"ThanksgivingRecipes" news and stories

The editors over at our sister site, KitchenDaily, have been busy getting ready for Thanksgiving, and we've rounded up some of their best offerings to get you ready for the feast to end all feasts.

• Traditional Thanksgiving Dinner Recipes
• Thanksgiving Dessert Recipe Round-up
• Stuffing Recipes from Around the U.S.
• Thanksgiving Table Decorating Ideas
• Top 10 Thanksgiving Turkey Mistakes
• Green Bean Casserole Recipes

For more recipes, tips and party ideas for Thanksgiving, visit KitchenDaily.com.

We're now in the last push before Thanksgiving. There's no time to carefully make marzipan treats or tasty maple concoctions. But there is still the possibility of sweetness without resorting to the old-school pie baking. Simply put down the pie shell, find a pumpkin-shaped pan and whip up a delicious, show-stopping cake.

The orange squash is one of the most undervalued delicacies in the world of food. By adding it to a cake, you get all the rich and spicy flavor contrasted with vanilla or chocolate. Since this is a cake, it can be made ahead of time -- freeing up the oven for the last-minute fare -- and adds some three-dimensional whimsy to your holiday table.

One of the biggest secrets of the baking world is that some of the most impressive treats are often quite easy to make -- especially when marzipan is involved. That thick and nutty almond paste offers a flavor perfect for Thanksgiving treats, and can easily be molded into any number of holiday-specific nibbles, whether you're an old sculpture pro or feel that you have two left hands.

This cheesecake with its ginger-lemon cookie crust celebrates one of fall's most delicious flavors: pumpkin.

Get this pumpkin cheesecake recipe along with many others after the jump.

• In defense of the bird, Kim Severson submits that all Thanksgivings stem from a good turkey.
• In the battle of turkey versus sides, Julia Moskin makes her case for a smattering of sides, like Fiery Sweet Potatoes and Caramelized Corn with Fresh Mint, to beat the traditional appeal of the bird.
• The wine panel selects five reds and five white wines to complement the Thanksgiving feast.
• Sam Sifton awards Charlie Palmer's Aureole one star, describing it -- as New Yorkers say -- "meh."
• At the New Orleans Po-Boy Preservation Festival on Nov. 22, po'boy preservationists raise awareness for the "endangered" signature sandwich.
• With pears on the bottom and batter on top, Mark Bittman turns things topsy-turvy with his Pear Upside-Down Cake.