Make your Thanksgiving menu a rainbow of great recipes

Thanksgiving -- the biggest, arguably best holiday meal of the year. A time to reconnect with family around the table and enjoy the harvest-season foods we love.

It's also one of the most colorful meals of the year, once you get past the browns and whites of the turkey, the gravy, the stuffing and mashed potatoes.

Think of those ruby-red cranberries, bright green beans or brussels sprouts, golden corn, orange pumpkin or sweet potatoes and even glistening black wild rice ... together, they paint a richly-hued edible fall landscape.

This year, let these colors guide your menu planning for the holiday. Stay true to the color palette, and you'll please the palates at your table, too.

The colorful recipe alternatives we offer here provide just another way to honor this great American feasting tradition.

Have a happy, healthy, delicious Thanksgiving!

THANKSGIVING RECIPES

Cran-Cherry Sauce

12 ounces fresh or frozen cranberries

12 ounces frozen sweet cherries

1 1/2 cups apple juice

1 teaspoon minced ginger

Pinch of salt

3 to 4 tablespoons honey

Serves 12.

Combine cranberries and cherries in a saucepan. Add apple juice, ginger and salt. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to a simmer. Cook sauce 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thickened and fruit has broken down. Taste for sweetness and add honey to taste. Cool to room temperature and serve.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Toasted Pecans and Avocado

1/2 cup pecans

2 1/2 pounds Brussels sprouts

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Salt

Freshly ground pepper

1 Hass avocado

1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves (or 1/2 teaspoon dried)

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Serves eight.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Spread pecans in a pie plate and bake 5 minutes, until toasted. Let cool, then coarsely chop.

In a large saucepan of salted boiling water, blanch the Brussels sprouts until bright green, 3 minutes. Drain well, cut in half and pat dry.

On 2 large rimmed baking sheets, toss the Brussels sprouts with the olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and turn them cut sides down. Roast in the upper and lower thirds of the oven for 20 minutes, until just tender and nicely browned on the bottom; switch the baking sheets halfway through roasting.

Meanwhile, peel and cut avocado into 1/2-inch dice.

In a large bowl, toss the Brussels sprouts with the pecans, avocado and thyme. Season with salt and pepper and transfer to a bowl. Drizzle with the vinegar and serve.

Butternut Squash and Kale

1/2 whole butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cubed

2 tablespoons butter (divided)

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Black pepper to taste

1/4 teaspoon chili powder (or more to taste)

1 bunch kale, leaves torn, stalks discarded

Heat 1 tablespoon butter and olive oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add squash and sprinkle with salt, pepper and chili powder. Cook several minutes, turning gently with a spatula, until squash is deep golden brown and tender (but not falling apart.) Remove to a plate and set aside.

In the same skillet, melt 1 tablespoon of butter over medium-high heat and add kale. Toss it around with tongs and cook it 3 to 4 minutes. Add the cooked squash and gently toss together.

Serve as a side dish with turkey, chicken or beef, as a main veggie dish, or as a filling for quesadillas or sandwiches.

Garlic Mashed Cauliflower

2 medium heads cauliflower

2 tablespoons cream cheese, room temperature

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 teaspoon minced garlic (or to taste)

1/4 teaspoon chicken base (or 1/2 teaspoon salt)

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Chopped fresh or dry chives for garnish

6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter

Set a stockpot of water to boil over high heat.

Clean and cut cauliflower into small pieces. Cook in boiling water about 6 minutes, or until well done. Drain well; do not let cool and pat cooked cauliflower very dry between several layers of paper towels.

In a bowl with an immersion blender, or in a food processor, puree the hot cauliflower with the cream cheese, Parmesan, garlic, chicken base and pepper until almost smooth. (If using a food processor, this will have to be done in batches.)

Garnish with chives, and serve hot with pats of butter.

