Simmer

An easy version of the classic.

If you end up with a few extra shortcakes, they're great for breakfast.

Making spaetzle is easy, with no fancy equipment needed: a coarse grater, colander, or wide perforated spoon or ladle with 1/4-inch holes will work well.

Golden beets have orangey skin and a more delicate sweetness than red beets.

Classic Italian stock vegetables enhance this amber-gold broth for an unbeatable gravy that really complements the turkey.

This quick stock, which uses the turkey's neck, heart, and gizzard to enrich purchased turkey or chicken stock, makes enough for the stuffing, mole sauce, and turkey and gravy.

This intense base is the secret to the full-bodied richness of the stew. Roasting emphasizes the vegetables' best qualities, and they're simmered with red wine and plenty of herbs and aromatics.

Vegetarians deserve a showstopping centerpiece for their main course, too, and this burnished pumpkin, filled with a fragrant stew, will have even meat eaters saying, "Who needs a turkey?" Root vegetables, mushrooms, and seitan—a firm, meatlike wheat protein that soaks up all the flavors of the sauce—mingle with roasted vegetables inside the pumpkin, whose flesh you scoop out along with servings of the stew. (Don't be intimidated at the thought of assembling such a masterpiece—if you've ever made a jack-o'-lantern, you have the skills to prepare this dish.)

With its notes of cumin, cinnamon, and chocolate playing off the gentle spice, this meatless chili combines the best parts of a mole sauce and a Cincinnati-style chili. Its rich body makes it a seriously satisfying dinner any night of the week.

Leeks prepared with a dab of butter are a perfect complement to delicate white fish.

With its warm, gooey goodness, this dessert will bring bananas Foster to mind. You'll have some sauce left over, which will be handy because, we assure you, you'll be in the mood to have this again the next night—if not sooner.

A basic vinaigrette would overpower delicate red-leaf lettuce; instead, we opted for a subtle dressing that gets its creaminess from puréed onions.

Laced with grappa, this lovely molded jelly works well with the robustness of all the other dishes on this menu (and cranberries and grappa bring out the best in each other).

Cider plus cider vinegar brings a sophisticated layered sweetness and a slight edge to perennial candied carrots.

Ruby Port makes for a cranberry sauce that's all grown-up—and its robust flavors, paired with a bit of tangy citrus, complement all the other foods on the plate.

Floating on the surface of this pale, silky soup, which tastes of the essence of parsley, is a trompe l'oeil surprise: What looks like shaved truffles is actually thinly sliced chestnuts, adding a nutty sweetness.

Kumquats and cranberries turn out to be a perfect match, since their flavors are similar in intensity: The former contributes a pleasant citrusy bitterness to the latter's signature tartness.

Use any seasonal squash you like in this comforting and creamy soup.

We typically think of pickling as involving mainly vinegar or, as is the case with kimchi, a fermenting process. In India, however, oil is the secret ingredient, employed to carry the flavor of spices. Here, mustard seeds and ground turmeric bring brightness to the mix.