With holiday feasting officially upon us, the Local Palate readers clamored for recipes at an all-time high in November. Thanksgiving turkey and Southern made sides drove interest. But so did appetites for roasted meat, big bowls of gumbo, and fruit preserves. Readers cooked to stave off the chill, planned for the holidays, and developed their kitchen techniques (break out that turkey fryer!). These were the November recipes that you particularly loved baking, prepping, and sipping last month.
November’s Top Ten Fall Recipes
Smoked and Fried Turkey Tutorial
Turkey gets a lot of flack, but people who hate on Thanksgiving’s mascot have obviously never fried the thing. This recipe from Miller Union in Atlanta gives home cooks the practical techniques and step-by-step breakdown to perfecting turkey, from smoking the dark meat to frying the white.
Step aside cranberry sauce–this season, we’re all about the preserves. This recipe reimagines cranberries from the overlooked condiment on the Thanksgiving dinner table into a bright, tangy topping for holiday sundaes, a spread over biscuits, or as a festive gift.
While it’s unclear to us what readers use this sauce for (like a bisque? Over fish? In lieu of hollandaise?), spooning it over any white protein can’t be a bad move. Don’t skimp on the white truffle oil, it takes this sauce to the next level.
Sean Brock revives old methods by cooking potatoes in pine rosin, letting them cool, and then peeling away the hardened shell. It may sound outlandish today, but this timeless preparation yields a perfectly steamed potato with a fluffy, feathery interior.
November’s falling temperatures have yet to hit some of us, and we can’t help but break out the blender for boozy slushies. However, this pineapple rum drink calls upon seasonal flavors with spiced rum, citrus, and a dusting of nutmeg on top.
Fall’s dropping temperatures usher in the perfect setting for the season’s first batch of gumbo. Derived from the West African word for okra, this particular recipe came in at just the right time when users needed to repurpose all their turkey leftovers.
The calamondin, an Asian varietal of orange, concentrates a high level of acidity. This makes the fruit perfect for standing up to the generous dose of sugar required to preserve it. The resulting spread perfectly balances tart and sweet.
When we want to eat ourselves some layers and fire up our ovens, a Big Bad Roast offers a satisfying fix. This recipe, from New Orleans-based chef Isaac Toup, pays homage to the Cajun tradition of the fall boucherie. Don’t let the size of the meat intimidate you. Roast lamb remains delicious even if slightly undercooked or overdone (there’s nothing a splash of wine can’t fix).
Leftover Cranberry Sauce Slab Pie
Looking to use up that massive batch of cranberry sauce leftover from Thanksgiving? This hefty slab pie turns the forgotten side into the main event. If the filling doesn’t send you, the shortbread-style crust certainly will.
Mac and Cheese with Toasted Breadcrumbs
Do you want to know a secret? A rich, creamy skillet of mac and cheese can fix most of life’s problems. Groundbreaking, we know! This four-cheese recipe adds toasted panko crumbs on top for a crunchy contrast to the tender noodles.
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Our Top Recipes of 2020 
Our Most Popular Recipes in October 
Reviving a Nearly-Forgotten Recipe with Sean Brock 
A Cajun Christmas Menu Mentioned in this post:
