Roast

Be sure to use Deglet Noor or another firm date variety; Medjool dates are too soft and sticky for this recipe.

Forget the rule about cooking vegetables just until they're crisp-tender. The oven-roasting method used here results in lusciously soft beans with intensified flavor. Be sure to use fresh beans; older ones can be dry and tough.

The complex, bittersweet syrup for these roasted sweet potatoes is inspired by Southern redeye gravy.

The first Thanksgiving I took part in cooking was when I was 20, a college kid in Boston, living in a big, rambling house. The apartment was a kind of clubhouse devoted to a shifting list of priorities that included music, books, girls, beer, and food. On Thanksgiving we cooked a turkey. The recipe was my pal John Patrick Montaño's, and I still use it today: a roast bird glazed with a rosemary-infused teriyaki butter. The piney herb melds beautifully with the butter and sweet caramel of the mirin browning on lacquered skin. It results in flavor of astonishing depth.

This is a good option for cold-weather Thanksgivings eaten under threatening skies, since the combination of herbs and citrus provides a house-filling aroma that speaks to sunniness. Garnish with some remaining sprigs of sage and thyme, but be careful with the rosemary, as a little goes a long way.

At the first nip in the air, I start looking for fresh butternut squash at farmers' markets, just so I can make this soup. Considered a Thanksgiving classic, this versatile and universally loved soup is simply too tasty to enjoy only once a year. Now that peeled and precut butternut squash is available in grocery stores year-round, you can make this easy three-step—roast, blend, and simmer—soup anytime you like. Like apple or pear butter, pumpkin butter is gently cooked with some sugar until it's smooth and has a buttery texture. Look for pumpkin butter near the jams and jellies in your grocery store.

This recipe is part of the Epicurious Online Cooking School, in partnership with the Culinary Institute of America. To watch it being made, and to learn how to make other Mediterranean classics, check out the video classes.

This recipe is part of the Epicurious Online Cooking School, in partnership with the Culinary Institute of America. To watch it being made, and to learn how to make other Mediterranean classics, check out the video classes.

Cookbook author and cooking teacher James Peterson created this recipe exclusively for Epicurious. The repeated caramelization of the vegetables is the secret to the gravy's surprisingly rich flavor. For more of Peterson's gravy-making advice, including how to thicken with a roux and avoid lumps, see our Gravy Primer.

A rack is one of the most luxurious cuts from the lamb and makes a dramatic roast. Count on two ribs per person (four servings per rack) if you're using American lamb and four ribs per serving if you're using New Zealand or Australian lamb. When carving, alternate sides as you serve the ribs so one person isn't stuck with the "seconds," the ribs from the shoulder end of the rack.
If you have a double rack of lamb, split it. This removes the chine bone automatically. If you have a single rack, make sure the butcher trims off the chine bone so you can carve the rack easily. French the rack and remove the layer of fat that covers half of the rack on the shoulder end. This helps the meat to cook evenly. You will save time in the kitchen if your butcher has frenched the ribs for you. But, if the rack isn't frenched, don't skip the step. A frenched rack is a stunning sight on the dinner table.

A rack of lamb, being a red meat, is roasted to a lower internal temperature than chicken, veal, or pork, meaning that it releases little in the way of juices during the roasting process. To supplement the jus, spread the roasting pan with the trimmings from the rack (with the fat trimmed off) or a pound or so of lamb stew meat cut into small pieces and brown these in a hot oven before setting the rack on top. The flavor of the jus can also be accentuated by caramelizing the juices once or more after deglazing as described above for the saddle of lamb.

"Pistachios are buttery, piney, crunchy, and creamy—plus they go great with a cold beer."

Use this toasted-hazelnut vinaigrette on any fall salad.

Add Sherry vinegar right to the baking dish to turn the juices from the roasted vegetables into a simple, vibrant vinaigrette.

Makrut lime leaves give this spiced nut mix its citrusy, floral notes. Can't find any? Just double the lime zest.

Roasting the onions and shallots takes this dip way out of the box.

This spin on the classic preparation makes efficient use of a whole duck by breaking the meat into six pieces and making a stock with the remaining carcass. Have your butcher separate the breasts, wings, and legs for you.

After we make a batch of this romesco sauce, we put it on things like eggs, grilled cheese, and turkey sandwiches. We find any excuse we can think of to dunk and cover stuff in the incredibly versatile and tasty romesco.

Rae: This is an old-timey High Holiday vegetable side dish, sweetened with honey and raisins or prunes and, sadly, often simmered to mushy blandness. To get past that problem, roast the carrots first, to brown them and coax out their natural sweetness, and then bring everything together on the stove top at the end. Sunflower seeds add a nutty note to the chewy prunes and raisins.