I love all the fixins' that go into a Thanksgiving meal, which probably explains why I made a half dozen dishes and a 10-pound bird for only two people this holiday. In fact, I love it so much that I make the same recipes throughout the year. Here are some of my favorites.


Classic: Turkey
Follow your typical turkey roasting instructions, but coat the body over and under the skin with lots of butter. For something a little different, do the same with rosemary and butter. Baste it every 30 minutes or so with a seasoning broth and the turkey juices.


Newer Classic: Sweet potato casserole
I found the best recipe for sweet sweet potato casserole on Allrecipes.com and I haven't deviated much from it at all. You'll want to follow the same recipe but let the sweet potatoes boil a couple minutes longer, use a hand mixer to get all the ingredients completely blended -- adding a bit more milk for extra creaminess as you do -- and top it with anything from pecans to walnuts to coconut to mini marshmalls or even oatmeal. I've also tried the recipe with the coconut and nuts mixed in, but I prefer to keep them on top so the potatoes stay creamy and smooth.


Jury's Still Out: Chocolate cream pie
I wanted a pie this Thanksgiving but opted for the chocolate kind. I used your ordinary Betty Crocker pie crust mix for the base, then followed yet another recipe I found on Allrecipes.com, this one for chocolate pie. I enjoyed the final result, though it's more of a hot-cocoa flavored chocolate than a fudge or mousse-flavored chocolate -- maybe because one of the main ingedients is unsweetened cocoa powder! If you've ever had one of those frozen hot chocolate drinks from NYC's Serendipty -- and loved it -- you'll probably love this pie. I'm going to try making it again with some bittersweet chocolate instead.

Let me know if you try any of these out. Viva la turkey day!