Thanksgiving

Truth be told, it’s hard to reinvent the Thanksgiving wheel year after year. But this crust—anise seeds baked into sweet pastry dough—is a little kiss of Italian spice; it takes pumpkin pie to a whole new level.

Throw everything in the pan, and voilà! Cranberry sauce. It’s just five ingredients simmering on the stove, but it tastes beguilingly complex. Tangerine juice and zest, fresh ginger, and plump golden raisins add a citrusy, spicy sweetness to tart, bursting cranberries.

Made from an amber dessert wine, Moscatel vinegar has apricot overtones and a faint, complex acidity. When food editor Maggie Ruggiero, who developed this menu, discovered it, she called it her “white-balsamic-vinegar fantasy” and was dying to use it in something. Parsnips were in season, and their earthiness paired beautifully with this vinegar. In this easy agrodolce, the parsnips become caramelized and infused with an intriguing sweetness.

We took a regular apple-pie recipe and sweetened the filling with Mexican piloncillo, an unrefined brown sugar. What a difference a sugar makes. This one has a lot of character and adds syrupy molasses notes to a blend of sweet and tart apples.

When food editor Shelley Wiseman was asked to develop a recipe for an over-the-top turkey, she began by rubbing truffle butter under its skin. "It’s a cheap shot," she admitted, "but it’s damn delicious." We all agreed—it’s the best turkey most of us have ever tasted. The butter, an excellent carrier of that unmistakable truffle flavor, moistens the turkey’s meat and crisps its skin during a high-heat roast. For this splendid centerpiece, a nuanced French shallot-wine sauce is just the thing.

Cranberries, pears, and apples form a sweetly irresistible autumn trinity beneath a crisp oat topping.

This is no ordinary turkey. Food editor Lillian Chou blended toasted guajillo and ancho chiles with a range of spices and aromatics to create a brick-red adobo sauce that seasons both the bird and its gravy. After a long marinate, the adobo permeates the bird's juicy meat during roasting. The resulting turkey features a savory complexity heightened by the accompanying red-chile gravy.

Anyone who swears by wet stuffing is likely to sidle over to the dry camp after a taste of this Thanksgiving classic. Beneath a crunchy crust is an amalgam of yielding bread, meaty chestnuts, and softened celery, apple, and leeks.

The Thanksgiving turkey conundrum: How to keep the breast meat from drying out while the dark meat finishes cooking? By roasting a bone-in turkey breast by itself, we've eliminated the stress and cut the cooking time by several hours. What you get is perfectly moist, tender white meat with crisp, salty skin—all in under an hour. If you don't have time to make the gravy, skip it. This succulent bird doesn't need it.

Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are excerpted from Crescent Dragonwagon's book Passionate Vegetarian. Dragonwagon also shared some helpful cooking tips exclusively with Epicurious, which we've added at the bottom of the page. This is my favorite Thanksgiving stuffing — in fact, this is my only Thanksgiving stuffing. I've made it for at least twenty-five years, and it's always pleased me, friends, family, and inn guests. To my taste, it wouldn't be right with margarine or oil, just butter. But probably it wouldn't be bad with less fat or a different one. I make the vegetarian version with vegetable stock, for use in a pumpkin; when I cooked at the inn, where the majority of the guests were meat eaters, I also did a batch with turkey stock. I dedicate this recipe to the memory of Sondra Krecker, a friend from my earliest years in Eureka Springs. Every Thanksgiving as I make it I hear her telling me again, earnestly, "You have to toast it dry, bone dry, hard dry." You'll need to do a lot of tossing and tasting to get the seasonings just right. Stuffing can be made ahead of time, but don't stuff it into the pumpkin until you're ready to bake it.

Many corn bread dressings are made with sausage, but because those dressings tend to be greasy, I prefer a good lean bacon cooked until crisp and brown. This dressing is fairly light—not too moist, not too dry. I always bake it separately because I think this method safer. If you want to stuff the bird, do so just before you shove it into the oven. Spoon the dressing lightly into the body and neck cavities, then truss the bird. If there's extra dressing—and there usually is—bundle it in aluminum foil and bake 30 to 35 minutes at 350°F. It's important to make the corn bread a day or two before you use it. I split it horizontally, spread it on a baking sheet, and let stand at room temperature, turning the pieces several times as they dry. I also set the slices of white bread out to dry. Note: To toast the pecans, spread in a jelly- roll pan or rimmed baking sheet, then set on the middle shelf of a 350°F. oven for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring well at half-time.

To many Southerners, green beans are "snap beans" because they "snap" when you break them. This recipe, my own, combines three southern favorites: green beans, mustard, and country ham. I like these beans best with roast turkey, grilled or roast chicken. But they're equally delicious with pork chops or roast pork. Some southern supermarkets sell biscuit slices, slim rounds of country ham ready to cook and slip into biscuits. Others sell country ham by the piece or the pound. If it's not available in your area, you can order it from thevirginiacompany.com. Note: Because of the saltiness of the ham, the mustard, and the broth, these beans are unlikely to need additional salt. But taste before serving and adjust as needed.

A pretty centerpiece dessert that's a cross between a trifle and tiramisù. To give the flavors time to meld, you’ll need to put the trifle together at least one day ahead, but it tastes best when made two days ahead. Any leftover praline would be terrific sprinkled over ice cream.

A light variation that’s a nice counterpoint to the many rich dishes on the Thanksgiving table.

In this fun take on pumpkin pie, a little whisky really puts the "Scotch" in butterscotch.

A refreshingly tart version of classic cranberry sauce. If you want it sweeter, just add more sugar.

Lime juice gives these simply lovely carrots bright flavor.

Cinnamon, cardamom, allspice, and cloves give this crème brûlée a spicy kick.

Quickly candied grapefruit peel adds a fresh zing.