Maple Pear Upside Down Cake

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This is one of those desserts that looks fancier than it is (especially if you take a little time with the pear arranging), which I think is often what you want on Thanksgiving: something impressive that’s not going to kill you. It’s also great at room temperature, so you don’t need to stress about any last-minute timing.

Poached Pears with Star Anise and Ginger Crème Anglaise

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This is a recipe I worked on with Jean-Georges Vongerichten (which is why it sounds so elegant). But really, this is a simple dish: pears simmered in sugar syrup that’s infused with the kind of warm, cozy spices that seem to belong in Thanksgiving food. The crème anglaise is a suitably impressive touch, though if you want to take the path of least resistance mix some finely chopped crystallized ginger into vanilla ice cream and serve the pears with that.

Apple Cider Doughnuts

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Probably the only thing more autumnal than apple cider doughnuts is Thanksgiving itself. These two deserve each other, but seldom (if ever) get paired up because a) many of us think of doughnuts as breakfast instead of dessert, and b) frying our own doughnuts feels daunting. Nevertheless, they are such a treat and totally doable, especially if you give the job to someone else!

Spiced Rice Pudding

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The term comfort food is overused. But not here: rice pudding is soothing, it’s creamy and not overpoweringly rich. Rice pudding is also incredibly divisive (people tend to either love it or hate it), so if yours is one of those Thanksgivings where the liberal and conservative parts of your family just argue the whole night no matter what, this could very well be the perfect dessert.

Pumpkin Parfait

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This dessert is perfect for harried Thanksgiving cooks. There’s no baking involved and it requires minimal work, most of which you can do ahead of time. All you really need is some freezer space (for the pumpkin purée) and maybe a helper to assist in layering the parfaits (that unruly kid who’s terrorizing your living room will be perfect; use plastic cups).

Slow-Cooked Brussels Sprouts with Lemongrass

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Aside from cranberry sauce, most Thanksgiving foods are desperately lacking in bright flavors. If you want to mitigate that, try these Brussels sprouts, which use the Malaysian technique of boiling down coconut milk until all that remains is coconut oil and milk solids. I know it’s outside the box, but surprising flavors (lemongrass, lime, turmeric, ginger, chiles) can be such a welcome presence on the Thanksgiving table.

Buttery Roasted Carrots

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This technique is dead simple. I take a lump of butter—and then, sometimes, another lump of butter—and put it in a pan on the stove while the oven heats. I trim and scrub the carrots. I roll them in the melted butter, add a healthy amount of salt, and put the pan in the oven. Now and then, I turn them. Sometimes, when I’m feeling gluttonous (Thanksgiving certainly qualifies), I put in more butter.

Raw Beet Salad with Fennel

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I’m a BIG fan of salad at Thanksgiving. Something light, bright, and crisp to balance all the richness? (Maybe it’s un-American, but it seems like a good idea). This version, with thinly sliced raw beets and fennel, gets you all of that without having to wave the white flag and serve lettuce.

Brussels Sprouts Salad

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What’s usually the crunchiest thing on the Thanksgiving table? Stuffing crust, maybe? A turkey wing if you’re lucky? Point is, it’s kind of soft meal; not a ton of different textures happening. That’s why raw Brussels sprouts can be a welcome change of pace. The trick is to shred them finely, “bruise” them a bit, and dress them at least an hour before serving. The longer the salad sits, the softer and milder tasting the leaves become.

Potato and Horseradish Gratin

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In this recipe that I learned from Jean-Georges Vongerichten, horseradish (which loses most of its potency when heated) gives classic potato gratin a gentle kick in the ass. The trick is finding fresh horseradish—and then peeling and slicing it (some people wear goggles, not a terrible idea).

45-Minute Roast Turkey

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This novel approach to roasting the Thanksgiving turkey allows you to cut the cooking time of the average turkey by about 75 percent while still presenting an attractive bird. Simply cut out the backbone (it’s not that difficult, but you can ask your butcher to do it for you) and spread the bird out flat before roasting.

Grill-Roasted Turkey with Smoky Cumin Salt

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Grilling a whole turkey for Thanksgiving is a wonderful break with tradition, with the added benefit of freeing up the oven. Trussing or stuffing the turkey will impede the airflow into the cavity and mess with the results so please do neither.

Sweet Potato Enchiladas with Red Mole

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Mole is a group of classic slow-cooked Mexican sauces that get their rich, deep flavor from a long list of ingredients (including chocolate, nuts, seeds, herbs, chiles, and more). It isn’t time-consuming once everything is assembled, but I’d still consider this a special occasion dish.
Serve with sliced white or red radishes, sliced avocado, chopped fresh tomatoes or tomatillos, shredded lettuce, sour cream or crema, and/or toasted pumpkin seeds.

Panfried Cheese

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Some form of panfried cheese exists in every dairy-consuming cuisine, with the technique remaining much the same and the cheese changing.

No-Knead Bread

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Since Jim Lahey and I first shared this innovation — the word “recipe” does not do the technique justice — in the New York Times in 2006, thousands of people have made it. For many, it was their first foray into bread baking, the one that showed that the process isn’t scary, although the end result is so good that experienced bakers too have tried and fallen in love with it.

This recipe came from Jim Lahey, the owner of Sullivan Street Bakery in New York City who created a way to make a spectacular loaf at home — with a crackling crust, open-holed crumb, light texture, and fantastic flavor — all with next to no hands-on time.

A wet dough and slow fermentation are the keys to success; almost by magic, they take the place of kneading. You’ll also notice the unique baking method — a heated covered pot — which creates essentially an oven within an oven to trap steam as the bread bakes. I’m not kidding when I say the results will blow your mind.

The only thing required is forethought. Ideally, you will start the dough about 24 hours before you plan to eat it; you can cut that to 12 and even 9 (see the first variation below), but you’ll be sacrificing some of the yeasty flavor and open crumb.

Fastest Chicken Parm

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This take on the classic couldn’t be easier: Instead of dredging and panfrying, just stack the ingredients in two stages on a baking sheet and broil. Done this way, the tomatoes get lightly roasted and the bread crumbs stay nice and crunchy. (For eggplant like this, see the variations.)

Pasta with Winter Squash and Tomatoes

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If we’re being truthful, this sweater weather recipe should really be called “winter squash and tomatoes with pasta,” as the 2 pounds of squash far outweigh the ½ pound of penne it calls for. I think that’s a good thing. Every single piece of pasta gets a generous coating of sauce, and there’s even some left behind after the pasta is long gone. That’s what bread is for.

Miso-Carrot Sauce with Ginger

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This colorful dressing is the high-quality version of the goopy stuff they put on salads in many Japanese restaurants. I make it in the food processor, but if you prefer something smoother, just throw everything in a blender. Use this as a salad dressing, but also on warm or chilled chickpeas or edamame. Or toss a few spoonfuls into any plain cooked whole grain.

Granola with Whipped Coconut Cream

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You can sweeten this granola with honey or maple syrup. Whatever you choose, the whipped coconut cream (vegan, but in a triumphant way; scroll down for the recipe) is a nice finishing touch.

Poached Eggs

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Some technical notes: Ragged edges don’t bother me so I rarely bother to trim the edges with scissors, as some cooks do. I also no longer bother trying to rein in the whites with vinegar, since I can taste it.