What we're eating has put an amazing twist on a favorite Thanksgiving side dish, making Bleu Cheese Candied Yams that sound like they would be a perfect addition to just about any winter meal. The recipe is very easy and just uses yams, molasses, honey, sage and blue cheese, with a bit of butter added for good measure. Yams (or sweet potatoes) are naturally sweet, and while it might sound as though the sweetness would be overwhelming with the addition of honey, the salty and strongly flavored blue cheese cuts that sweetness and balances the dish. The flavors work in reverse, as well, with the honey and molasses slightly tempering the strong cheese. All things considered, this would make a great addition to your menu for Thursday if you are still looking for sides. It doesn't take too much work and you and your guests will be delighted with the results.

Mark Bittman,the minimalist, talks about stuffing versus dressing for a Thanksgiving dinner. Dressing is what Southerners call the bread-based mixture when it is baked outside of the turkey. Dressing can be veg-friendly, gets crisper at the edges for a lovely textural addition, is easy to make and there are no cooking temperature/bacteria problems to worry about, as there are when the stuffing is in the bird. Bittman uses a James Beard recipe, and there is a video how-to here.

One of the Times' writers tests a whole variety of different fats in pie crusts. She liked various animal fats. She doesn't say what her baking background is, but Rose Levy Berenbaum (author of the Pie and Pastry Bible) recommends a combination of mostly butter with a bit of shortening, much like this recipe.

Using colorful vegetables to dress up the Thanksgiving table is a great idea, as the soft textures and bland colors of mashed potatoes, gravy and turkey are uninteresting, to say the least. Try Stir-Fried Cabbage With Cumin Seeds , Hashed Brussels Sprouts With Lemon Zest , Wilted Chard With Pickled Red Onions and String Beans With Ginger and Garlic .

Have you tried Fragrant pears? They're one of the most recently exported fruits from China to the US and really make other Asian pears pale in comparison. They are small and oval, with long stems and light green or yellow skin that will sometimes have a red blush. "The flesh is extraordinarily tender, crisp and juicy.... the flavor is delicate."

Add corn to Thanksgiving dinner. Did you know that corn in mashed potatoes can give it a rich, creamy taste that will fool people into thinking that you've used a ton of butter and cream, but without the fat?

Frank Bruni dines at The Lonesome Dove Western Bistro and gives it a "satisfactory" rating.

The first installment in this series of Thanksgiving ideas from around the blogosphere introduced us to some turkey and stuffing recipes. Now, we're moving on to side dishes, many of which are even more beloved than the turkey itself. There are way too many sides to list here, since there is no limit to what can be served with a turkey dinner, but these are fairly standard (or twists on a standard) recipes that everyone is sure to enjoy.

• If you thought brussel sprouts were boring, you havent tried the deliciously caramelized Garlic Roasted Brussel Sprouts from Bunnyfoot.
• The Bourbon Baked Sweet Potatoes at 101 Cookbooks are easy to make ahead and can be a side or a vegetarian main dish.
• The secret to making the perfect mashed potatoes from Simply Recipes is to use Yukon Gold potatoes.
• Roasted Butternut Squash with Rosemary and Balsamic vinegar from Kalyn's Kitchen is the great choice for squash fans, as well as for anyone who wants a lighter side.
• We've already seen a Veggie Venture's world's best green bean casserole, which updates a traditional recipe to the best it can be. Incidentally, most of Alanna's other veggie recipes will work well as sides, too.
• Chubby Hubby made a comforting, tasty creamless creamed corn that uses frozen, not fresh, corn.
• Berries? Booze? The Cranberry Bourbon Relish from Sorry Fugu sounds like a winner already.
• Cranberry Satsuma Relish, from Brownie Points, unlike the sauce mentioned above, is uncooked and made in seconds in the food processor. The Wednesday Chef has a cooked Cranberry Orange Sauce for a different combination of the flavors.

Once you get past the food porn, you quickly realize that the recipes are hugely varied and very easy to follow. The chapters include starters, soups, salads, entrees and sides and list almost 200 recipes between them. All of the recipes are vegetarian and many are vegan.

I haven't been though all the recipes personally (yet), but I often flip through the pages when looking for something different to do with carrots (Carrots with Coconut, Ginger and Chili), butternut squash (Squash and Feta Pie) or sweet corn (Potato and Sweet Corn Chowder) because the ingredient lists are short and I frequently have everything I need on hand. Every one I've tried has come out well and is a hit when served to a group, since you can see exactly what you'll be presenting from the photo before you even begin to cook.

While there are many barbecue books that focus on the main course, some mention side dishes only in passing, if at all. It can be difficult to master smoking a piece of meat to perfection, but once that meat if ready to be served, you're going to want to serve something with it. The Big Book of Barbecue Sides is all about what to serve with that main course at a barbecue, or any time you're cooking on the grill. It has over 100 recipes and covers more than just coleslaw, though that is the first recipe included in the book. Other topics covered include breads, pastas, salads, veggies and fruits (dessert or side dish), with dishes that can be made on the grill as well as off it. It is great to have all these favorites in one volume that you can keep with your grilling books, rather than having to go searching all your cookbooks for recipes like Red Beans and Rice, Skillet Cornbread, Grilled Corn Salsa, Garlic and Parmesan Spuds and Barbecued Pineapple.