Sage

This is the color of autumn.

Pork tenderloin is like the filet mignon of the pig, so I serve this with Red Onions Roasted with Balsamic and Honey (page 260) and round everything out with Garlic-Chive Mashed Potatoes (page 237). Charred red onions match perfectly with the sweetness of the dried plums (dried plum is code for prune).

Roast turkey is synonymous with autumn holiday celebrations. Because of the dangers of bacterial contamination, I prefer to bake bread-based turkey stuffing separately and stuff the turkey with garlic and herbs. Recipes for a variety of tasty glazes follow below. Check the guidelines chart for roasting time and temperature depending on the size of the turkey you are cooking. With turkeys up to 14 pounds, you can bake two or three accompaniment dishes—I suggest Creamy Garlic Potatoes (page 144) or Sweet Potatoes or Yams Roasted with Orange (page 145)—on the very bottom rack of the oven.

This dish showcases the skillful skillet cookery and flavorful pan sauces that delighted me in Umbria. After lightly frying the veal scallops, you start the sauce with a pestata of prosciutto, anchovy, and garlic, build it up with fresh sage, wine, broth, and capers—and then reduce and intensify it to a savory and superb glaze on the scaloppine. Though veal is most prized in this preparation, I have tried substituting scallops of chicken breast and pork; both versions were quick and delicious. Serve the scaloppine over braised spinach, or with braised carrots on the side.

I love this dish, and you will, too—and your guests will be impressed. Set the table for a special eating experience, including a few scissors to pass around and a bowl for the parchment paper. Then present guests with closed, tempting packets: when they cut open the parchment, the sight and bursting aroma of savory-stuffed quail will fill them with anticipation, and they will dive right in. As an accompaniment, I would serve a bowl of hot polenta, farro, or wild rice, or a bowl of beans and black kale. Serve family-style, putting the bowl in the middle of the table, so everyone can spoon some onto the plate next to the quail.

Veal chops are always something of an extravagance, though worth it when well prepared. In this exciting recipe from Valle d’Aosta, thick rib chops are stuffed with the region’s prized fontina, browned, and braised on the stovetop, then baked. The result is quite grand, because the succulent meat and pan sauce are enriched with driblets and hidden pockets of sweet melted fontina. And if you want to go superluxe for a special occasion, shave fresh truffle on top of each chop just before serving. To return to earth, however, let me point out that you can make costolette alla fontina in more modest versions that are absolutely delicious and much easier on the pocketbook. For instance, you can form veal scallopine into envelopes to enclose the fontina, or stuff a veal loin chop, a thick pork chop, or a plump chicken breast in place of the veal rib chop. You may have to adjust the amount of cheese you put inside, and adjust the cooking time at each step to avoid overcooking. But if your meat, wine, olive oil, tomato paste, and broth are of fine quality, and—most important—if you use real fontina (and Grana Padano or Parmigiano-Reggiano), you will produce a splendid dish.

Find sources for local ground turkey at LocalHarvest.org and conserve fossil fuels that get burned during shipping.

Thanksgiving is hands-down my favorite holiday. Bar Americain is open each year for Thanksgiving, and we typically serve about six hundred people before the day is over. No matter how many wonderful selections we offer on the abbreviated holiday menu, without fail turkey is the biggest seller—partly because people love it and partly, I think, out of a sense of tradition. This is the turkey that I serve at Bar Americain, with only the dressing and sides changing from year to year. This year I am pairing the all-American bird with all-American ingredients: wild mushrooms and Pinot Noir from the Pacific Northwest, figs from California, cranberries from Maine, bacon from Kentucky, and sweet potatoes from Georgia.

Prime rib, or standing rib roast, has long been a mainstay at the holiday table (where it is often paired with Yorkshire pudding, a British specialty made from the pan juices and a simple batter of flour, eggs, and milk).

We hit upon our favorite recipe a few summers back, when we helped out a buddy with his annual Labor Day pig roast in Connecticut. In addition to the 125-pound porker we were planning to serve, we decided we should have some chicken just in case not everyone at the party wanted to partake of the sacred swine. We got about 100 birds, halved them, and soaked them in a simple marinade of just lemon, sage, and cracked black pepper. It turned out to be one of the first times—maybe the only time—there was a pig roast where chicken was the hit of the day. What really made it special was the marinade. It lent a nice acidity to the meat, which became really tender, and the sage and lemon flavors just exploded. For the most classic presentation, roast a whole bird and carve it tableside. If you want an especially crispy, golden-skinned chicken, have your butcher halve it, and roast the halves skin side up so they can self-baste as they roast.

