Gourmet

Despite being low in fat, these little cookies will satisfy any chocolate lover's craving.

This topping for the meringue roulade tastes great no matter what type of fig you use, but purple ones, such as Mission, will turn your syrup a beautiful shade of pink.

This gravy makes a nice accompaniment to the broiled polenta sticks and the roasted squash and mushrooms , as well as the <epi:recipelink id="230982">sautéed Broccolini.</epi:recipelink>

This is a sweet dessert compote — it does not go with the turkey. The oranges are cooked to make sure all the bitterness is released, so it's important that they're sliced very thin — an extremely sharp thin-bladed knife is best for the task.

This pan-Asian tofu gets brilliant color and lively flavor from an easy cilantro pesto. To make this dish vegetarian, you can simply replace the fish sauce with soy sauce.

This chutney, which would be at home in India or England, goes well with turkey, pork, or venison.

Chunks of tender cauliflower and potato tossed with Indian spices give this stuffing a lovely, distinctive texture and flavor.

This risotto is a delicious way to add vibrant color — and a bit of Italy — to the normally muted Thanksgiving table.

This dish is a wonderful alternative to more traditional dressing. It's normal for a crust to develop on the bottom of the pot — after scooping out most of the rice, you can cook the crust a bit longer, then chip off the tasty morsels.

A mixture of mushrooms gives these Mexican tamales a rich, almost meaty flavor.

Of all the rich and succulent winter squash varieties, delicata, with its long and uniformly narrow shape, is the easiest to work with. And its thin, pale-golden skin with green striations is more than just pretty — it's edible, too.

Spaetzle, tender little morsels that are like a cross between a noodle and a dumpling, are common to Austrian, German, and Swiss cuisine.

In this rich, sweet salad, we've included not just onions but their relatives in the Allium family — shallots, leeks, garlic, and chives. For meltingly tender results, be sure to peel off the papery outer layer, the leathery second layer, and any paper-thin membranes from the onions, shallots, and leeks.

Here, you only boil the rice briefly before combining it with the dried fruit and cooking it without water. We adapted this rice from a Persian method that yields a buttery crust (called tah-dig) on the bottom of the pan — later the crust is served with the rice. Usually you have to dip the pot in cold water at the end of cooking to release the crust, but a happy kitchen accident occurred when we tested this recipe. Food editor Ruth Cousineau let the rice stand for almost an hour (things can get hectic when you're preparing a holiday meal), and the crust came right out without the dipping. Using a heavy pot helps keep the rice hot, too.

Truffles add a flavorful woodsy note, but if you make this French-influenced celery-root purée without them, it will still be delicious.

The sautéed Broccolini and roasted squash and mushrooms are meant to be piled onto these creamy polenta sticks, then topped with the roasted vegetable gravy and frizzled onion .