Pumpkin

Make this luscious dessert a day ahead.

Watch out, pumpkin pie! This dessert is delicious even without a caloric crust. It's a light and flavorful soufflé consisting mostly of egg whites, a great source of high-quality protein. To further up the health quotient, naturally rich but low-calorie unsweetened soy milk is used in place of whole milk.

A bite of this flan, fragrant with traditional pumpkin-pie spices, is very comforting despite the dessert's modern looks; a topping of pumpkin seeds, seasoned with cayenne, creates a play of sweet and heat.

When the pumpkin pie is gone, but you've only just begun to get your fill of pumpkin desserts, this bundt will fill the void quite nicely (and the somewhat more assertive spices will welcome the season ahead). Best of all, the flavors continue to develop and the cake tastes even better a few days after it's baked, so it's perfect to have on hand at this time of year, when guests tend to drop in unexpectedly.

The flavor combinations in this creamy yet light soup are complex, but making it is very easy. Like the best appetizers, the soup wakes up the palate and is not too filling.

Healthy bonus: Vitamin A from the pumpkin, fiber from the peas

As this soup cooks, the kitchen will quickly fill with the tantalizing aroma of leeks stewing in butter with pumpkin, curry, and spices.

Holiday alert! Here's a filling that comes together in no time. If there is some dough on hand or a crust in the freezer, you're all set to go.

With no pastry crust to wrangle, these luscious parfaits of pumpkin mousse and cream are easier to make than pumpkin pie. Start making this dessert at least one day before you plan to serve it.

Use a clip-on deep-fry thermometer to gauge the oil temperature when frying these doughnuts: too low and they'll absorb oil, turning leaden and soggy; too high and they'll burn before the insides are cooked through.

Try this pumpkin-infused vodka in the Smashing Pumpkin Martini, or use it to invent a holiday cocktail of your own.The bar at Fifty Seven Fifty Seven in New York City, where it was created, uses a liter-sized Stolichnaya bottle to hold the vodka-pumpkin mixture while it steeps.

Here's a different use for one of the ingredients from the first Thanksgiving. Though this recipe is particularly easy to prepare with frozen winter squash purée, canned pumpkin purée or mashed freshly cooked butternut squash will work just as well. The squash will impart a beautiful golden color to the rolls.

Dense, moist, and delicious, this bread is great as a quick snack or with a bit of whipped honey butter for afternoon tea.

Sprinkle a ring of chopped toasted walnuts around the edge of the pie before serving.

Pumpkin pie was introduced to the holiday table at the Pilgrim's second Thanksgiving in 1623. Decorate this American classic with some whipped cream, or serve the cream alongside.