Thanksgiving

There are few places where chestnuts are cooked with more style and appreciation than in those states just below New England. Here they are added to a traditional stuffing, enhanced by mushrooms and herbs.

First the turkey is soaked overnight in a brine to improve flavor and ensure moist meat. (Be sure to use a pot large enough to hold both the brine and the turkey.) The smokiness of the turkey is offset beautifully by the tangy, sweet glaze, which incorporates two quintessential Napa Valley ingredients: wine and mustard.

"The day before Thanksgiving, my grandmother would make trays of corn bread for this stuffing," says food writer Janet Fletcher. "We grandkids would crack the pecans for the stuffing; the nuts came from the trees in her back yard."

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

"I love green vegetables and always make an effort to do something special with them for dinner parties," says Jeanne Thiel Kelley, contributing editor to Bon Appétit. "Brussels sprouts are a Thanksgiving staple at our house, and this year I'm dressing them up with colorful golden beets that I buy at farmers' markets, as well as crunchy turnips and sautéed hazelnuts. For convenience, the vegetables can be cooked a day ahead and then reheated. You can use regular beets instead of golden, but they should be sautéed separately and combined with the other vegetables just before serving, or the beets will turn everything red."

"My profession as a real estate agent requires a lot of my time," writes Edi Meadows Morrissette of Westin, Florida, "so it helps that I am lightning-fast in the kitchen. I cook every day, and on the weekends I sometimes make three meals a day. I accomplish that by following my main cooking principles: (1) do a lot of prep work, and (2) keep the kitchen well stocked. For example, at holiday time I might chop onions in advance or bake bread the day before company arrives. And since I converted the bedroom next to my kitchen into a pantry for extra storage, I know I'll always have the right ingredients at my fingertips." The addition of fresh orange pieces is a lovely variation on the holiday condiment. Begin two hours or up to three days ahead.

Betty Caldwell was Gourmet's production director for many years. She has an avid interest in cooking and gave us this recipe, which became an instant holiday classic.

Nut pies can be very sweet — mixing in tart cranberries keeps everything in check.

Not your typical corn bread dressing, this one from Michael McLaughlin features smoky ham and sautéed fennel.

In this luscious soup, the restaurant uses a squash that is relatively new to the American market: the kabocha, a beautiful jade-green winter squash with deep orange flesh. Chipotle chilies canned in a spicy tomato sauce, sometimes called adobo, are available at Latin American markets, specialty foods stores, and some supermarkets.

This classic uncooked relish gets an aromatic edge from cinnamon, cloves, and ginger.

Active time: 20 min Start to finish: 20 min

Make this pie with a combination of tart apples — such as Winesap or Granny Smith — and sweet varieties like Fuji, Jonagold, Idared, or Mutsu.

Bruce Aidells, founder of Aidell's Sausage Company, says, "When I was in college, a friend from Mississippi introduced me to the technique of marinating the turkey by rubbing the meat under the skin with flavorings. Over the years, I've continued to modify the recipe for what I refer to as 'trash bag turkey,' so named because a large plastic bag is the best thing for holding the bird while it marinates for a day or two." Watch how to prepare and carve your bird with our streaming video demonstration.

In order to create a realistic top for our "pumpkin," we used a church key can opener to make the indentations, but a vegetable peeler or knife would also work.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.