Thanksgiving
2220 recipes found
Low-Alcohol French 75
This big, bright take on the French 75 skips the bubbly classic’s gin or cognac, instead adding sweetly herbal, lower in A.B.V., blanc vermouth. Serving it up and over ice in a Collins glass is a nod to how early French 75s were served. (The ice continues to dilute the drink as you sip.) Or serve up in a Nick and Nora or coupe.
Vermouth Royale
Bubbly, citrus-forward and refreshing, the Vermouth Royale is just as lovely served in the dead of winter as it is poolside during the summer. If you don’t have a muddler, the business end of a wooden spoon or tapered rolling pin work just as well. Since crème de cassis can quickly skew a cocktail saccharine, the Vermouth Royale starts with a half-ounce. That said, if your preference for sweetness skews a touch higher, feel free to use up to three-quarters of an ounce of crème de cassis.
Shoofly Pie
Shoofly pie is often thought of as the cake baked in a pie shell, or so wrote Jean Hewitt, The New York Times food writer who offered this recipe in the paper in 1965. This pie was served at a Pennsylvania Dutch luncheon hosted by the International Cuisine Group of the College Woman’s Club of Westfield, N.J., in the spring of that year. One of the organizers dug up the recipe from her mother’s “Housekeeper’s Scrap Book, 1896.” There were four versions of the pie in the book; this was the one marked: “We like this one better.”
Roasted Carrots With Cilantro Yogurt and Peanuts
Carrot takes center stage in this easy-to-assemble side dish. Tangy Greek yogurt is combined with cilantro, coriander and lime juice to create a creamy bed for carrots that have been roasted until just caramelized. Salted peanuts finish the dish with a nice little crunch. If you can find rainbow carrots, this dish becomes even more vivid, but straightforward orange ones work just as nicely.
Bakewell Tart With Cranberry Sauce
A layer of cranberry sauce below orange-scented almond frangipane is the perfect balance of tart and sweet. It’s a holiday play on Britain’s beloved Cherry Bakewell tart that gives you a reason to make extra sauce — or a good excuse to use up leftovers. Temperatures are key to the result: The cranberry sauce needs to be slightly warm to spread over the prebaked pie crust, and the frangipane must be fridge-cold to prevent it from splitting in the oven.
Stuffed Baby Pumpkins
Sarah Frey, who sells more pumpkins than anyone else in America, often entertains retailers and produce executives at her farmhouse in southern Illinois. She likes to serve white baby pumpkins stuffed with spinach and cheese. Along with their orange counterparts, mini-pumpkins are often considered more decorative than culinary. But they make a dramatic side dish that can be stuffed with any manner of fillings that complement the layer of soft, cooked pumpkin that clings to the skin. This recipe uses Gruyère and kale, with pine nuts for texture and red pepper flakes for heat. The hardest part is carving off the pumpkin tops and cleaning out the tiny seeds. Bake for an hour, then test; it is hard to predict how much time each pumpkin takes to become tender when pierced with a fork.
Herby Fried Shallot and Bread Crumb Crunch
This recipe begins with shallots fried Southeast Asian style, starting in cold oil, with a method so simple you’ll never do it any other way. You don’t need a thermometer or any other special equipment — just patience and a careful eye. In exchange, you’re rewarded with caramel-sweet shallots that crunch, then melt between your teeth. Next, rosemary, sage and stale bread crumbs take turns in the oil, crisping as they cool. Then, they’re tossed with chopped parsley, thyme and a little flaky salt. From the moment the mixture is done, you won’t be able to stop eating it. But if you wait, it makes the perfect topping for green bean casserole, potato gratin, or macaroni and cheese. Sprinkle it atop mashed potatoes doused with gravy, or just put a bowl of it on the table and let people do with it what they will — they’ll probably end up putting some on every bite.
Hazelnut, Pear and Cardamom Tart
This is an elegant alternative to the holiday parade of sugary pies. Cardamom adds a grown-up twist to the classic combination of hazelnut and pear. (Don’t overdo the spice, however, or your dessert will taste more like a cold remedy than a treat.) Cut corners by pressing out the crust, but don’t skip making your own roasted hazelnut meal: The deep, caramel flavor of toasted nuts is worth the labor. Use ripe pears, or poach harder fruit until tender before adding to the tart.
