awesome pumpkin taste without a fat-laden crust, and the homey familiarity of custard provided a perfect vehicle.