Make Ahead

A refreshing way to finish the meal, this Greek-inspired dessert features kataifi, a seductively crisp, light Middle Eastern dough.

The Shakers, an early nineteenth-century religious group who knew that good things like lemon pie were worth waiting for, lived and worked in communities throughout New England, and established a vibrant Shaker fellowship in Pleasant Hill, Kentucky. Preserved as a living history museum, today's Shaker Village at Pleasant Hill illuminates their traditions and creations, including woodworking, farming, spinning, and stonework. Their restaurants serve this signature confection, Shaker Lemon Pie.
For those of us who adore lemons, it is magnificent, and if you simply appreciate thrift and culinary creativity, you'll admire its unique approach. The issue is its pithy-ness. Shaker lemon pie uses the entire lemon, from yellow peel through white pith and all the way to the interior seeds. This means slicing two whole lemons absolutely paper thin, and macerating them for hours in sugar. The resulting pie includes a subtle sharp flavor from the pith, and the texture tends toward the chewy side, but it all works for the aforementioned lemon-lovers like myself. For my version, I chop the thinly sliced lemons coarsely, so that despite my uneven slicing, the lemon pieces are bite sized. I also add a little flour, to thicken the juices a bit. Plan ahead, so that you can set the mixture of very thinly sliced lemons and sugar aside for at least three hours and ideally, overnight. This makes for a softer texture and profoundly lemony flavor in your pie.

Ever since I first tasted bean pie at The Know bookstore in Durham, North Carolina, I've been a fan. Given my deep affection for egg custard, pumpkin, and sweet potato pies, it's no surprise that I would adore bean pie, which shares culinary roots with those pie favorites. Developed in the 1930s as part of the nutritional teachings of the Nation of Islam, bean pies became standard items at black Muslim bakeries in urban communities from Chicago and Oakland to Detroit and Washington, D.C. Navy beans are most commonly cited in recipes, but great northern beans and pinto beans are also popular choices. With a can of beans and the usual custard pie ingredients, you can turn out a delicious bean pie fast. You can use a blender or a food processor to mix up your filling, or mash the cooked, drained beans well with a potato masher or a fork.

My friend and fellow food writer Angela Knipple cherishes memories of childhood visits to her Great-Uncle Curtis and Great-Aunt Marian's big farm. Perhaps her passion for food, cooking, and sustainable agriculture took root during her summer days in their enormous garden. She loved weeding and harvesting vegetables, and turning her fingers a fabulous shade of purple while picking purple-hull peas. Meals were major delights of homegrown, homecooked goodness, including this beautiful summer squash pie—deliciously creamy, sweet, and a little bit tart. You could use yellow squash instead of zucchini, or do a combination of the two.

The technique: Simply roll out the dough, mound the pear filling in the center, and fold the edges of the dough up and over the edge of the filling, creating free-form "sides" to hold in the fruit.
The payoff: No pressure, no crust anxiety. Just loosely shape the dough for a rustic and beautiful Thanksgiving dessert. Using unpeeled pears in this dessert saves time—and adds texture.

The technique: Instead of rolling, just combine the crust ingredients and press the sandy, crumbly mixture onto the tart pan. Start in the middle and work outward, or—if you're concerned about running out of crust as you go up the sides—start with the edges and work inward. That way, you'll have plenty of dough to form edges of uniform thickness for a pretty presentation.
The payoff: Two fewer things to do: A press-in crust eliminates the (sometimes tricky) steps of rolling out the dough and transferring it to the tart pan. This rich, slightly gooey tart is golden from the browned butter, golden brown sugar, and golden syrup.

The technique: Any dish that's topped with breadcrumbs or cheese and then browned is considered a gratin.
The payoff: Layers of flavor and texture and a way to transform almost any vegetable into something special.

The technique: For crisp-tender vegetables, boil them quickly, then dump them into a bowl of ice water.
The payoff: The rapid boil cooks the veggies just enough; the ice water stops the cooking and intensifies the color of the vegetables.

The technique: To create a lattice top, roll out the dough, then cut it into strips. Make the lattice by draping half the strips in one direction across the filling, then draping the other half in the opposite direction, or weave the strips over and under for a classic basket-weave pattern.
The payoff: A professional-looking dessert that's sure to impress your guests. A perfect Thanksgiving treat for berry pie lovers.

The technique: Roasting is as basic as baking something uncovered, but this simple process does something magical to vegetables.
The payoff: Roasting caramelizes the sugars and creates veggies that are browned on the outside and tender on the inside.

The technique: Streusel—a crumbly mixture of flour, butter, sugar, and spices—often shows up on coffee cakes. The sweet, crunchy stuff also makes a great pie-topper.
The payoff: You have to roll out only one pie crust instead of two, and the streusel adds texture and flavor.

The technique: A single-crust pie requires only a bottom crust and is the best choice for a custard filling, like pumpkin pie.
The payoff: You have to make only one pie crust, and if it breaks or cracks it's easy enough to cobble the crust together in the pie dish. Most of the bottom crust will be covered with filling, so it doesn't have to look perfect. The topping mixture is sprinkled just inside the crust, leaving a circle of filling peeking out in the center of the pie.

The technique: If you can roast other fruit, why not cranberries? High-heat cooking intensifies flavors, no matter what you put in the oven.
The payoff: Soft and caramelized berries.

These individual desserts have a spiced fruit filling that's a modern version of mincemeat.

The technique: Brining—soaking the bird in salt water—creates juicy turkey. Here, stout beer and barley malt syrup add a richness to the brine, which infuses the meat with flavor.
The payoff: Moist meat that tastes great. The malt glaze gives the bird a crisp, burnished skin. Roasted turkey: Prep 45 minutes Total 20 hours (includes brining and roasting time)
Grilled turkey: Prep 45 minutes Total 21 hours (includes brining and grilling time)

The technique: On Thanksgiving, do-aheads are key. This super-savory gravy can be made a day ahead. All you have to do before serving is heat it up and stir in some tarragon.
The payoff: No last-minute pan-scraping and reducing required.