recipesThe conundrum is as old as Thanksgiving itself: You want to make a green bean casserole, but there’s absolutely no more oven space. Enter these butter-bathed green beans with mushrooms and frizzled shallots made entirely on the stovetop.
Nailing the balance of textures—green beans that still have some bite, well-browned mushrooms, and crispy shallots—comes down to cooking the ingredients separately. If you prefer to get some of your work done before Thanksgiving, blanch the green beans the day before and store them in the fridge until you’re ready to go. You can also crisp the shallots a day or two in advance, but store them loosely covered at room temperature so they keep their crunch. Save everything else until right before dinner.
When you fry the shallots, watch them closely to make sure they brown and frizzle but don’t burn. And resist the urge to salt the mushrooms right after you add them to the pan. Salting halfway through their cook time will yield fully cooked mushrooms with crispy browned edges. Bathing the green beans and mushrooms in butter and topping everything with the crispy shallots brings it all together.
Check out our favorite Thanksgiving recipes, including an extremely easy corn casserole, brussels sprouts with gochujang butter, turkey with a tangy honey glaze, and lots more.
recipesDuring the peak of the pandemic, millions of people—us included—found comfort in a martini glass. But even more so in an unexpected place: Stanley Tucci’s Instagram profile. A former bartender, Tucci shared negroni, margarita, and martini recipes. When it comes to the last one, Tucci has strong feelings about the many origin stories of the classic cocktail. “Too many people say too many things, and I wish they’d stop,” he says. “The only thing that matters is that the martini exists.”
Here Tucci shares his ideal recipe that can be made into a gin martini or a vodka martini—there’s a time and place for both. Both are extra-dry martinis with just a whiff of vermouth and, of course, are stirred, not shaken. (For the record, James Bond was ordering a weak martini. Shaking a cocktail causes the ice cubes to chip, meaning they will melt and dilute the drink). It’s “the quintessence of elegance that we all aspire to and believe we acquire when we drink one,” Tucci adds. Finish it with lemon peel or green olives.
London dry gin is the classic spirit used here, but feel free to play around with other styles if you like. For a dirty martini, add olive brine to the base before stirring and follow bar expert Al Culliton’s advice: “You can start with a few drops, but most lovers of this version would start at about a ½ teaspoon brine and work up. Call me conservative, but I like to cap it at ¼ oz.” You don’t want to distract entirely from the other flavors here.
For more classic cocktail recipes like a manhattan, old-fashioned, and sidecar, check out our collection.
recipesRetro-favorite pineapple-upside down cake gets an easy upgrade courtesy of sophisticated Luxardo cherries in this recipe from cookbook author Cheryl Day. Deeply fruity and so-red-they’re-almost-black, Luxardos pack way more flavor than the saccharine, candy-colored maraschinos seen in many other iterations of this classic dessert. But don’t get too fancy: There’s no need to break down a whole pineapple here. While we do believe there is a time and place for fresh pineapple, this cake calls for canned pineapple rings, which are uniform in shape, always juicy, and never out of season. For the best flavor, look for rings packed in 100% pineapple juice.
If you’ve never flipped a cake before, you’re in for a treat. “The surprise when you unmold the cake,” writes Day in her cookbook Cheryl Day’s Treasury of Southern Baking, “is what makes [baking this style of dessert] so satisfying.” Expect a mosaic-like display of fruit arranged artfully, but effortlessly, on top of the cake, glazed with a caramelly topping of melted butter and brown sugar that keeps the dessert supremely moist and unabashedly delicious. A few things to keep in mind: Make sure your serving plate is wider than the cake pan; wait until the pan has cooled slightly; and invert with gusto, which helps ensure nothing will stick to the bottom of the pan.
