Blender

This succulent cut, made from two pork loins bound together, makes a princely vessel for spicy corn bread poblano stuffing. To prevent your pork from cooking unevenly, cook the stuffing separately, and fill the crown just before serving.

Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are from Ted Allen's The Food You Want to Eat. For Allen's tips on throwing a Thanksgiving party, click here. Mashed potatoes really serve primarily as a silky, textural vehicle for butter, cream, and salt, in my view. Cauliflower does an excellent job as well — and considering all the other carb sources on your table today, there's no harm in a whipped white dish that contains few of them. Steaming works better than boiling for this purée because boiling leaches flavor out of the cauliflower. You can get a big pot with a steamer insert anywhere for about $20.00. But go ahead and boil if you need to; just use less liquid to thin the purée. (The cauliflower will have absorbed a lot of water in boiling.) There's no law that says you can't purée other quick-cooking vegetables as well; imagine whirled peas, as the Phish fans used to exhort on their Volvo bumpers. The bright green color looks fantastic on a plate.

A favorite from the '70s, pumpkin cheesecake is even more fun as a crumbly, nutty bar.

Reminiscent of Sara Lee's 1950s-era graham-cracker and sour-cream cheesecake, this version features a thick layer of delicious sour cream atop the creamy filling and tart Key lime custard.

Now that imported caviar is no longer available, the domestic stuff is all the rage. Paired with lemon oil (sold at many markets), it's the ultimate garnish.

A beautiful bright orange, this soup has the sweetness of carrots and the aromatic nuttiness of caraway.

Get two of your daily fruit servings with this diet-friendly dessert from Annie Clemmons, pastry chef at Cyrus in Healdsburg, California.

Fork to the bottom of your bowl and you'll put away six servings of veggies! You can thank Michael Dunn, chef at Yankee Pier Santana Row in San Jose, California.

You can serve this soup hot or cold, says Carl Schroeder, chef at Arterra in San Diego. It's loaded with beta-carotene and is wonderfully rich.

This starter, from Colby Garrelts, chef and co-owner of Bluestem in Kansas City, Missouri, is ideal for any summer get-together. For only 72 calories per serving, you'll get nearly 30 percent of your daily requirement for vitamin A, plus 4 grams of fiber.

We'll toast to this vitamin C-packed drink from Neal Fraser, chef at Grace Restaurant in Los Angeles.

This variation on vitello tonnato retains the Mediterranean feel of the classic veal dish without all the fuss, and the arresting dark spiral created by the black-olive tapenade filling makes the dish special enough for entertaining.

Don't be surprised when this colorful, kid-friendly meal is also a hit with adults.

Earthy mushrooms are the base for a soup that also benefits from the saltwater essence of plump oysters.

It's the spicy, garlicky tomatillo salsa that really sells these addictive tostadas. Frying store-bought corn tortillas heightens the vibrancy of their corn flavor and creates a crisp foundation for the refried black beans, shredded romaine, lush avocado, and creamy queso fresco.