Poultry

This simple but sophisticated preparation is the star of the Thanksgiving table. Watch how to prepare and carve your bird with our streaming video demonstration.

Gingersnaps thicken the gravy and add nice sweetness and spice. Start the gravy while the turkey roasts, then add the pan juices when it's done and waiting to be carved.

Forget the usual chopped liver. This rustic appetizer is an Italian treat. Spiedini are skewers of any combination of foods — bread, cheeses, meatballs, fish — that can be grilled or roasted.

It's important to use large lettuce leaves (about 6 inches) for this salad, so you may need to buy 2 heads of lettuce in order to get 6 good leaves. Active time: 45 min Start to finish: 45 min

This chicken makes a flavorful meal when combined with the Jasmine Rice and Carrot and Radish Salad . Steamed green beans and carrots would also make good sides.

In this recipe, tortillas are a supermarket stand-in for mandarin pancakes. Active time: 30 min Start to finish: 35 min

If you cannot get turkey breast already packed, buy a whole turkey and use the breasts for this dish and the thighs for Turkey Chili.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

"Because my family loves this hearty stew so much, I included it in a cookbook I put together for my children," Joy Smith, Glastonbury, Connecticut. "It makes a comforting meal on cold winter evenings here in Connecticut, and it's a convenient dish that freezes and reheats well."

Some of the chicken's flavorful poaching liquid gets added to the dressing in this spicy Asian-accented dish.

This refined French appetizer is traditionally made by pounding confit of pork, goose, or (in this case) duck into a silky paste. Here a mortar and pestle is replaced by a food processor and elbow grease by a light touch — rillettes are best easily spread but not quite smooth.

Yakitori at its simplest is a chicken shish kabab with a very Japanese flavor. Pieces of dark meat are served either by themselves, neatly speared onto the ends of small bamboo skewers (three makes a serving), or interspersed with bits of green bell pepper or scallion. As the meat is grilled, it is dipped into a sweetened soy-based sauce. The servings are tantalizingly small, but you can have as many as you want. If you are hungry enough for a full meal, you can serve yakitori on a bowl of rice with tea and pickles on the side.