Roast Oysters and Tomato Butter
These oysters are a good way to start a festive meal. One reason is that oysters seem to have built-in festivity — even when they were abundant to the point of local glut, they were eaten happily in bars that served only them, festively. The part of this recipe that requires any skill or focus is the shucking. This is a good skill to have anyway, and can't be gotten other than by practicing, meaning an hors d'oeuvre that is both nice for your guests and an exercise in self-edification. Once they’ve been opened, the oysters need little other attention.
Pickled Shrimp
Shrimp season is summer and fall in marshy coastal Georgia and South Carolina and in the Louisiana Gulf. If you can find shrimp from any of those places at those times of year, get enough for eating for several weeks, and make this marinated or pickled shrimp, which lasts that long. There is a version of a recipe for this everywhere, over eons, including in Sciappi’s "The Works." His recipe is for a fish called gilthead, but the method and result are almost identical. Something very similar to this exact recipe was popular through the middle of last century as Pickled Shrimp, or Shrimp Sea Island. And the Alabama chef Frank Stitt has a recipe almost exactly like this one, in one of his fine cookbooks.
Fried Sage Salsa Verde
A quick pass through hot oil transforms sage leaves. No longer leathery, they’re perfectly aromatic, ready to crumble into a simple combination of parsley, oil, shallots and vinegar. This fried sage salsa verde, which is adapted from "Salt Acid Fat Heat" (Simon & Schuster, 2017), can be drizzled over turkey, roasted vegetables, stuffing, casseroles or anything else that needs a little perking up.
Shortcut Pie Crust
This recipe and method make a distinctly tender, crisp crust. Unlike rolling, which can toughen pastry by developing the gluten in the dough, grating breaks — or shortens — the protein chains, which leads to extra tenderness. Pressing the grated pastry directly into the pie plate makes patisserie-thin crusts achievable, without much practice. It’s key to thoroughly chill the dough before grating and to pull it up higher than the rim of the dish to allow for shrinkage. Swap this recipe in as the base of any sweet pie, adjusting the thickness accordingly. Deeper pies made in dishes without removable bases benefit from slightly thicker crusts, whereas fluted tart crusts are best whisper thin. Make double the dough and freeze half, so you have an excuse to make pie another day.
Blistered Green Beans With Shallots and Pistachios
The bittersweet taste of blistered green beans shines through the strong flavors of soy and lime in this side dish, where fried shallots, garlic and pistachios add crunch. Cutting the beans in half makes them easier to maneuver in the wok and helps them cook evenly. For a bit of heat, toss in a minced bird’s-eye chile or sprinkle some red-pepper flakes over the dish when adding your garnishes. You can serve these blistered beauties alongside your Thanksgiving turkey — but they’re equally at home on the dinner table, regardless of the season.
Bananas Foster Poundcake
Named after a customer at Brennan’s restaurant in New Orleans, bananas Foster is traditionally served over vanilla ice cream or over pound cake. But what if we told you that you could have your bananas Foster baked into cake and glazed with that same sauce? This slightly dense, buttery cake is delicious warm, and super moist. Take care when flambéing — keep a lid nearby to smother any flames — or skip it altogether: Bypass adding the alcohol in Step 3 and simply reduce the sauce on the stovetop. And don’t forget to add that scoop of ice cream and a dollop of fresh whipped cream. You’ll thank us later.
Turkey Breast Roulade With Garlic and Rosemary
Ina Garten has been known as the Barefoot Contessa since she opened a gourmet store by that name in East Hampton, N.Y., in 1985. She shared this recipe from her book “Modern Comfort Food” with The Times for Thanksgiving in 2020, when many cooks were looking for alternatives to whole turkey. If you don’t like fennel seeds, leave them out: Garlic, sage and rosemary give this roast the flavors of Italian porchetta, and it will still be fragrant, juicy and delicious without them.
Roasted Carrots With Turmeric and Cumin
These are based on Suzanne Goin’s turmeric-spiced root vegetables from her wonderful new book “The A.O.C. Cookbook.” I use her technique for roasting the carrots, and use the same spices she uses, but I make the dish with a little less olive oil and butter. Suzanne serves her mix of carrots, turnips, parsnips and rutabagas with Greek yogurt seasoned with makrut lime juice and zest, and mint chutney. They are also delicious on their own.
