Thanksgiving

Any leftovers would be great for breakfast.

This dish showcases both red- and tan-skinned sweet potatoes.

Two quintessential autumn ingredients—sage and cider—flavor this turkey-gravy combo.

If sweet yams are a must for your thanksgiving spread, this dish is the one for you. There are no marshmallows in this modern version—just plump brandied raisins and a maple and brown sugar glaze.

A little bit of clementine peel adds a citrus note to the turkey. The smoky, slightly bitter southern-style gravy is terrific drizzled over the meat or over mashed potatoes. For a pretty garnish, decorate the platter with whole clementines.

This deep-dish crumb-topped pie combines several winter fruits and confirms that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. The pears become soft, the apples remain slightly firm, the figs add texture and sweetness, and the tart cranberries pop in your mouth, making this rustic pie a sensory treat. Be sure to plan ahead, as this recipe calls for chilling the dough for one hour, chilling it again after you roll it out (this reduces shrinkage of the crust during baking), and then baking the pie for over an hour. It is an hours-long process, off and on, but it is worth every minute. Served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a glass of apple or pear brandy (preferably from Clear Creek Distillery), it is the perfect final touch to a dinner party.

This gratin, which is delicious with roast chicken or pork chops, employs a favorite technique: cooking vegetables covered with a round of parchment paper placed directly on them, rather than with a lid. This low-tech method allows just enough steam to escape while keeping the vegetables—leeks, in this case—perfectly moist. A bit of lemon zest helps balance the gratin's richness.

Editor's note: Use this brine to make Diane Morgan's Juniper-Brined Roast Turkey with Chanterelle Mushroom Gravy There are two reasons I am very specific about the salt called for in this recipe. First, I want to use a salt that is 100 percent sodium chloride, without any additives such as calcium silicate, an anti-caking agent, or potassium iodide, a nutritional supplement, both of which I find detract from the salt's flavor. Second, salts have widely varying densities; for example, 2/3 cup of Diamond Crystal salt weighs 3 ounces (85 grams) while 2/3 cup of Morton's kosher salt weighs 5.25 ounces (149 grams), and the same volume of Morton's table salt weighs 6.5 ounces (185 grams)—more than double the weight of the Diamond Crystal! As a result, a brine using table salt may be more than twice as salty as one using the same amount of Diamond Crystal. Now readily available in the spice section of most supermarkets and gourmet grocers, Diamond Crystal is packaged in a bright red box with black lettering. You can substitute any brand of salt, as long as it is pure sodium chloride and you use a weight of 3 ounces (irrespective of volume).

When it comes to dessert, I am a chocoholic first and fruit-pie lover second; but after several test batches to perfect this cake, I am completely won over, and so is everyone who has tasted it. This is simply a spectacular cake—moist and light with spiced pumpkin flavor and sweet bites of coconut and pineapple. In addition, it is a snap to make. It requires two 9-inch cake pans to make the layers, but the cake itself can be mixed together with a rubber spatula and bowl. If all the cake ingredients are pre-measured and the cake pans prepared, this can be a fun kitchen project to do with children, especially since it can be made ahead and frozen.

Living in the Pacific Northwest, with our bounty of berries, tree-ripened fruits, hazelnuts, and wild mushrooms, makes going to the farmers' market feel like a season-long treasure hunt. I'm especially rewarded when I stop at the mushroom forager's stand and see a basket chock-full of chanterelle mushrooms. At the peak of the season, I buy fresh chanterelles and use them as often as I can, as in this golden-hued mushroom gravy accompaniment to the holiday bird.

Editor's note: Use these instructions to make Diane Morgan's Juniper-Brined Roast Turkey with Chanterelle Mushroom Gravy This method involves brining the bird in turkey oven bags set in a roasting pan. The roasting pan will fit on 1 shelf in the refrigerator, saving critical space.

This spinach salad speaks to all the wonderful autumnal flavors of the Pacific Northwest. The new crop of bronzed Bosc pears is piled high at the farmers' market; the hazelnuts have been harvested, shelled, and bagged for sale; and the cranberries arrive from the Long Beach, Washington, coastal bogs. I buy sweetened dried cranberries from a local producer, but they are readily available at the grocery store (Ocean Spray is a good-quality packager), found alongside raisins and other dried fruits. This salad is a snap to assemble if you buy the packaged prewashed and trimmed baby spinach.

Don't recycle corrugated cardboard—reuse it! Cut, and tied with raffia, it makes fun, texturally interesting napkin rings and adds a creative touch to a plain vase. Add autumn-hued fresh or dried flowers to complete the project.

Golden Delicious apples hold their shape even when baked at a hot temperature and wrapped in puff pastry. Their honeyed flavor adds just the right amount of sweetness to balance these slightly savory turnovers.

A flaky phyllo crust, layered with butter and a pumpkin pie–spice sugar forms the crust for this silky well-spiced pie.

An assortment of apple varieties adds complexity to this nicely spiced apple pie. The Pink Lady apples are just slightly tart with hints of raspberry and kiwi. Pippins are firm with crisp and tart flavors. And Golden Delicious apples (a classic choice for pies) have a juicy texture and honeyed sweetness.

No southern holiday meal would be complete without sweet potatoes, and this simple twist on old-fashioned candied yams, with the addition of molasses and an orange's juice and zest, tastes bright and full of nuance.

Classic shape plus not-so-classic flavors gives these rolls an element of surprise. That’s not to say the wintry blend of pumpkin and orange is overpowering; it’s actually very subtle, so the rolls go with just about anything you put on the dinner table. Leftovers would be awfully good slathered with butter and toasted for breakfast.

Who knew rolls could be so, well, adorable? But of course looks aren’t everything: They’ve got substance, too, with a satisfyingly salty crust—flaky sea salt has fantastic texture—embracing an enjoyably chewy, pretzel-like interior.

In an attempt to simplify hash browns, we spread superthin slices of buttered Yukon Golds in a casserole and baked them in the oven. They came out equal parts tender spuds and crisp golden top—a delicious cross between scalloped potatoes and homemade chips.