Root Vegetable

While the turkey rests, take 15 minutes to whip up this simple, timeless preparation.

Celery root, also known as celeriac, has a knobby exterior that is best peeled (carefully!) with a paring knife.

The Reid family crumbles blue cheese on top to add a salty bite.

A high-in-folate parsnip looks like a funky carrot, but this root veggie is sweeter and slightly nutty.

Look for kohlrabi, a mildly sweet purple or green vegetable in the cabbage family, at better supermarkets. For a creamier, smoother purée, pass the boiled ingredients twice through a potato ricer or food mill.

The addition of airy brioche gives this aromatic spiced stuffing a less dense texture than most holiday casseroles.

Editor's note: Use this recipe to make Black Rice with Squid .

• Picada is an aromatic sauce traditionally used in Catalan cuisine as a base flavoring for many dishes. It is also often added toward the end of cooking.
• Picada will keep for 1 week in the fridge or 6 months in the freezer.

Editor's note: Use this recipe to make Black Rice with Squid . -Sofrito is a basic preparation of tomatoes, garlic, oil, and onions that forms the base of many traditional Spanish dishes.
-The sauce will keep for 5 days in the fridge or 6 months in the freezer.

In winter, the section of our cupboard devoted to onions seems to grow exponentially, filled with all forms of eye-dripping lovelies: red and white onions, shallots, massive white-bulbed scallions. Grilling a sack of onions down to a cereal bowl of caramelized noodles is a rare fall pleasure. And few pillars of French cooking are as widely and voraciously loved as scalding hot onion soup cloaked in a blistering layer of melted Gruyère. But like with many epic dishes canonized by the cuisine of rural folk, vegetarians usually remain wholly uninvited. So how does one mitigate the beef stock in every single recipe of the gooiest of soups? Our "ah-ha moment" was beer. After trying small batches of all three colors of the proverbial tricolore (blue, white, and red) we settled on Chimay Blue, a dubbel style beer that's become a household name for boozers. This so-called grande réserve, or any other basic dubbel, is a super substitute for the essence of animal gore. The malts and sugars play on your tongue in a way that's strikingly similar to the flavor of liquefied fat and tendon.

Black beans are a tasty nonmeat source of iron, which is key to high energy and strong immunity.

Customize this one to your liking, from the fillings to the doneness.

Look for shichimi togarashi, a Japanese seasoning mix, at Japanese markets and savoryspiceshop.com.

For the softest dough, use a potato ricer or simply mash the potatoes until smooth.

Fried capers lend a light, salty crunch to these addictive little bites.

You'll want to pickle the beets a day ahead.

Inspired by a recipe from chef Francis Mallmann, author of Seven Fires (Artisan), these crisp-tender potatoes are redolent of bay leaves. Roast them 1 to 2 hours before the party starts and serve at room temperature, or rewarm just before serving.

The perfect crunchy potato chips—at home.

Slow-roasted cauliflower gives this creamy, elegant soup its incredible depth of flavor.