Pumpkin Mashed Potatoes

2 pounds medium baking potatoes, peeled and quartered

4 cloves garlic, peeled

2 cups canned pumpkin

1/4 cup reduced-fat cream cheese

2 tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 cup fat-free milk

Fresh sage leaves for garnish

In a covered large saucepan, cook potatoes and garlic in enough boiling water to cover for 20 to 25 minutes or until potatoes are tender; drain.

Mash with a potato masher or beat with an electric mixer on low speed until nearly smooth. Beat in canned pumpkin, cream cheese, butter, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and pepper. Gradually add milk, beating until light and fluffy. Return to saucepan; heat through (or heat through in microwave). Garnish with sage leaves.

Parkside 23 Creamed Corn

2 pounds frozen corn kernels

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1 tablespoon kosher salt

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/8 teaspoon white pepper

1 cup half-and-half cream

1/2 cup sugar

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 tablespoon butter

1/2 cup small diced leek

1/2 cup poblano peppers, roasted and skinned, cut into small dice

1 cup small diced cooked bacon (from about 1 pound raw)

Salt and pepper to taste (optional)

Serves eight to 10.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Spread corn on a large sheet pan and roast in preheated oven 10 minutes to warm it. Remove from oven and set aside.

Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, combine whipping cream, kosher salt, cayenne and white pepper and bring to a simmer.

In a blender, combine half-and-half, sugar, cornstarch and half the corn and puree until smooth. Add corn mixture from blender to simmering cream mixture. Let mixture continue to cook 15 minutes, stirring frequently.

In a large sauté pan over medium heat, combine butter, leek, poblanos and bacon and cook 5 minutes. Add remaining corn, then add sauce from saucepan and stir to combine. Check temperature and heat through if needed. If desired, add salt and pepper to taste.

Poppy Seed and Pumpkin Marble Cake

1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter, room temperature, plus extra for greasing pan

1 generous cup superfine sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

4 large eggs, beaten

2 3/4 cups self-rising flour

7 ounces pumpkin or butternut squash, skinned, seeded and finely grated

1 1/2 ounces fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated (about 1 1/2 tablespoons)

Orange food coloring

3 tablespoons poppy seeds, plus extra for decoration (divided)

FOR VANILLA BUTTERCREAM:

1/2 cup plus 6 tablespoons

(1 3/4 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

21/4 cups powdered sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon boiling water

Serves 10 to 12.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and line the bottom and sides of a 6-inch square cake pan or an 8 1/2-by-4 1/2-inch loaf pan with wax paper. Grease the paper with butter.

Put the 1 cup butter, the sugar and vanilla in a large bowl and beat with a wooden spoon or electric hand mixer until pale and creamy. Gradually beat in the eggs a little at a time, adding a spoonful of the flour if mixture starts to curdle. Add the flour and fold in gently, using a large metal spoon.

Divide mixture evenly between two bowls. Stir pumpkin or squash and ginger into one bowl, with a bit of orange food coloring, and stir the 3 tablespoons poppy seeds and the milk into the other bowl. Blend thoroughly but do not overmix.

Place heaping teaspoonfuls of the orange mixture into the pan, leaving gaps in between. Fill the spaces with heaping teaspoonfuls of poppy seed batter. Spoon more poppy seed mixture on top of the orange batter, then spoon orange batter in the spaces left over. Repeat layering, always spooning one color on top of the other color. Run a knife through the two flavors to lightly marble them together.

Bake in preheated oven 1 hour 20 minutes or until firm to the touch and a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer to a cooling rack to cool before removing the lining paper.

When cake is cool, make vanilla buttercream: Beat butter, sugar and vanilla together in a large bowl with a wooden spoon or electric hand mixer until smooth. Add water and beat again until pale and creamy.

Place the cake on a plate and use a spatula to spread frosting over the top and sides in an even layer. Sprinkle the top with extra poppy seeds in a design of your choice.

This story was originally published November 24, 2015 at 9:44 PM with the headline "Make your Thanksgiving menu a rainbow of great recipes ."