These noodle-like dumplings, made with bacon fat, are a true taste of Southern cooking. They're easy to prepare and delicious, so it's easy to understand why they were a staple (plus they make good use of that can of bacon fat under the sink that everyone used to have). But the best thing about these tender dumplings is that they really soak up the flavorful braising juices and take on the flavor of the rabbit. I find that it's easiest to braise the rabbits whole, but if you buy them pre-sectioned, that's fine, they'll cook in the same manner. When you are picking the tender meat off the rabbit, avoid shredding it too finely (larger pieces of meat make a nicer presentation), and be extra careful to pick out small bones. I always pick the meat twice to make sure that I've gotten every last one.

By the turn of the century, the North American turkey had become familiar British fare, replacing the traditional goose at many an English Christmas table. Here it is presented in classic American style with bread stuffing and accompanied by cranberry sauce, which at this period was more like a sauce than a preserve.

Swap that tired casserole (you know which) for this elegant hazelnut version. The string beans help boost immunity with infectionfighting vitamin C. Oh, snap!

It's hearty and health-helping: Eating mushrooms regularly may help lessen women's breast cancer risk.

If the polenta is ready before the rest of the meal, keep it in the pan and press parchment or waxed paper directly on the surface to prevent a skin from forming; partially covering the pan with the lid will also work. Stir well before serving.

The technique used to make this soup can be repeated for other soups, the seasonings—be they sweet or spicy—varied to suit your tastes. Although the soup is good without it, the cheese adds a flavor note that punctuates the natural sweetness of the squash.

Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are from A Kwanzaa Keepsake by Jessica B. Harris. The traditional roast pork is given a southern accent with a crust of well–seasoned crushed pecans. Thinly sliced pork loin with a slathering of chutney makes perfect sandwiches to take to work or school.

This side dish of silky mashed potatoes sweetened with pumpkin (left over from Pumpkin Muffins ), seasoned with fresh sage, and laced with melty strands of Fontina cheese is full of favorite autumnal flavors. But, surprisingly, it's the cider vinegar that really makes this dish sing—just a tablespoon of this stealth ingredient adds a roundness that ties the whole dish together. We love it with pork chops or turkey cutlets.

In his "A Tuscan Son" menu, Tony Oltranti serves Polenta with Franklin's Teleme as a smooth, soft base for his roast chicken. This recipe takes polenta in a different direction—cooked with sage, rosemary, and Parmigiano-Reggiano, the polenta is then cooled, cut into sticks, and broiled until the outer edges of the "fries" are golden and crisp, a fine contrast to the creamy interior. Serve them with a fried egg and a salad for a vegetarian lunch, or pair them with something saucy like chicken fricassee.

A hearty bowl of pasta plus savory cheese? You'd never know this whole-grain comfort food is diet-friendly! Squash supplies all the vitamin A you need for the day.

Bodino Stifado Me Praso Braises like this are perfect for meat with tough muscle tissue and tendons (which come from the part of the animal that works hard), a great example of poverty cooking. This less expensive cut of meat develops its own natural and luscious sauce as it cooks. You want a little marbling in the meat, because it melts down as you cook and adds a lot of flavor to the sauce. You can use brisket, shanks, shoulder—all fairly tough meats—but save the filet mignon for the grill or a pan. It takes a little time to cook and become tender, but it's a relatively easy setup, and once you get it onto the stove you don't have to worry about it for about an hour. So you can do your laundry, or walk the dog, or make a salad. A couple of days later, if you have any leftovers, you can shred the meat, then return the meat to the sauce and add your favorite pasta. The resulting dish is a Greek version of beef Stroganoff. The herbs are very important to the flavor development here, since I'm using water instead of stock, so use fresh herbs if possible.

Carrots, braised in chicken broth and combined with shallots and fresh herbs, make a beautiful addition to the table, especially when you take advantage of the different-colored varieties found at farmers markets. You will also appreciate how small amounts of seasonings turn a taken-for-granted vegetable into something splendid. Don't reserve the recipe just for Thanksgiving; it would also be delicious with pork chops or a roast chicken.

Frying sage leaves is easy and provides a real wow factor. The sage and chestnuts make an ideal foil for these pillowy gnocchi.