Quick

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.

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. This is another long-cooking method for cooking beans, not for the crisp-vegetable crowd. The shallots get very sweet with roasting. Add a squeeze of lemon or a little vinegar if you like, or toss in some chopped thyme.

This recipe is adapted from Audrey Saunders, owner of Pegu Club in New York City. Crown Roast of Lamb with Rosemary requires a companion drink with body, and this cocktail has that in spades. Also, like lamb, its flavor is a bit racy.

This syrup is an ingredient in Audrey Saunder's Madeira Martinezand Tim Lacey's mint limeade. It may be used in place of simple syrup in many cocktails.

This recipe is adapted from Ryan Magarian, the Seattle-based cocktail consultant behind Liquid Kitchen (www.kathycasey.com/liquid_kitchen). This bracingly sweet-tart drink acts like a good Riesling, standing up to the sweetness of Butternut Squash and Apple Soup with Melted Blue Cheese . A sprinkle of nutmeg and a dash of cinnamony Angostura Bitters add layers of complexity to the cocktail and go beautifully with the flavors of butternut squash and apple. For expert advice on pairing cocktails with food, click here.

This recipe is adapted from Ryan Magarian, the Seattle-based cocktail consultant behind Liquid Kitchen (www.kathycasey.com/liquid_kitchen). He recommends pairing this cocktail with Braised Short Ribs with Potato Gratin with Horseradish and Parmesan . The drink's luxurious sweetness and body both stand up to the meat and temper the burn of the horseradish. For expert advice on pairing cocktails with food, click here.

This recipe is adapted from Ryan Magarian, the Seattle-based cocktail consultant behind Liquid Kitchen (www.kathycasey.com/liquid_kitchen). This autumn cocktail, with its palate-enlivening bubbles, is light enough not to overwhelm the delicate meat in Roast Turkey with Bacon and Applejack Gravy . The subtly sweet pear flavor echoes the presence of fall fruit in the gravy. For expert advice on pairing cocktails with food, click here.

Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are from Ted Allen's The Food You Want to Eat. This is the easiest homemade cocktail snack you could ever imagine. Even better: it's probably the most delicious one in existence—salty, cheesy, and irresistible. It's basically a very cheesy cheese cracker; just a bit of shredded cheese baked with a tiny bit of flour and some herbs until it's good and crispy. (And it has the added advantage of making your house smell fantastic.) It's also a great tasting and beautiful addition to a salad, especially if you're brave enough to try this: the moment the crisps come out of the oven, while they're still hot and flexible, try rolling them around the handle of a wooden spoon to form a cylinder. They're also great looking left in their natural state of flat, irregular ovals.

In this very simple recipe, the spices, mint, garlic, and oil form a crust that helps seal in the lamb's juices. Sautéed carrots and roasted potatoes would be nice on the side.

Tart, refreshing lime balances the richness of the chocolate.

The chive butter is a breeze to make, and it works overtime: First it's used to baste the shrimp, later it becomes the sauce.

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

Serve this granola with milk and sliced bananas or yogurt for breakfast, or sprinkle it over ice cream for dessert.