Greek Lemon Potatoes
For the dreamiest roasted potatoes — with creamy insides and very crispy outsides — follow this classic Greek method of roasting peeled potatoes in equal parts olive oil, lemon juice and chicken stock. The potatoes soak up the flavorful liquid, allowing the insides to remain tender while the outsides crisp in the oven’s high heat. You can follow the same method for russet potatoes, though the final result will be less moist.
Thanksgiving Leftovers Enchilada Pie
This recipe was developed for a special kids’ edition of The New York Times, but we’ve found that people of all ages love it. It sounds a little strange, but we promise you, it’s surprisingly delicious. It’s easy to make, and anything you don't already have on hand can be picked up from the corner store. We used leftover turkey, braised greens and mashed sweet potatoes, but feel free to experiment with savory dishes like sautéed brussels sprouts, cornbread stuffing or mashed potatoes. Top your slice with cranberry sauce salsa, a dollop of sour cream and a scattering of roasted pumpkin seeds. (We used a mix of Velveeta, Cheddar and Monterey Jack cheeses because the Velveeta helps prevent clumping, but, if processed cheese bothers you, leave it out and add a half-cup more Cheddar or Monterey Jack.)
Porchetta Pork Roast
This rich, crackling-coated pork roast has all the intense garlic, lemon and herb flavors of a classic Italian porchetta, but is much simpler to make (case in point: you don’t need to de-bone a whole pig). The only potentially tricky part is scoring the skin. If you are buying the meat from your butcher you can have them do it for you. Or, use your sharpest knife or a razor blade. It’s worth the effort for the amber-colored cracklings it produces. The recipe feeds a crowd, so make it for a large gathering. Or plan on leftovers, which make excellent sandwiches for lunch the next day.
Baked Pumpkin Doughnuts
These fuss-free (no electric mixer needed!) pumpkin doughnuts are flavored with cinnamon and nutmeg, classic spices we associate with fall. But they’re also loaded with pumpkin pureé, which makes them moist and flavorful and gives them their orangey hue. They’re finished with a simple — and forgiving — vanilla glaze that sets beautifully. If your glaze is too thick to dip, just add a little more milk. If your glaze is too thin and runs off the doughnut, add a little more confectioners’ sugar.
Vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie
French green lentils (Puy lentils) make a hearty base for this vegetarian shepherd’s pie. They may be slighter harder to find than other lentils, but they’re worth the extra effort. Unlike brown or red lentils, green lentils retain their shape and texture after cooking, which means they stand up well to a long simmer and this rich potato topping. Store-bought vegetable stock can vary greatly so be sure to buy one with a pleasant flavor that isn’t too sweet. (Note: Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese contains rennet, so it is not vegetarian. Use a vegetarian Parmesan or leave it out. If you leave it out, be sure to season the potatoes well with salt and pepper.)
Rum Manhattan-Style
The combination of dark rum, amaro, brown sugar syrup and bitters hails from Saltine restaurant in Nashville, where it’s called Old Barbados. But as you savor it, the cocktail dispels any notion of a sunlit Caribbean beach. A snowy slope is more like it: Though iced in the making, the drink delivers a generous and lingering sense of warmth.
Drop Biscuits With Corn and Cheese
These savory bite-size biscuits are the perfect way to whet the appetite before a big meal. Adapted from “Potluck: Food and Drinks to Share With Friends and Family,” from the staff of Food & Wine magazine, the biscuits are inspired by elote, the Mexican street snack of roasted corn slathered in cheese and spices. These drop biscuits may be made in advance and frozen. Just bring them to room temperature before reheating. Desire a dip alongside? Stir a shot of lime juice and a handful of minced cilantro into some sour cream.
Berry Hand Pies
These hand-held pies are sold at breakfast time at Back in the Day Bakery in Savannah, Ga., but they are also a perfect summery dessert. Cheryl Day, an owner, said that she uses less sugar than many Southern bakers do, and likes to round out the flavor of sweet summer fruit with salt and lemon. The difference between a hand pie and a turnover is in the shape. (Hand pies are half moons, and turnovers are triangles.) You can make this recipe either way.