A few weeks ago a friend had a pre-thanksgiving thanksgiving party. She made 3 different versions of each of these Thanksgiving mainstays: a “greens” dish, a stuffing, a potato casserole/pie, a cranberry sauce, and a dessert. Then she invited a dozen people over to eat and vote on their favorite dish (she’ll be making the best when the real turkey comes around next week). I don’t remember which dishes won when she tallied all the votes, so this story doesn’t resolve itself cleanly with a list of “perfect” thanksgiving recipes. But I did remember which dishes I loved in particular. And here they are:

Corn bread and chile stuffing
Cranberry Sauce with Cherries and Marsala and Rosemary
Leek and Wild Mushroom Stuffing