Weird Thanksgiving

The turkey is not the weird part. The turkey is the one thing on this table you can still trust.

Of the 100 recipes in this book, 55 carry a real twist. Anchovy melted into the gravy. Tamarind in the cornbread dressing. Marmite in the green bean casserole. White miso in the pecan pie. The other 45 are straight, good versions of the dish you already wanted: Classic Roast Turkey, Dry-Brined. Mashed Potatoes, Perfected. Classic Cranberry Sauce. Pumpkin Pie.

That split is the entire idea. The turkey chapter behaves itself from the first page to the last, so the bird on the platter is the one your family expects. Everything around it moved a few inches. Most of the twists are one cheap ingredient stirred in where nobody can see it, and nobody at the table has to be told.

A few of the 55:

• Turkey Gravy with Anchovy - it melts, it vanishes, it does all the work
• Green Bean Casserole with Marmite Mushroom Sauce
• Cornbread Dressing with Tamarind and Black Pepper
• Pecan Pie with White Miso
• Brussels Sprouts with Bacon and Fish Sauce Glaze
• Broccoli Cheese Casserole with a Salt-and-Vinegar Crust
• Scalloped Potatoes with Black Garlic
• Turkey and Stuffing Arancini, Gravy Center

Then there is the leftovers problem, which this book pushes further than it probably should: Turkey and Rice Congee for Friday morning, Cranberry Sauce Hot Sauce, Leftover Mashed Potato Doughnuts, Turkey Khao Soi, and one item called The Sandwich Cake.

Every recipe carries a yield, a time, and a weirdness level from 1 to 3, so you know what you are walking into before you shop - 48 recipes are level 1, 42 are level 2, and 10 are level 3. Eight chapters, opening with The Basics and ending with the leftovers. An A-Z recipe index and a page of kitchen conversions and substitutions in the back. One black-and-white line illustration for every recipe. 154 pages.

Cook the turkey the way you always cook it. Let everything else get strange.