Beverages

Easy and elegant: a beautifully simple bird and a rich wine gravy.

After the porcini mushrooms add their flavor to the broth, you can use them in an omelet or a sauté.

Spiked with fragrant lemon and orange peels, and garnished with an orange liqueur–infused whipped cream, this pumpkin pie is full of refreshingly bold flavor.

This stuffing pairs perfectly with roast turkey.

This recipe is adapted from Will Goldfarb, the innovative chef behind Room 4 Dessert (www.nyr4d.com), in New York City. Egg whites give this drink the body and Chambord provides a jammy punch that complements the berry undertones in this Chocolate-Cranberry Torte . For expert advice on pairing cocktails with food, click here.

A creamy frozen eggnog mousse layered with paper-thin sheets of crisp chocolate. Be sure to make the chocolate disks and lace before making the mousse filling.

The base for the sauce can be prepared two days ahead; the pan juices from the Roasted Double Rack of Pork are added to it before serving.

Coarsely ground black pepper lends a spicy note to this dense, moist brownie cake studded with dried cherries and chocolate chips. Cherry Preserves are thicker than cherry jam and give the Black Forest Torte more body. Look for cherry preserves in supermarkets.

A sumptuous chocolate-caramel ganache alternates with layers of cake sweetened with chestnut cream.

This drink was featured as a Cocktail of the Month.

This recipe for turkey gravy is part of the Thanksgiving menu Chef Kent Rathbun created for Epicurious's Wine.Dine.Donate program. He serves it with Rosemary-Roasted Turkey .

Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are from The Practical Guide to the New American Kitchen by Charlie Palmer.