Hi and welcome to Five Weeknight Dishes. I realize that you may need either potato recipes (make this one!) or pie recipes (so many options here). But I believe that what we really need are ideas for all the other meals next week, dishes that have nothing to do with turkey or, even better, taste nothing like Thanksgiving whatsoever.
To that end, you won’t see a chicken recipe below. (I mean, really, what is turkey but an enormous, unwieldy chicken that is both far less flavorful and far more difficult to get right.) What you will see are sharp, bright flavors drawn from different cuisines. There is fresh seafood, a pot of ragù, oniony macaroni and cheese — which, yes, would be good for Thanksgiving.
Send me notes or Thanksgiving requests — I am here for you on recipe recommendations — at dearemily@nytimes.com.
Here are five dishes for the week:
1. French Onion Macaroni and Cheese
My husband saw this recipe, with its over-the-top crown of Gruyère toasts, and told me that it was “shameless.” I’ve decided this is a compliment that means “you and your colleagues know what’s good and work tirelessly to make it so.” So let’s just say it’s shamelessly delicious. You should definitely make it.
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I always feel that one meal during the week of Thanksgiving should be saucy in the Italian Nonna sense (but note that I did not have an Italian Nonna), a vat of pasta or bubbling baking dish. Here is that sauciness, a brilliant shortcut ragù that can be made with pork if lamb is not for you.
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4. Vegetarian Bean and Cheese Enchiladas
The commenters on this recipe for streamlined enchiladas are really loving the sauce, but you could use store-bought if you’ve got a brand you like for even shorter prep time. This, too, is a departure from turkey and sweet potatoes, and I say let yourself go there.
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