Fine Cooking

If your motto is “eat the rainbow,” this Thanksgiving menu is for you. Yes, there’s turkey, but it’s really all about the vegetables. It begins with a brilliant roasted purple cabbage and pear salad. The two main dishes make the menu friendly to vegetarians and omnivores alike: a maple-brined turkey breast and a meatless vegetable tart. And the side dishes are what really give the plate a rainbow of color and flavor: brown-butter green beans with pine nuts, cinnamon mashed sweet potatoes, and lime-scented cranberry sauce. The menu ends with a pink cranberry-and-cream tart.

Two Days Ahead

Make the cranberry sauce.
Make the chocolate tart crust.
Cook and puree the cranberries for the tart.

One Day Ahead

Brine the turkey breast.
Roast the cabbage for the salad and the vegetables for the tart.
Make the dough for the vegetable crust.
Make the mushroom gravy.

In the Morning

Assemble and bake the vegetable tart
Blanch the green beans.

3 Hours Ahead

Make the cranberry fool filling, fill, and refrigerate the cranberry tart.
Begin roasting the turkey breast.

2 Hours Ahead

Make the mashed sweet potatoes; keep warm in a double boiler or slow cooker.

1 Hour Ahead

Make the salad dressing.
Take the cranberry sauce out of the fridge.

30 Minutes Ahead

Assemble the salad.
As the turkey breast rests, finish the gravy.
Make the brown butter and finish the green beans.

Just Before Serving

Carve the turkey breast.
Rewarm the vegetable tart, if you like.

What We're Cooking Now

Collection
A Dozen Desserts Inspired By Country Fairs
Collection
The Best Culinary Mashups
Collection
Chopped Salads, Summer's Perfect Meal

Collection
Roll Up Dinner in a Cool Lettuce Wrap
Collection
Teach an Old Grill New Tricks
Collection
Sophisticated Pasta Salads
Collection
Our 12 Best Summer Watermelon Recipes

Recipe

Poached Egg and Asparagus Toasts with Beurre Blanc

This quick take on eggs Benedict eschews Hollandaise sauce and ham in favor of tangy beurre blanc and fresh asparagus. It takes slightly more than 10 minutes, but it looks…