Editor’s note: This recipe was originally published in October 2021.
recipesIn this hearty weeknight meal from recipe developer Sahara Henry Bohoskey, juicy pork meatballs get seared in a skillet, then simmered in a rich sauce of coconut milk and harissa. Henry Bohoskey’s preferred harissa is New York Shuk brand—it’s thick, punchy, and just spicy enough—but for bonus points go ahead and make your own. We like these saucy meatballs over mashed white beans, but they’re also good with polenta or orzo.
recipes“When it comes to potatoes, more is more in my family. A few Thanksgivings ago, not one but two potato dishes appeared on our table—no one batted an eye, and it’s been that way ever since. Mashed potatoes always RSVP to the party, but this year I’m serving this little Cacio e Pepe Rösti alongside it. I like that you can cut it into elegant wedges—a small slice of civility on a plate otherwise occupied by blobs and scoops. Other pros: The potatoes can be boiled the night before, and all of the cooking takes place on the stovetop, meaning you’re not competing for coveted oven space.” —Christina Chaey, senior food editor
recipesThe undisputed worst part of roasting squash is laboriously hacking apart a rock-hard gourd. Skip that entire process by roasting a kabocha squash whole, then tearing the cooked flesh into pieces to roast again under a fragrant and slightly spicy glaze. The result is tender squash with a sticky-sweet sheen in boats of crispy skin. If you want to work ahead, roast the whole squash a day before you need it and store it in your refrigerator; before serving, simply tear the squash, drizzle it with glaze, and pop it back into the oven for the final roast.
recipes“I personally gravitate toward a holiday stuffing with a more classic flavor profile, but I’m also a firm believer that a little bit of spice improves most things. That’s why I incorporated meaty bits of spicy-tangy Mexican-style chorizo and a handful of fiery Calabrian chiles into this stuffing recipe. The heat these ingredients bring is fairly subtle, just enough to activate your taste buds in between bites of roast turkey and rich green bean casserole, and keeps you coming back for more.” —Rachel Gurjar, associate food editor
recipesNo mai fan (also spelled lo mai fan) is a Cantonese dish of steamed glutinous rice studded with lap cheong (Chinese sausage), mushrooms, and other savory bits. For Chinese American recipe developer and fashion designer Peter Som, it was a childhood favorite that has since become a staple on his Thanksgiving table. In place of the traditional clay pot, or “sand pot,” Som’s version uses a Dutch oven, which is ideal for keeping the rice warm until you’re ready to serve it. If you can’t find glutinous rice, also known as sweet rice or sticky rice, use all jasmine rice and add a few extra tablespoons of broth for a slightly stickier consistency. After cooking, let the rice sit, covered, for 10–15 minutes. (Using only jasmine will be a fair approximation, but it’s well worth seeking out glutinous rice for this recipe.) And while any brand of Cantonese cured pork will do for its distinctive sweet and savory taste, Som prefers Kam Yen Jan’s sausages.
For the rest of Som’s Thanksgiving menu, see his recipes for Asian Pear Salad With Peanut-Lime Dressing, Roasted Brussels Sprouts With Gochujang Brown Butter, Sweet Potato Tian, Char Siu Wellington, and Milk Tea Bread Pudding With Crème Anglaise.
recipesRed lentils, or masoor dal, are a weeknight dinner superstar: They’re inexpensive, quick-cooking, and endlessly versatile. “I often cook a lot of masoor dal over the weekend to quickly flavor during the week for last-minute meals,” says cookbook author and Brooklyn Delhi founder Chitra Agrawal. “This dal palak packed with spinach is one of my go-to ways to use it.” If you’re strapped for time, Agrawal suggests throwing in baby spinach straight from the package rather than washing and chopping mature spinach leaves. For an extra savory note, add a big pinch of asafetida to the melted ghee when you add the seeds.
recipesBored with lackluster beans? Associate food editor Kendra Vaculin has a citrusy solution to your legume doom with a lemony dressing combining zest-infused oil and bright juice that pulls double duty as a marinade for canned beans and as a dressing for the salad itself. Marinate any white bean (like cannellini, navy, or Great Northern), then toss them with pleasantly bitter radicchio, thinly sliced raw brussels sprouts, and big chunks of salty feta.
