European

Slowly cooking the pasta risotto-style by ladling hot broth over it allows the shells to soak up all of the broth's aroma and results in a velvety, creamy texture. The bitter bite of the greens adds just enough edge.

Though this famous pub dish—usually made with Cheddar—is known for its lack of meat, a slice of high-quality ham adds another layer of deliciousness.

Here's an idea: Save a few of the toasted pumpkin seeds to use as a garnish. That little bit of extra crunch will complement the sweet, succulent squash beautifully.

Floating on the surface of this pale, silky soup, which tastes of the essence of parsley, is a trompe l'oeil surprise: What looks like shaved truffles is actually thinly sliced chestnuts, adding a nutty sweetness.

These have the lively crisp exterior and cloudlike interior you expect from a gougère, but with an incredibly intense combination of smoky bacon, roasted corn, and extra-sharp Cheddar.

Cranberries are a rarity, even to this day, in Italy, so this crostata represents an achievement that's uniquely Italian-American. Though many crostatas employ jam, this one gets its zest from fresh cranberries cooked down and paired with an almond-scented crust—and the proportion of filling to crust is our idea of perfection.

This gently sweet ricotta tart provides a creamy base to a rich compote of dried fruit, which includes figs, sour cherries, and apricots (we much prefer the tangy California kind over Turkish). It's much lighter than a cheesecake, but it hits all the right spots. The Miraglia family likes the tart chilled, but we also loved it at room temperature.

You've encountered a million potato-bacon-cheese combos in your lifetime, but in retrospect they all seem to be rehearsals for this one, a classic of Miraglia Eriquez's Calabrian grandmother Mary Pacella, who immigrated to Brooklyn in 1934. Crispness abounds, from the bacon to the slight crust on the roasted potatoes, yielding to creamy, very potatoey interiors.

Italians are crazy for dark leafy greens of all kinds, and Swiss chard is a particular favorite in the fall. Here, with stems and ribs included, you get the full earthy spectrum of the vegetable.

Pasta at Thanksgiving? Even the most epic of meals in Italy will never skip the crucial primo course, and Italians in America make no exception. Though a bit of prosciutto underlines the savoriness of the tomato sauce, the dish is still light enough to take the edge off that holiday hunger without filling everyone up.

Only a culture that loves food could have come up with multiple techniques for cooking the cardoon—this thistle (a cousin of the artichoke that also tastes like one) with the texture of overgrown celery requires meticulous preparation. But the fact that Italians and Italian-Americans alike scour the markets for it come fall is evidence enough that it's worth it. A light coating and deep-frying really enhance the vegetable's subtle flavor.

This recipe was created by chef Traci Des Jardins of San Francisco's Jardinière. It's part of a special menu she created for Epicurious's Wine.Dine.Donate program.

These irresistible nibbles are at their best served within minutes of deep-frying. If that seems like a little much for Thanksgiving dinner, you can fry them up to 4 hours ahead and warm them up in the broiler or microwave as your guests arrive. You could also serve them at room temperature, though they won't be quite as crispy on the outside and creamy in the center.

Chestnuts play deliciously against roasted grapes. Roasted chestnuts in jars can be found at some supermarkets, at specialty foods stores, and online at markys.com or mastercaviar.com.

The small potatoes known as fingerlings have a sweet, buttery flavor. Small redskinned potatoes would work well, too.

Salty Italian bacon flavors both the turkey and the gravy. Does it get any better?

A great way to use the liver from your Thanksgiving turkey. (The turkey liver alone won't be enough—you'll have to mix in a few chicken livers.)