Shall we define the traditional Thanksgiving? A cursory bit of research located a menu from the year 1621—before the advent of the fork—which apparently included the following:

…Seethed fish, Roast fowl with sauce, Boiled sallet, Ancient New England standing dish of pompions, Furmenty, Prune tart…

About all I can tell you about this is that “pompions” are now known as pumpkins, and that “seething” something means boiling it in salt and water. (But I only know this because I looked it up).

Fast forward to the menu that’s been served in American households since the 1950s or so:

…Roast turkey with gravy, Mashed potatoes, Cranberry sauce, Candied yams, Green bean casserole, Pumpkin pie…

I’m leaving out the little extras, like mini-marshmallows on the yams and Durkee French fried onions on the green beans. In any case, I’d just as soon not be presented with either of the aforementioned dishes, and while savvier cooks have been making adjustments to this menu for decades, for the most part what’s being served in American households these days dates back to the Eisenhower era. Yet there are ways to keep with tradition while avoiding the outdated, unhealthy or downright gross. We can embrace the culinary possibilities available in this new millennium and create new favorite dishes. What I’m saying is, perhaps it’s time for the mini-marshmallow to go the way of the boiled sallet and the seethed fish.

The bird

There are a few ways to treat a turkey that seem both to elevate and defile it at the same time. We have the “Black Turkey”—a charred affair lacquered with an evil-looking glaze. We have the “Beer Can Turkey”—which is first penetrated and then gotten drunk. We even have the ridiculous “Turducken”—an orgiastic threesome of different breeds co-mingling in your oven.

Black Lacquered Turkey

1 20-pound turkey, 1 stick butter

glazing paste:

2 egg yolks

1 teaspoon Coleman’s mustard powder

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon grated onion

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour (more if needed)

basting liquid:

1 bay leaf

3 teaspoons celery seeds

1 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon coriander

1 clove garlic

1 cup apple cider

Preheat the oven to 500˚. Stuff the turkey with your favorite stuffing and truss to enclose. Brush the turkey breast with melted butter, place breast-side down on the rack and brush with remaining melted butter. Place in the oven and roast until brown all over, about 30 minutes. Remove the turkey from the oven and reduce temperature to 350˚. While the oven cools, brush the hot turkey with the paste and allow it to set until dry (5 to 7 minutes). Turn it over on the rack and brush all over with paste. Place the coated turkey in the oven. Using a turkey baster, baste with basting liquid. Continue basting the turkey every 15 minutes—no exceptions!—throughout the roasting process, allowing about 12-15 minutes per pound. This should keep you slaving in front of that oven for upwards of five hours, but it’ll be worth it as you watch the bird turn a light brown, then a dark brown, then darker and darker until after about two hours the thing is turning completely black. Your guests will think you are demented, and some may actually start making other dinner plans. But upon removal from the oven, the black and cindery crust can be peeled right off (tweezers help), revealing a gorgeous, golden mahogany turkey underneath.

Smoked Beer Can Turkey

You need a 24-ounce beer can for this one. Heineken makes a “mini keg” that works like a charm.

1 whole turkey, about 15 pounds

12 ounces beer, plus 2 tablespoons

6 bay leaves

2 teaspoons thyme

4 tablespoons brown sugar

2 tablespoons ketchup

2 tablespoons white vinegar

2 teaspoons hot sauce

2 tablespoons paprika

1 tablespoon black pepper

1 tablespoon salt

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 24-ounce beer can

Empty the beer into another container and cut off the top of the can. Then refill the can with 12 ounces of beer, bay leaves and thyme. Combine 2 tablespoons brown sugar with the paprika, salt and pepper—this is the rub for the turkey. In another container combine 2 tablespoons brown sugar, ketchup, vinegar, 2 tablespoons of beer and hot sauce—this is your basting liquid. Prepare smoker for a six-hour smoke. Rub surface of the turkey with the spice rub, getting as much as you can under the skin—especially over the breast meat. Stand beer can up on the smoker grate and gently set the turkey over the can so that the can is completely inside the cavity of the turkey, making sure that the bird is stable (it’s not drunk yet!) and doesn’t topple. Once you have the turkey in the smoker let it cook for about six hours, basting every two hours or so, at a temperature of about 250˚. The bird is done when the internal temperature in the thigh is about 165˚.

Turducken

3-pound whole chicken, boned

4-pound duck, boned

16-pound turkey, boned

Salt, pepper and Creole seasoning to taste

3 cups stuffing of your choice (Chef Paul Prudhomme uses three different kinds—one for each bird)

Preheat oven to 375˚. Lay the boned chicken skin-side down on a platter and season with salt, pepper and Creole seasoning. Lay the boned duck skin-side down on top of the chicken and season the same. Cover and refrigerate. Lay the boned turkey skin-side down on a flat surface. Cover with a layer of cold stuffing and push the dressing into the leg and wing cavities so they will look as if they still have bones in them. Lay the duck on top of the turkey (skin-side down) and cover it with another layer of cold stuffing. Lay the chicken on top of the duck (skin-side down) and cover it with dressing.

Bring the edges of the turkey skin up and fasten them together with toothpicks—you may want to have an assistant here. Use the kitchen string to lace around the toothpicks to help hold the stuffed turkey together. Carefully place the turducken, breast up, in a large roasting pan. Roast, covered, for four hours or until golden brown. Roast uncovered for one hour or until a meat thermometer inserted through the thigh registers 180 degrees and a thermometer inserted through the stuffing registers 165˚. Check the turducken every few hours to baste and remove excess liquid. There will be enough pan juices for a gallon of gravy. Carve and serve.

