Thanksgiving

Fresh orange juice always makes the best cranberry relish. Zest whole oranges before squeezing them for juice.

Active time: 10 min Start to finish: 2 1/4 hr

This delicious stuffing is similar to a savory bread pudding. It's best baked alongside, rather than inside, the bird.

This recipe can be doubled and baked in a 13x9x2-inch baking dish.

Frozen desserts seem especially festive — and no less refreshing — in the cooler months.

Active time: 1 hr Start to finish: 5 hr

The porcini mushroom soaking liquid moistens this stuffing from Rochelle Palermo Torres.

Butternut is one of my favorite squashes. We often bake a small butternut squash (about 1 pound) at home; we split it lengthwise, seed it, score the flesh with a knife, sprinkle on a little salt, and bake, skin side down, for 1 hour in a 400-degree oven. Excellent in soup and pureed, butternut squash is always welcome at our table. This gratin is quite rich and should be reserved for special occasions, like Thanksgiving.

Active time: 40 min Start to finish: 3 hr The walnuts in this recipe aren't crucial to its success — some of us like these buns with nuts, others prefer them without. So the choice is yours.

Beverly's Grandma Stoll lived in Deep River, Connecticut, and her whole family converged on her house during the holidays. They all have taken the recipe with them wherever they moved. My Southern friends love this variation to their traditional turkey dinner because of the natural, down-home, unexotic flavors of the dressing. Beverly use the liver, but I don't .

For convenience, you can begin making the crust up to two days before you plan to serve the pie. Maple sugar is available at some supermarkets and at natural foods stores.

Instead of serving coffee, alter the usual dessert routine by offering a glass of Cognac or dry Sherry with these apples.

For best results, make this stuffing with day-old Buttermilk Corn Bread.

Traditional flavors (honey and orange) and contemporary ones (cumin and chilies) come together in the glaze, which also gives the gravy some heat and zip. See how to carve a turkey.

Think custardy maple flan paired with crisp cookies.

Candied, or crystallized, ginger is peeled fresh ginger root that has been cooked in a sugar syrup and coated with sugar.