Back in the day, a college pal we all called Kentuck introduced me to the Hot Brown—an open-faced turkey sandwich embellished with tomato and bacon or country ham, draped with a rich cheese sauce, then broiled. He was working with nothing more than a hot plate and a toaster oven, but somehow he managed to serve it with […]

The rare alignment of Thanksgiving and the first day of Hanukkah has brought the invention of a new portmanteau word, way too many puns (“Gobble-Tov!”), people at the supermarket meat counter wondering aloud if sausage stuffing would be bad form, and the angst that occurs when you saddle a blissfully gift-free occasion with presents. I suppose all […]

The secret to great turkey soup is a deeply flavored broth, and the secret to that is to jump on it soon after Thanksgiving, while the carcass is still meaty and moist. That’s why I feel obligated to publish this now instead of a bit later in the week. Naturally, I’m hoping that you followed […]

You probably don’t have time to read this because Thanksgiving is only two days away. If you aren’t cooking, odds are you have to travel, and you need the time to fret about potential traffic snarls and perhaps wonder if a copy of Sam Sifton’s Thanksgiving: How to Cook It Well would make a good hostess gift. The […]

A great pan gravy is not difficult to make, but attention must be paid, and at the last minute, too. That’s why so many examples of this noble subset of the sauce realm are truly god-awful. I know this for a fact, because I feel compelled to order gravy if I see it on a […]

Many people believe that the Thanksgiving bird is merely the means to an end: gravy. I don’t count myself among them—I enjoy the flavor of roast turkey, both white meat and dark—but there’s no arguing about the fact that you can never ever have too much rich, velvety gravy. It gives the entire meal a […]

The pecans above may look small and pale, almost drab. But I’d give anything if I could offer you some to taste. A plump, deeply grooved variety called Elliott, they are rich and buttery. Sweet. They have finesse. Most importantly, they are new-crop pecans—that is, just harvested—and their fresh, pure flavor is a world apart […]