recipesThe classic Provençal tian—a gratin of layered sliced vegetables served right from the vessel it’s baked in—gets a Chinese American twist, courtesy of recipe developer and fashion designer Peter Som. In this recipe, a favorite on his Thanksgiving table, Som uses thinly sliced rounds of sweet potato tossed in brown butter spiked with ginger, miso, dark soy sauce, and five-spice powder. “Made of fennel seeds, cinnamon, cloves, star anise, and Sichuan peppercorns, five-spice is infinitely versatile,” he says. “It brings warmth to whatever I’m making. I like to say it’s pumpkin spice’s bolder cousin.” Stacking the slices so they stand upright on their sides (rather than flat against the pan) exposes their edges to the heat of the oven, allowing them to become crispy and intensely flavorful. If you can’t find dark soy sauce, you can substitute 2 Tbsp. regular soy sauce plus ¼ tsp. granulated sugar.
For the rest of Som’s Thanksgiving menu, see his recipes for Asian Pear Salad With Peanut-Lime Dressing, Roasted Brussels Sprouts With Gochujang Brown Butter, Dutch Oven No Mai Fan, Char Siu Wellington, and Milk Tea Bread Pudding With Crème Anglaise.
recipesA dreamy vacation to Portugal inspired this shrimp and salami pasta from recipe developer Shilpa Uskokovic. It’s pantry-friendly, takes under 45 minutes to prepare, and is packed with flavor thanks to supporting flavors like butter and wine. Use whichever salami fits your fancy—Uskokovic uses finocchiona, or fennel salami, for an extra kick. For glossy, saucy noodles, use a large pot to thoroughly toss everything together.
recipesThis floral take on a classic apple pie from Back in the Day Bakery owner Cheryl Day may be new to many, but the use of rose water here is rooted in American history. “Before vanilla extract was widely available, the most popular flavoring in America was rose water,” Day writes in her newest cookbook, Cheryl Day’s Treasury of Southern Baking. “This recipe brings the lovely taste of rose water back to apple pie.” Plan to mix the filling at least 4 hours ahead so the accumulated juices can be reduced before you assemble and bake the pie. While the pie pictured has a layered top crust to create a floral effect, here we call for a simple rolled-out top crust with a few vents, which does the job nicely.
recipesIn this no-fuss sauce, tart cranberries meet their match in bright ginger and fruity golden raisins. But this cranberry relish isn’t meant only for the Thanksgiving table: Try it as part of a festive breakfast on pancakes or French toast, as a holiday cheeseboard condiment, or as a sweet spread on grilled cheese sandwiches (it’s great with brie!).
recipes“A couple of spoonfuls of miso adds a little extra umami and saltiness to these spuds, a subtle bridge between the roasted garlic and dairy that nobody will quite be able to put their finger on. And yes: These potatoes are actually mashed. I’m not going to stop you from pulling out a ricer or food mill if supersmooth is your thing, but I personally like a bit of texture—a few bits of intact potato remind you that you’re actually eating, you know, potatoes.” —Brad Leone, video host
recipesThis dressing checks all the boxes: It’s nutty, salty, savory, and just sweet enough, with a hefty texture that holds its own against sturdy kale. Make it ahead of time and dress your salad before you put the finishing touches on your Thanksgiving meal; the salad should sit for a few minutes before serving to ensure the kale is tender. If you don’t have a food processor, you can chop your ingredients by hand—the finished dressing won’t be as creamy, but it will still taste great.
recipesAll the herby and aromatic flavors of a classic Thanksgiving stuffing—sage, rosemary, fennel seed, oniony scallion–are packed into this tender biscuit. Stacking pieces of dough before rolling out ensures plenty of tall, buttery layers. If you have any extra biscuits after The Big Meal, store them in an airtight container at room temperature overnight and prepare to have the most festive biscuits and gravy (featuring leftover Thanksgiving gravy, of course!) for breakfast the next morning.
recipesThe idea of making a baked Alaska may seem daunting, but these petite desserts from Cheryl Day’s Treasury of Southern Baking can be broken down into easy-to-make components that can all be made ahead of time. Feel free to use any flavor ice cream for the center. We prefer to use a kitchen torch to brown the meringue, but in a pinch you can brown the baked Alaskas under a broiler—just watch them very carefully and rotate often.
