Dinner
8856 recipes found
Min Jin Lee’s Corn Pudding
I was 24 years old when I married Chris, and his grandfather’s old friend Tony and his elegant wife, Sue, invited us newlyweds to their Fifth Avenue apartment for dinner. The meal was terrific, but in particular, I loved the corn pudding. The recipe was from Sue’s friend, and that friend had attributed it to someone named Babs. In my mind, Babs is Anonymous — that unheralded and unacknowledged writer of all reliable recipes we turn to when we are desperate for something tasty, easy and budget conscious. The original recipe was for half the volume, but because absolutely everyone at Thanksgiving likes it so darn much, I now double it for ease. Lastly, corn was the generous gift of the Wampanoag to the starving Pilgrims, and when I make it, I remember the history of the Indigenous people, Sue and Tony, and of course, Babs.
Stephen and Evie Colbert’s Beef Wellington
Every year you fret over keeping the turkey juicy. You dry brine; you wet brine; you slather with butter over and under the skin; you baste lovingly. But if you're the one with the anxiety, why does the bird get the spa treatment? With the help of this recipe from our cookbook, “Does This Taste Funny?,” plus store-bought pastry and a good meat thermometer, beef Wellington can be a surprisingly easy and elegant centerpiece to your Thanksgiving table. Wrapped in its bundle of crust, that juicy flavor is all tucked in.
Saag Paneer Lasagna
While writing her cookbook “Amrikan” (W. W. Norton & Company, 2024), Khushbu Shah became convinced that a spinach lasagna could be greatly improved by swapping in the flavors of saag paneer for the filling. It’s a dish she jokingly refers to as “lasaagna.” Ms. Shah uses a saag base made with warm spices, spinach, cilantro and dried fenugreek leaves (which are optional but highly encouraged, and add a beautiful earthy note to the sauce), and then adds fistfuls of grated paneer for an extra punch of cheese. Many of the lasagna’s components may be made ahead (see Tips), making assembly a breeze, especially when making this dish for a dinner party or as a vegetarian meal during the holidays.
Ruth Reichl’s Turkey Chili
The year Thanksgiving moved to my house, my father confided that he hated turkey. “But," he added, “Thanksgiving without the national bird just doesn’t feel right.” My solution: turkey disguised as chili — a recipe I shared in “Save Me the Plums.” One bonus: this is a dish that gets better with a little age, so you can make it three days ahead.
Ayesha Curry’s Crab Mac and Cheese
It’s hard to improve upon macaroni and cheese, but adding crabmeat is one good way to do it. This dish, adapted from my cookbook, “The Full Plate” (Voracious, 2020), is so surprisingly satisfying, even though many cooks don’t typically pair seafood and cheese. I like to use small, shell-shaped pasta; the curves in the noodles act as traps for the creamy sauce. Without the crab added, this is still a great version of a classic, but the crab makes it extra special. Lobster would be good, too.
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Pear Salad
This salad featuring pan-roasted pears, hearty winter greens, Gouda cheese, and crunchy candied hazelnuts is complemented by a tart balsamic vinaigrette. It’s perfect to serve as a starter or even a light meal.
Dry-Brined Thanksgiving Turkey With Chiles
It’s time for Thanksgiving turkey to take center stage again with this hot, blazing sun of a bird, leaning as it does on the savory, sweet and hot complexity of peppers. North and South America’s delicious native crop is used in both fresh and dried forms here. Inspired by a recipe from Niya Bajaj, a home cook who shared her turkey formula through Instagram, this dish takes full advantage of the different peppers’ flavor and heat, and celebrates its journey across the world. Turkey this assertively spiced — with coolness from mint, savoriness from cumin and fire from chiles — tastes excellent with mashed potatoes, stuffing, green bean casserole and macaroni and cheese. Using a mix of chiles results in the most explosive taste, but be sure to warn your guests before they dive into the plate of turkey fat-confited peppers. Some might be blazing.
Maple-Roasted Squash With Charred Lemon
This colorful roasted squash dish is both bracing and sweet. Charred bits of lemon balance the maple syrup, which almost candies the squash as it roasts, while cardamom and coriander add a perfumed, sophisticated touch. Using a mix of winter squashes will give you the most interesting flavors and textures since they’re all a little different. Any combination of delicata, butternut, honey nut and kabocha works very well. The only variety to avoid is acorn, which has a starchier texture that doesn’t absorb the syrup as well as the others.
