Thanksgiving Recipes to Make Two Days Ahead

By Food & Wine
Updated May 23, 2017
From silky squash soup to apple bread pudding, here are make-ahead recipes for two days before Thanksgiving.
Start Slideshow

1 of 15

Pumpkin Cake with Caramel-Cream Cheese Frosting

Go to Recipe

In this fun variation on traditional pumpkin pie, pumpkin cake spiced with ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves gets frosted with a slightly tangy, super-caramelly frosting. It’s delicious served cold or at room temperature.

Advertisement
Advertisement

2 of 15

Creamed Cipollini Onions and Mushrooms

Go to Recipe

3 of 15

Hazelnut Profiteroles with Blue Cheese and Grapes

Go to Recipe

Shawn McClain serves some form of these savory cream puffs with drinks at both of his Chicago restaurants. He pokes a hole in the sides of the puffs when they come out of the oven to release the steam, then fills them with a creamy mixture of blue cheese and mascarpone.

Advertisement

4 of 15

Porcini-and-Pecan Pâté

Go to Recipe

Proving that vegetables can be as satisfying as meat, chef Sean Baker serves this mushroom pâté on the vegan “charcuterie” plate at his Berkeley restaurant, Gather.

5 of 15

Escarole and Roasted Broccoli Salad with Anchovy Dressing

Go to Recipe

Chris Kronner created this salad with ingredients from Scribe Winery’s garden. It offers an amazing array of flavors: sweet roasted broccoli, bitter escarole, salty anchovies, sharp cheese.

6 of 15

Smoked Cheese Cocktail Cookies

Go to Recipe

A pinch of cayenne pepper adds a spicy kick to these savory cookies, flavored with both sharp cheddar and smoked Gouda cheese. If you prefer, you can replace the smoked Gouda with Gruyère.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

7 of 15

Silky Cauliflower Soup

Go to Recipe

Chef Steven Satterfield emphasizes that to make a great soup, it’s important to sauté the vegetables for the base thoroughly: “Cook them over low heat in a little fat until they soften and cook in their own juices.“

8 of 15

Creamed Edamame and Pearl Onions

Go to Recipe

This clever riff on the classic creamed peas and pearl onions combines onions with edamame (soy beans) and a topping of panko (Japanese bread crumbs). To make the crumb topping extra crispy, the dish is quickly toasted under the broiler before serving.

9 of 15

Winter Squash Soup with Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Go to Recipe

Chef Susur Lee is renowned for his creative, complex, Asian-inflected dishes at his restaurants in Toronto, Manhattan and Singapore. But one of his favorite cold-weather comfort recipes is this remarkably simple squash soup, which he sweetens with a little honey and garnishes with roasted pumpkin seeds.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

10 of 15

Herbed Polenta and Parmesan Gratin

Go to Recipe

Maria Helm Sinskey, culinary director of Robert Sinskey Vineyards in Napa Valley and author of the phenomenal cookbook The Vineyard Kitchen, created this indulgent baked polenta, made with plenty of Parmesan. It’s just as good when made ahead and reheated as it is when it comes straight out of the oven.

11 of 15

Lemon Puddings with Candied Lemon Zest

Go to Recipe

This amazing pudding sets from the acid in the lemon juice; there’s no need to add gelatin. The texture is best when the puddings are allowed to firm up overnight.

12 of 15

Pear-and-Fig Pie-in-a-Jar

Go to Recipe

Three Babes Bakeshop in San Francisco offers this fun, portable pie: They bake the pastry in a jar, then fill it with fig-and-pear syrup, mascarpone cream, fruit and toasted walnuts.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

13 of 15

Poached Pear and Brown Butter Tart

Go to Recipe

Chef John Besh says he is crazy about winter fruit and loves using it in this brown butter-custard tart. He sometimes swaps the pears for apples or even quince.

14 of 15

Vanilla-and-Cider Panna Cottas with Spiced Ginger Cookies

Go to Recipe

Shawn McClain tops his cinnamon-and-vanilla-flavored panna cotta with an elegant apple-cider gelée. He equates the dessert to a Creamsicle because it successfully combines creamy and tangy flavors.

15 of 15

Apple Bread Pudding

Go to Recipe

In a reality-TV moment that shocked us all, Tre Wilcox of Top Chef Season 3 was eliminated after preparing a dense, dull apple bread pudding in an epic Restaurant Wars. Gail Simmons rescues his recipe by sautéing the apples in brandy and butter, then soaking both them and brioche in lots of vanilla custard before baking.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Replay gallery

Share the Gallery

Up Next

By Food & Wine