Cranberry

Nut pies can be very sweet — mixing in tart cranberries keeps everything in check.

This classic uncooked relish gets an aromatic edge from cinnamon, cloves, and ginger.

To round out this menu, serve roasted squash, corn muffins and boiled green beans with orange zest. End with vanilla ice cream topped with warm chestnuts in syrup.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

The tartness of the cranberries is accented by the sweet, crunch meringue filling served at Le Bec-Fin in Philadelphia.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Port and orange juice accent this cranberry and dried fig sauce.

The creamy tequila-orange filling contrasts perfectly with the tart cranberry topping.

Jeanne Thiel Kelley, a contributing editor at Bon Appétit, says, "As far back as I can remember, my father has been glazing the holiday ham with Marsala (we always have ham and turkey on Thanksgiving). When I started making the cranberry sauce, I decided to mix in a little Marsala, figuring that the combination would complement the ham nicely. I was right, and the sauce is terrific with turkey, too. Rosemary might seem like an unusual seasoning in this sauce, but for me it's a natural addition. I live in Southern California, and fresh rosemary is just everywhere."

A beautiful dessert for the December entertaining season.

Intensely flavored and vibrant red, this jelly bears no resemblance to the stuff in the can —it's definitely worth the effort. Though we call for 4 bags of cranberries, the yield is only 3 cups because all the solids get strained out. You'll be happy if you have any extra cranberry sauce when you make sandwiches with the leftover turkey.

This recipe is an accompaniment for Stilton Tart with Cranberry Chutney .

No Thanksgiving dinner would be complete without cranberry relish. It can be made in large batches if you want to make enough for the winter.