Recipes

A 12 to 14-pounder is the top weight for this treatment: Otherwise the grill cover won't close. Do some pre-measuring of your grill before selecting your bird to be sure it fits. Two days in advance wash the turkey inside and out in cold running water. Dry it well with a ton of paper towels. Rub it inside and out with the following "dry rub," which is less demanding than a brine.

This soup has existed about as long as farming has in western civilizations. It is the mainstay peasant soup of France and can be used as the founda­tion for any number of other vegetable soups. In restaurants this soup is near­ly always pureed, but in the old-fa­shioned country version it is not — the vegetables are simply cooked to near disintegration. My version is a compro­mise because it is intended as a main dish and somehow a pureed soup never seems to make it — the hungry mouth needs something to chew on, I guess,

Serves four.

Faeries may not so much dance as galumph around under the moon after a slice of this rich moist cake laden with fruit and nuts. The directions assume an electric mixer, but you can also beat it together with a wooden spoon.

Bread, pies, and tarts can be frozen until ready to use.

Broccoli puree will not only keep for several days, but could be frozen until ready to use.

A few days' mellowing improves the chutney.

Scallops, broccoli, potatoes, and beach plums pay homage to local bounty which, I believe, is an equally important aspect of the Thanksgiving celebration.

The menu is extensive but only the turkey, squash, and potatoes are prepared from scratch on Thanksgiving Day.

A regal sight when four are arranged on one huge platter in a wreath of watercress. Duck is also a sensible alternative to turkey for the small family.

This basic recipe for oyster stuffing, or dressing, for a holiday turkey came from Sidney Snow's syndicated column, "Three Meals a Day," printed in The Star in 1935.