Make Ahead

This recipe has subtle Asian flavors that delicately perfume the turkey in a way that’s beautifully compatible with the rest of the Thanksgiving meal.

This pressed sandwich creates an appetizing balance between sweet and savory with the addition of prosciutto and dried figs.

Brandade is a salt cod puree from Provence. In this all-American take on the dish, an heirloom bean puree is mixed with Dungeness crab and two kinds of cheese.

A bacon-herb butter goes under the skin before roasting, which infuses the turkey with flavor. Be sure to get started at least one day ahead.

Smoked salt and paprika give this turkey a smoky southwestern flavor that pairs very nicely with the spicy-sweet gravy. Look for Halen Môn oak-smoked sea salt at specialty foods stores and surfasonline.com.

This dessert is a pecan pie-apple pie hybrid.

Looking for a classic turkey with some added depth of flavor? This is the one for you. The meat tastes of sage, rosemary, and thyme.

Pumpkin seeds are available at many supermarkets and at natural foods stores and Latin markets. The pumpkin seed oil can be found at specialty foods stores and at surfasonline.com.

True to its name, this rustic salad calls for a flavorful mix of sweet and savory ingredients, such as fresh and dried fruit, cured meat, and assorted greens. Serve this colorful salad as a side to a savory main course, or have it for lunch.

This classic stuffing (or any of the stuffings here) is also good made with six cups of cubed cornbread in place of six cups of the pain rustique.

Apple juice and dried blueberries bring subtle sweetness to the filling. Like your desserts sweeter? Add one or two tablespoons of sugar.

Begin making this one day ahead, and serve with a platter of oysters on the half shell.

This comes off as a classic panna cotta, but agar—a thickener made from seaweed—gives it a light mouthfeel; it dissolves on the tongue almost instantly. Slices of mango in citrus syrup enliven the flavors.

A globe's worth of influences go into this tender quail, but the result is a very subtle dish with a classic French balance.

In an intriguing play on the combination of chocolate and chiles, this rich mousse gets its faint tingle from Sichuan peppercorns.

Much more interesting than plain mashed potatoes, this purée gets an earthy boost from celery root and chervil and an amazing smoothness and richness from a generous amount of cream.