Turkey Stuffing Meatballs
The classic combo of turkey and stuffing, all rolled into one. These turkey meatballs use cubed bread as their binder. The bread is joined by olive oil, chicken stock, minced vegetables and seasonings to make them extra moist and flavorful. The meatballs come together much faster and easier than roasting a stuffed turkey, which makes them an easy win for when you have all the Thanksgiving leftovers except for turkey. Perfect for more than just Thanksgiving, these meatballs can be served with gravy and cranberry sauce, stuffed inside of a sandwich, on top of a salad, or as an appetizer. Feel free to swap ground turkey with chicken or pork and the bread cubes with packaged herb or cornbread stuffing or even any leftover stuffing if you have it.
Air-Fryer Turkey Breast
Succulent, flavorful turkey breast that cooks up in less than 45 minutes is possible with an air fryer. And with the air fryer method, no babysitting basting time is required. Starting with a simple dry rub infuses the turkey as it chills overnight, ensuring that every bite is tastier than the last. This super easy recipe is perfect for an oven-free Thanksgiving feast or for creating a week's worth of delicious turkey sandwiches.
Brussels Sprout Salad With Pomegranate and Pistachios
This autumnal side, inspired by tabbouleh, swaps the usual parsley and tomatoes for shaved brussels sprouts, scallions, chopped fresh mint, juicy pomegranate seeds and roasted pistachios, all tossed together in a tangy sumac-lemon dressing. The traditional bulgur remains, ensuring this salad has enough heft to stand out as a great vegan option at the Thanksgiving table and beyond, though the jeweled bowl is sure to attract omnivores, too. Perfect for potlucks, it can be assembled ahead of time, and, since it’s served at room temperature, it can easily be packed up and carried wherever you might be heading.
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Moong Dal
Spiced with turmeric and flavored with a fragrant onion and tomato masala, moong dal is an aromatic dish that’s a staple in many South Asian households, including mine.
Cornbread Stuffing With Esquites
Esquites are a Mexican antojito, or snack, sold in local markets and by street vendors across Mexico and the United States. Corn is typically cooked with an herb called epazote, onion and chiles and is served in cups or corn husks and topped with mayonnaise, dried chiles, queso and lime. Here, esquites amps up the corn flavor of a southern-style cornbread stuffing. Half of the corn mixture is added, along with chorizo, to toasted cornbread to make the stuffing, and the remaining esquites is used to top the finished dish. A drizzle of crema and a sprinkle of queso fresco and chile de árbol accent this fun and festive Thanksgiving side.
Cheddar-Smothered Sweet Potatoes
Even before getting cozy under a Cheddar blanket, these sweet potatoes are packed with flavor. They're tossed with butter, coated in spices, then placed in the oven without preheating. This allows them to warm up slowly, maximizing their sweetness and creamy texture. The tender sweet potato halves are then smothered in a thick, garlicky Cheddar sauce before broiling until bubbly and barely blackened. Serve as a side on your holiday table or as a main with a simple salad alongside.
Pumpkin Biscuits With Honey Butter
These moist, buttery, pumpkin-y biscuits are the perfect use for that last bit of pumpkin purée in the can. They boast crunchy tops, soft centers and a flavor that lands somewhere between sweet and savory. They come together in no time at all, with just a bowl and a spoon, and their cheery orange hue makes them a perfect addition to any holiday table. The biscuits are best warm from the oven but can be reheated in a low oven or toaster oven just before serving. Don’t forget the sweet and salty honey butter on the side, which makes these biscuits extra special.
Easy Roasted Carrots and Crispy Kale
Tender and sweet caramelized carrots and crisp-edged roasted kale make a delicious pair in this simple side. The two are roasted on every cook's favorite baking pan, a large rimmed baking sheet, also known as a half-sheet pan. The carrots get a little head start to make sure they are caramelized and sweet, and the kale is sliced thinly and massaged with oil and salt before cooking, ensuring that it roasts quickly and procures some prized crispy edges that contrast nicely with the tender carrots. A squeeze of lemon at the end brightens the whole dish.
