Christmas Dinner Recipes

A baked ham is an ideal centerpiece for a holiday table: It's equally delicious served warm or at room temperature, and the leftovers are excellent in everything from soups to sandwiches to frittatas.

Two kinds of persimmons are recruited for steamed pudding; soft, ripe hachiyas are used in the batter, and oven-dried slices of fuyu -- resembling orange flowers -- form a ring around the dessert. The pudding is full of golden raisins, pecans, and candied ginger and warmed by brandy's sweet heat.

Take advantage of fresh cranberries while they're plentiful. This homey creation takes just minutes to make and would be a festive treat throughout the holiday season.

Choose fresh, briny oysters that are small or medium in size.

These little toasts make a delectable Thanksgiving appetizer. Be sure to use Fuyu persimmons -- they should be ripe but sliceable.

Keep a bag of frozen dumplings on hand and mix our tasty dipping sauce while you heat them -- they make fine hors d'oeuvres for last-minute holiday visitors, or a light, easy dinner with steamed vegetables or rice.

Traditional stuffing is given a robust, meaty flavor thanks to the addition of ground sausage.From the book "Mad Hungry" by Lucinda Scala Quinn (Artisan Books).

This classic French dish can be baked up to eight hours ahead. Let it cool completely, then cover loosely with foil, and refrigerate. To serve, reheat in a 350-degree oven.

Shellfish is the star in the traditional Italian pasta dish linguine ai frutti di mare. Our recipe calls for five varieties: clams, mussels, scallops, shrimp, and squid.

This easy hearty cornbread dish is great during the holidays when you need to feed a crowd quickly and easily. It's a little like a Tex-Mex riff on lasagna with a filling of shredded chicken (leftover turkey is tasty, too), cheddar cheese, and pickled jalapeños.

Think of a good gravy as the final chef's kiss on a fabulous Thanksgiving dinner. This is the version Martha likes to serve with her smoked bird.

Purists looking to deviate only slightly from the familiar will find the nuanced flavors they expect within these whimsically exaggerated fluted edges.

Today's prepared mincemeat fillings rarely include suet or meat, as they did in the seventeenth century, and can be found in grocery stores around the holidays. Before baking the pie, pierce the upper crust in a decorative pattern with a paring knife to allow steam to escape.

This rich, creamy dish makes the perfect party dip. Otherwise, you might devour it all yourself.

You can make the bechamel sauce three days ahead (let it cool completely before refrigerating). The onions can be cooked, peeled, and refrigerated overnight. Heat the onions and sauce together over low heat before serving.

Even beginner-level bakers will have no trouble making these fluffy rolls; the dough can be prepped, put in the pan, and chilled up to a day ahead.

Roasting is a popular cooking method for a reason. See our step-by-step guides to Preparing a Leg of Lamb and Carving a Leg of Lamb at the Table.

This stuffing is brimming with traditional holiday flavors, including leeks, herbs, and pecans. We used our Honey Cornbread recipe but left off the honey topping. Store-bought cornbread also works well.

Oysters take very little time to cook. Our pan-broiled hors d'oeuvre, which consists of oysters tossed with herbs and showered with olive oil and Parmesan, spends just minutes in the oven; serve with crusty bread for soaking up the sauce.

Nothing says Thanksgiving like roast turkey and cranberries. The bird is stuffed with a hearty cranberry stuffing, which infuses the pan gravy with tart, fruity flavor.

In the 17th century, employees of the British East India Company discovered punch, a beguiling combination of spirits, water, lemon, sugar, and spices that became synonymous with good cheer and festive celebrations all over Europe. Here, pomegranate and lemon sharpen the sunny New World flavor of cranberries.

Bay leaves, rosemary, and lemon zest are tucked under the skin of this turkey and gently perfume the meat with a fragrant, floral flavor. Then the roast turkey is set on fresh bay branches for a dramatic presentation.

Roast beef is classic British fare. It's the centerpiece of a traditional Sunday dinner, and the hearty main course for a holiday celebration. Chef Anne Willan has drawn on her own family's techniques for cooking and serving a standing rib roast for this recipe, which is served with roast potatoes and Yorkshire pudding.

Sweet potatoes give the classic French sliced-and-layered potato dish pommes Anna a fall twist. This recipe appears in our cookbook "Martha Stewart's Vegetables" (Clarkson Potter).