Top 10 Thanksgiving Recipes From 2010 Cookbooks

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Ah, Thanksgiving. That beloved day when commercial canned cranberry sauce somehow winds up on the same table as grandma's homemade brandied cranberries, just for nostalgia's sake. After we've taken care of all the traditional family member must-haves (sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes and scalloped potatoes?), we so often forget that there's still plenty of room for new recipes. Thanksgiving is a celebration of America, Home Of The Brave Brand New, after all. And so we flipped through the books we have reviewed this year to find the Top Ten Thanksgiving Recipes From 2010 Cookbooks to add a few 21st century tastes to that traditional spread. Turn the page...

10. Oolong-braised turkey from Culinary Tea
Changing up your standby turkey recipe is risky business on Thanksgiving, as you could have a mutiny on your hands. But this recipe for a boneless breast laced with Oolong tea, ginger and cranberries actually sounds intriguing. In a good way. Make two turkeys and tell your dinner guests to get over it.

Quentin Bacon

Laurent Tourondel's Granola-Cranberry Tart

9. Granola-Cranberry Tart from Fresh From The Market
This recipe from Laurent Tourondel comes with a side of homemade mandarin ice cream. But who has time for elaborate dessert accoutrement on Thanksgiving (unless you happen to have a battalion of sous chefs)? Five-minute whipped cream works fine. Just fine.

8. Whole Wheat-Cornmeal Gingerbread from Cooking With Whole Grains
Let's not forget breakfast on Thanksgiving. You know, it's good for you. Plus, this is an historic recipe, so you can call it a culinary tribute to Thanksgivings past. Or something like that.

7. Ginger Smash Cocktail from Speakeasy
That gingerbread breakfast should be followed shortly thereafter by a cocktail to get the T-day party started. The "fall season" version of the spicy ginger cocktail made with gin, apple liqueur, and muddled pear should get you all revved up before the in-laws arrive.

6. Upside Down Cranberry Cake from The Perfect Finish
We presume Obama will be having some sort of fruit pie (apple?) on Thanksgiving. We'll be trying this upside down cranberry cake from White House pastry chef Bill Yosses' baking book.