California-Style Thanksgiving

Here, former Chez Panisse chef David Tanis's incredible California-style Thanksgiving dinner.

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Herb-Roasted Turkey with Wild Mushroom Gravy

For maximum flavor, David Tanis rubs the bird with butter seasoned with sage, thyme and garlic. Dried porcini give the wild mushroom gravy a woodsy flavor boost.

F&W's Ultimate Thanksgiving Recipe Guide

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Cristina's Famous Nuts

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Cristina Salas-Porras tosses assorted nuts with sage and rosemary and bakes them for a long time at a low temperature; they come out perfectly crisp. No wonder she’s famous for them.

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Smoked Salmon Toasts with Mustard Butter

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Sour cream or cream cheese may be the usual spread with salty smoked salmon, but chef David Tanis thinks softened butter makes a tasty alternative. (Think of ham-and-butter sandwiches.) To give the butter a zippy bite, he stirs in lemon zest and both Dijon and grainy mustards.

Delicious Thanksgiving Appetizer Recipes

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Crudités à la Mexicaine

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Chef David Tanis had the Mexican heritage of Hudson Vineyards’ Cristina Salas-Porras in mind when he created this raw vegetable platter, brightened with guajillo chile powder, lime juice and salt. He makes it year-round with whatever vegetables are in season, but he always includes crunchy cucumbers.

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Corn Bread Stuffing with Bacon and Greens

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Chef David Tanis grew up in the Midwest, with rich corn bread stuffing for Thanksgiving. He tweaks his mother’s recipe by adding a smoky element. “She’d roll over if she saw the bacon,” he says. But it’s not critical to the stuffing, which also gets savory flavor from hearty kale, so you can leave it out.

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Haricots Verts and White Beans with Shallot Vinaigrette

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At Thanksgiving, it’s always great to have a couple of dishes that don’t have to go in the oven. This combination of creamy white beans and slightly crunchy haricots verts makes an interesting textural mix, and it’s sturdy enough to stand at room temperature for several hours.

More Thanksgiving Vegetable Side Dishes

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Roasted Winter Squash with Herbs and Garlic

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With patches of man-size pumpkins and green gourds hanging from trellises at Hudson Ranch and Vineyards, some kind of squash dish is a requirement at Thanksgiving dinner. This simple gratin features cubes of melt-in-your-mouth winter squash flavored with thyme and sage.

More Thanksgiving Menu Ideas

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Spicy Raw Beet Slaw with Citrus, Scallions and Arugula

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There’s so much richness on the Thanksgiving table that a few tart and spicy things are necessary for balance, like this raw beet slaw.

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Lee's Apple Pie

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David Tanis’s cinnamon-and-cardamom-spiced pie is a nod to Napa winemaker Lee Hudson’s Texas background. It has a classic mountaintop profile, because it’s packed with lots of tart, crisp apples.

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Brown Sugar-Cranberry Tart

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Since one dessert is never enough at Thanksgiving, David Tanis bakes a buttery French-American tart to complement his classic apple pie. The sweet-and-tart berries in the creamy custard pop when you take a bite.

More Sensational Thanksgiving Desserts

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California-Style Thanksgiving

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Herb-Roasted Turkey with Wild Mushroom Gravy

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