Sour Cream and Onion Mashed Potatoes
Double the potatoes, double the fun: Creamy Yukon Gold potatoes are studded with tender bites of skin-on red bliss potatoes in this texture lovers’ mash. The tanginess of sour cream coupled with the grassy bite of scallions keeps things light and fresh, making this an ideal side for richer dishes, like fried chicken and steak (and also welcome at any sweltering summer dinner).
Salted Butterflake Rolls
Level up your dinner roll game with these retro, buttery pull-apart rolls. The key to butterflake rolls are their unique shape, so feel free to make this using your favorite enriched bread dough recipe. The dough is rolled out, slathered with salted butter then cut into strips that are stacked before cutting again. You’re left with a little deck of dough slabs all enrobed in butter. They fan open when baked so the fluffy layers are easily pulled apart, ready for sopping up gravy or even more butter. Customize the rolls by stirring grated garlic, finely chopped herbs or spices into the salted butter.
Scalloped Potatoes With Horseradish
Scalloped potatoes are a tried-and-true side dish. There’s no reason to reinvent a classic, but adding a kick, a rather strong kick, can be a fun twist. The piquant horseradish in this recipe does exactly that. It cuts through the double richness of the cream and cheese and makes you crave another serving. Swapping a single variety of potato for three — purple, sweet and russet — adds more texture and flavor. Purple potatoes (see Tip) pop on the plate and offer that earthy flavor but with a less starchy texture, and the sweet potatoes are meltingly tender. Give this festive, upgraded version of scalloped potatoes a try at your next gathering.
Crispy Sage Fried Chicken
This juicy, crispy, vaguely-tastes-like-Thanksgiving fried chicken makes an exciting stand-in for the usual turkey. The recipe takes every step to maximize moisture and flavor, so no dry poultry arrives at your table, holiday or otherwise: Start with bone-in, skin-on chicken legs, submerge the pieces in a brine for at least 24 hours, fry low and slow to allow all the fat and connective tissue to render and finally, shower over a boxed stuffing-inspired seasoning. As an optional touch, dredge the chicken pieces in Italian 00 flour instead of all-purpose — its ultra-fine texture makes the crust simultaneously extra crispy and less greasy.
Roasted Beets With Hazelnuts and Honey
Behind the rich, jewel-toned palette of this cheerful dish is the sweet, tangy, earthy flavor of beets and a buttery crunch from hazelnuts. A feast for the eyes, this refreshing starter or side also awakens the palate. Labneh packs a bit more zing than sour cream and balances the sweetness of red and golden beets touched with honey. The sumac (or a simple squeeze of lemon juice) and lemon zest brighten and lift everything up. The foil packets for cooking the beets not only make for easy cleanup; they trap steam while roasting to yield the most tender and flavorful beets. All the components can be made ahead at least 1 day before serving (see Tip).
Crushed Green Bean Salad With Cranberry
No Thanksgiving meal is complete without a green bean moment, and with this make-ahead, no-cook dish, you can certify that it’s a fresh and bright one. Smashed and salted green beans become crisp-tender after a chill in the fridge, ready to soak up all the tangy cranberry dressing. A combination of vinegar and lemon juice in the dressing brings layers of acidity that bounce on your tongue. Just before serving, the dressed beans are piled high between lettuce leaves and crowned with fried onions.
Butter Swim Biscuits
These tender, buttery, crisp buttermilk biscuits satisfy all urgent cravings. You can happily set aside any hesitancy about preparing biscuits because these tangy, fluffy ones come together quickly — no cutting cold butter into flour or rolling out dough. The batter is combined in one bowl and then spread over melted butter, giving the impression of a batter swimming in butter, as the name suggests. While the biscuits bake, they absorb all the buttery goodness and crisp up around the edges. Butter swim biscuits are best served warm and fresh out of the oven but will keep covered at room temperature for up to one day (see Tip).
Red Cabbage With Walnuts and Feta
Roasting wedges of red cabbage intensifies their sweetness and caramelizes their edges. Here, they’re topped with bits of creamy feta, toasted walnuts for crunch and lemon zest and pomegranate seeds for a juicy tang. Serve these warm or at room temperature for a substantial side dish or light main course. This recipe will also work for a small head of green cabbage, though it may cook a bit faster.