THE SIDES

Who hates canned jellied cranberry sauce? (I do! I do!) While a good homemade cranberry sauce can surely be made, why not throw those tart, acidic, rock-like little gems by the wayside and serve up something that suits the same purpose but that more people will enjoy? You can also change up your standard dressing and mashed potatoes by using pumpernickel, rye, cornbread or sourdough in place of the usual white bread stuffing and adding some mashed turnip, parsnip or rutabaga to the potatoes.

Cherry and Chipotle Pepper Chutney

1 head garlic

1 large onion, chopped

1 cup brown sugar, packed

2 cups orange juice

3/4 cup rice vinegar

3/4 cup red wine vinegar

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

2 1/2 cups dried Bing cherries

1 cup golden raisins

2 minced chipotle peppers in adobo sauce

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Cut top from garlic and drizzle with 1 tablespoon oil. Wrap in heavy foil and bake at 350˚ for about 1 hour. Peel garlic, mash to a paste and put in a large, heavy saucepan with the remaining ingredients. Simmer for 2 or 3 hours until dark and rich in color. Keep adding orange juice if the chutney seems dry.

Roasted Yams

8-10 yams, peeled, halved and sliced into wedges

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

5-6 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon turmeric

1 teaspoon coriander

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon paprika

Toss yams with spices and about 1/4 cup of olive oil (or to coat). Pour out onto a cookie sheet (you’ll probably need two or three) and roast in a 375-degree oven for about 30-45 minutes, or until yams have crisped and the spices are beginning to caramelize with the natural sugars.

Green Beans with Lemon & Pine Nuts

1 1/2 pounds green beans, trimmed and cut diagonally into 1/2-inch pieces

1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1 1/2 teaspoons finely grated fresh lemon zest

4 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

Cook beans in a 4-quart saucepan of boiling salted water until just tender, about 5 minutes, then drain well in a colander. Transfer to a bowl and toss with nuts, parsley, zest, oil and salt and pepper to taste.

DESSERT

Here are two twists on traditional standards, improvements over the ubiquitous pumpkin pie and the corn syrupy pecan pie.

Sweet Potato Flan:

2 sweet potatoes

1 3/4 cups sugar

1/4 cup water

1/4 teaspoon allspice

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon coarse salt

5 large eggs

2 egg yolks

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 cups whole milk, scalded

Preheat oven to 450˚. Roast sweet potatoes until very soft—about an hour—then cool, peel and puree in a food processor. Reduce heat to 325˚. Combine sugar and water in saucepan and heat until sugar dissolves. Boil until the mixture caramelizes and turns a deep amber color—5 or 6 minutes—and pour into a savarin mold or 9x2-inch cake pan. Using potholders, swirl to coat the bottom and halfway up the sides of the mold or pan. In a bowl combine 1 1/2 cups of the sweet potato puree, the remaining 3/4 cup sugar, spices, salt, eggs and egg yolks. Add vanilla and scalded milk and mix well. Strain through a fine mesh sieve into the prepared pan, cover with foil and set in a roasting pan. Pour boiling water into the roasting pan to reach halfway up the sides of the flan dish. Bake for 50 to 55 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool, then chill in the refrigerator for at least two hours. Unmold onto a serving platter.

Bittersweet Chocolate Pecan Pie:

3 1/2 to 4 ounces fine quality bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

2 cups pecan halves, toasted and cooled

3 large eggs

1/3 cup packed light brown sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup dark corn syrup

Preheat oven to 375˚. Melt chocolate.Spread chocolate in bottom of a prepared pie shell with back of spoon and let it set, then cover with pecans. Whisk together eggs, brown sugar, vanilla and salt in a bowl, then whisk in corn syrup and pour over pecans. Bake until filling is puffed and crust is golden, 50 to 60 minutes. (If pie is browning too fast after 30 minutes, loosely cover with foil.) Cool pie on a rack to warm or room temperature and serve with whipped cream.

THE VEGETARIAN ENTREE

Forget tofurkey and creatively solve the problem of a vegetarian main course. Together, the following ingredients make a perfect protein and the finished product may be even more festive-looking than a golden glazed fowl.

Wild Rice Curry in Sugar Pumpkins (serves four):

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 large onion, finely chopped

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon curry powder

1 cup raw wild rice

1 cup raw yellow split peas

1/2 cup dried apricots

kosher salt

2 sugar pumpkins

4 ounces tempeh in 1/4” dice

2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

1/3 cup chopped toasted pecans

Heat olive oil in a heavy pot and sautee onion, curry powder and half the garlic. Add the wild rice, split peas, apricots, some salt and 5 cups of water. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 40 minutes (until the rice is al dente).

Preheat oven to 375˚. Oil a baking sheet and cut 1/2” off either end of the pumpkins (so they will sit flat), then halve each one crosswise. Remove the “guts” with a spoon, place the halves cut-side down on the baking sheet and roast for about one hour.

Heat remaining oil in a large skillet and sautee the tempeh until crisp. Add the ginger, garlic and salt and pepper and sautee a few minutes more. Add to the wild rice/split pea mixture and stir in the cilantro and pecans (reserving a few for garnish). Fill roasted pumpkin halves with the mixture and garnish with a cilantro sprig and some chopped pecans.