Brining turkeys has become de rigueur in many American households. Get the recipe for Brined and Roasted Turkey »

These are an elegant, restaurant-style nod to the hunks of cornbread typically found on Thanksgiving tables. Get the recipe for Sea Salt Ice Cream With Cornbread Financiers »

This recipe comes from a true Kentuckian, Rena McClure, who has lived there her whole life. Serve it with cornbread dressing cooked in a cast-iron skillet on the side.

This rustic stuffing from Thomas Keller’s Bouchon Bistro is made with crusty Italian bread and laced with fresh herbs, aromatics, and sausage. Get the recipe for Ciabatta and Sausage Stuffing »

The flavors of Senegal—sour tamarind, fiery scotch bonnets, and pungent fish sauce—add umami-rich depth to this unexpected Thanksgiving bird.

Make this gravy using the drippings that remain in the pan after you’ve cooked the roast turkey. For additional flavor, add to the finished pan gravy any juices that accumulate on the platter as the turkey rests. Get the recipe for Turkey Pan Gravy »

Oysters are the perfect aphrodisiacs to have on Valentine’s day. Believed to increase fertility, these half shells evoke images of romance. Grill them for your lover and sprinkle some pecorino and bottarga before serving. Get the recipe for Grilled Oysters »

Sweet Potato Purée

Although spiral-cut ham comes fully cooked, a low, slow roast will heat it through and caramelize its sticky, spiced glaze. At Thomas Keller’s Bouchon Bistro, a ham is glazed with pan drippings, local honey, and fragrant cinnamon and clove for their annual Thanksgiving feast, which they serve to veterans and their families. Get the recipe for Spiced Honey-Glazed Spiral Ham »

This classic Southern-style Thanksgiving dressing is tossed with crumbled breakfast sausage and plenty of sage, then cooked in a casserole dish beside the browning bird. Get the recipe for Cornbread Dressing »

Haricots Verts Casserole

This sweet potato casserole is an especially festive, over-the-top take on the Thanksgiving classic, topped with a crisp pecan crumble and dotted with marshmallows. Get the recipe for Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecan Crumble »

The foundation of this creamy casserole is a classic mornay sauce, a béchamel sauce to which cheese has been added—in this case, comté, a French cheese with a complex, nutty flavor that melts beautifully. With lots of freshly grated nutmeg to season it and a golden, crunchy breadcrumb topping, it’s a luscious, satisfying side dish for the Thanksgiving table. The dish comes from Thomas Keller’s Bouchon Bistro, in the Napa Valley, where the staff makes it as part of their annual Thanksgiving dinner for veterans and their families.

Turkey Congee

Chef Pierre Thiam‘s take on this classic autumn soup uses Scotch bonnet chiles for spice and nutmeg for warmth. In Senegal, a similar soup is said to prevent hangovers, so you’ll find hawkers selling it outside the bars late at night. Use your favorite type of pumpkin or other fall squashes to substitute for the butternut in this recipe, if you like. For a vegan soup, substitute vegetable stock for the chicken stock. Get the recipe for Butternut Squash Pepe Soup »

Passing cooked potatoes through the fine holes of a potato ricer ensures a silky consistency for this ultrarich side. Get the recipe for Pomme Purée »

Lard Bread Dressing

This spin on a popular Sichuan stir-fry—with bacon, ginger, and garlic; garnished with sliced chestnuts—swaps traditional cauliflower for Brussels sprouts. Get the recipe for Wok-Fried Brussels Sprouts and Bacon with Crispy Chestnuts »

Thirty cloves of garlic go into this creamy side dish, adapted from Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking: Volume 1 (Alfred A. Knopf, 1961). The cloves are first blanched whole, which enhances their sweetness, then used to make a rich béchamel sauce that’s stirred into mashed potatoes with cream and parsley. Get the recipe for Julia Child’s Garlic Mashed Potatoes »

Birch Syrup and Soy Sauce-Glazed Roast Duck

Wild Rice with Roasted Buttered Onions

Turkey Tetrazzini

Coleslaw gets a makeover as a filling and hearty casserole that test kitchen assistant Sarah Ruth Maier grew up eating at family functions. Get the recipe for Van Valkenberg Hot Slaw »

Instead of plain dinner rolls, we like to serve these fluffy biscuits, fragrant with rosemary and thyme. This recipe first appeared in our November 2011 issue along with Linda Monastra’s story True Harvest. Get the recipe for Honey and Herb Biscuits »

Adding a grated russet potato to this braise helps to temper the sour sweetness of the cabbage. Get the recipe for Braised Red Cabbage »

The secret to this simple dish is to use the best quality bacon available. Delicious and straightforward, you can whip this dish together quickly while keeping the oven available for other jobs.

Potato starch replaces flour as the thickener in a rich brown gravy that’s great with roasted turkey. Get the recipe for Gluten-Free Gravy »

Black coffee spike

Inspired by the flavors of Peking duck, this turkey is infused with a Sichuan peppercorns, fennel seeds, and fresh ginger brine, then lightly smoked over oak.

This classic oyster stew from Justin Devillier, the chef of La Petite Grocery in New Orleans, is packed full of Swiss chard and flavored with smoky ham and absinthe, which perfumes each steaming bite with an enticing note of licorice. The buttermilk biscuits on top are just as delicious cooked separately and slathered with butter and honey. Get the recipe for Oyster Pie with Buttermilk Biscuits »

Fresh mango, mixed into the base and fanned on top of this warmly spiced pumpkin dessert—chef Pierre Thiam‘s version of his wife’s classic pumpkin cake—adds a tropical brightness and dramatic presentation to his Thanksgiving table. Get the recipe for Mango and Pumpkin Spice Cake »

Crispy pancetta, peppery arugula, and sweet sautéed shallots give a fall spin to panzanella. Get the recipe for Autumn Panzanella Salad »

The toffee-like interior and beautiful bronze top layer of halved pecans won Rubyane Surritte first place in the pie contest at Oklahoma’s Drummond Ranch. Get the recipe for Blue Ribbon Pecan Pie »

This hearty breakfast dish is perfect for the morning after Thanksgiving. It uses up leftover cooked turkey as well as Thanksgiving pantry ingredients you may not have used up the day before, like cream, stock, and herbs. Get the recipe for Todd’s Turkey Hash »