Sage

This makes an extra quart of cooked beans. Save (or freeze) for another batch of escarole, or serve them simply warmed in their broth.

Holding the raw oysters in the rice-flour dredge is a genius do-ahead trick, allowing you to shuck and coat the oysters hours ahead of fry time.

These fry-like chickpea fritters are best enjoyed hot, while their centers still have a custardy texture.

A sage-infused vinaigrette and a dash of warming cinnamon take this citrusy dish one step further than most breakfast and brunch fruit salads.

This sparkling punch, with its aromatic mixture of sage, lemon, and ginger, is refreshing and light enough to drink all night.

This holiday-worthy recipe was inspired by bread pudding and ended up somewhere between a strata, a gratin, and a traditional Thanksgiving stuffing.

These tender, flavor-packed meatballs are the perfect Thanksgiving party snack, but—for what it’s worth—they'd also make an excellent meatball sub.

Lindeborg serves this chicken dish at her Washington, DC, inn with stewed tomatoes and sauteed greens (a mixture of Swiss chard, mustard greens, and spinach) as well as cheddar garlic grits.

Spatchcocking the turkey before roasting ensures that all parts of the bird will cook evenly at the same rate—and in just 1 1/2 hours.

The classic pairing of pork and apples gets enhanced by a hint of sage for a simple and delicious dinner.

Braising pork shoulder produces a fall-apart tender roast. And when milk is the braising liquid, what results is a sauce that is reminiscent of flavorfully infused ricotta.

The leftovers from this wholesome, spiced-up chicken dinner are just as good as the meal itself.

When we opted to cut out grains from our diet, one of the hardest things to give up was, strangely enough, stuffing-the kind you eat with Thanksgiving dinner. Most stuffing is made with bread crumbs, and that just wouldn't do. So Ryan put a lot of effort into developing and testing more nutritious alternatives, and eventually came up with this-a delicious and more-than-satisfying substitute. When they taste it for the first time, many people want to know his secret. They're shocked when he tells them it's omitting the bread crumbs. But there's no denying this dish tastes like the real deal, and it's more filling (so it involves less actual stuffing of the face!). It pairs nicely with any poultry, so there's no need to wait until Thanksgiving to make it. Try it with our Sweet Cherry Sauce for an extra decadent side.

Brown butter and sage create a rich, complex sauce in just a few short steps for this simple pasta.

I’m just going to say it: this is the best macaroni cheese I’ve ever eaten – better than the macaroni cheese I ate as a child; better than the macaroni cheese I brought my own children up on when they were little (they don’t agree); better than any fancy restaurant macaroni cheese with white truffle or lobster; better than any macaroni cheese I have loved in my life thus far, and there have been many.

This super-moist turkey breast is part of our over-the-top Thanksgiving bird; for the rest of the recipes, click here.

This entire Italian-inspired dinner is cooked on two baking sheets, making clean-up a breeze.

Pork loin is a lean, mild cut of meat. I like to add flavor and keep it moist by stuffing it with a mixture of chopped herbs and garlic. Simply make a small channel in the center of the loin with a knife, then poke the stuffing in. The meat will be flavored and basted from within while it roasts.

The Zuni roast chicken depends on three things, beginning with the small size of the bird. Don't substitute a jumbo roaster—it will be too lean and won't tolerate high heat, which is the second requirement of the method. Small chickens, 2-3/4 to 3-1/2 pounds, flourish at high heat, roasting quickly and evenly, and, with lots of skin per ounce of meat, they are virtually designed to stay succulent. Your store may not promote this size for roasting, but let them know you'd like it. I used to ask for a whole fryer, but since many people don't want to cut up their own chickens for frying (or anything else), those smaller birds rarely make it to the display case intact; most are sacrificed to the "parts" market. But it is no secret that a whole fryer makes a great roaster—it's the size of bird favored for popular spit-roasted chickens to-go. It ought to return to retail cases. The third requirement is salting the bird at least 24 hours in advance. This improves flavor, keeps it moist, and makes it tender. We don't bother trussing the chicken—I want as much skin as possible to blister and color. And we don't rub the chicken with extra fat, trusting its own skin to provide enough. But if the chicken is about method, the bread salad is more about recipe. Sort of a scrappy extramural stuffing, it is a warm mix of crispy, tender, and chewy chunks of bread, a little slivered garlic and scallion, a scatter of currants and pine nuts, and a handful of greens, all moistened with vinaigrette and chicken drippings.

This is a true weekend-long project—and that's a good thing. Seasoning, cooking, and crisping the meat over the course of three days mean you don't have to spend hours in the kitchen the day you're hosting a big meal. In fact, the extra time your pork spends in the refrigerator only improves the taste. This is the perfect-for-a-party pork that gives you plenty of time to drink a beer and watch (or play) a game or two before grilling up crispy, tender slabs of pork shoulder for a crowd.

This recipe—a rhapsody for sweet, bitter, and salty—is based on one from Ruth Reichl, published in Gourmet Today.

"Creamy squash and cheese crisps only make you think you're off the diet cliff!" says James Beard award winner Laura Werlin, author of Mac & Cheese, Please! and The All American Cheese and Wine Book.

I think "pumpkin pots" might just be one of my new word combinations. Pumpkin pots. Pumpkin pots. Pumpkin pots. It just makes me happy the way the words flow together. It also makes me happy the way the flavors of the pumpkin, sausage, herbs, and eggs come together in this perfect little side dish for fall feasts.