These personal favorites find a place year after year on food professionals’ Thanksgiving tables.

Sausage-Mushroom Stuffing

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1 pound sweet Italian sausage

4 cups sliced mushrooms

2 1/2 cups chopped celery

2 cups chopped onion

3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon dried sage leaves

3/4 teaspoon ground pepper

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves, crumbled

5 cups stale whole-wheat bread cubes (about 10 slices)

5 cups stale white bread cubes (about 10 slices)

1/3 cup chopped parsley leaves

Chicken broth

Remove the casings from the sausage and break the sausage into small pieces. In a large saucepot, cook the sausage over medium heat, stirring frequently until browned. With slotted spoon, remove the sausage from pot and reserve.

Discard all but 2 tablespoons of the drippings. Add mushroom, celery, onion, garlic, salt, sage, pepper and thyme. Cook, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes until celery and onion are softened. Remove the pot from the heat. Stir in sausage, bread cubes and parsley.

Spoon the stuffing loosely into the turkey body cavity and neck or place it in a buttered 2 1/2-quart baking dish. If you want a moister stuffing, add a little chicken broth and toss to mix thoroughly.

If you do not want to bake the stuffing inside the turkey, or have some left over, cover it with aluminum foil, and bake alongside the turkey in a 325-degree oven for the last hour. Remove the foil and bake 10 minutes longer to crisp the top. Makes 10 to 12 servings.

Note: To make stale bread, you can leave bread slices out uncovered for a day, or bake in a 300-degree oven for about 10 to 15 minutes.

Recipe from Barbara Albright, Wilton, Conn.

Fresh Cranberry Sauce

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1/3 to 1/2 cup sugar

12-ounce bag of fresh or frozen cranberries

1/3 cup orange juice

1/4 cup Grand Marnier

2 to 3 tablespoons orange marmalade

If using fresh cranberries, wash, pick through and dry thoroughly. In a medium saucepan, mix 1/3 cup of sugar with remaining ingredients. Taste to adjust sweetness and add more sugar if desired. Place over medium-high heat and simmer, stirring occasionally until the berries pop.

You may serve hot or cold. Makes 6 servings.

Recipe from Joe Mure, assistant professor in culinary arts at The Culinary Institute of America, Hyde Park, N.Y.

Cornbread Dressing

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2 cups toasted bread crumbs

2 cups cornbread crumbs

3/4 cup chopped onions

3/4 cup chopped celery

1/3 cup chopped bell pepper

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

1 tablespoon Accent seasoning or similar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon red pepper or to taste

1 tablespoon poultry seasoning

4 eggs, slightly beaten

6 cups broth from chicken or turkey

Mix ingredients together.

The consistency will be rather liquid. Pour into a greased 9-by-13-inch pan and bake at 350 degrees for 1 1/2 hours or until cooked through. Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Recipe from food editor Tommy Simmons of The Advocate, Baton Rouge, La.

Cranberry and Orange Gelatin

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3 small boxes cranberry, raspberry or strawberry-flavored Jell-O gelatin

1 cup finely chopped celery

1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans

1 can whole cranberry sauce, drained

1 banana, peeled and sliced, optional

1 large orange, peeled, de-seeded and chopped

Make gelatin according to package directions except reduce water by about a third because you are going to have a tough time getting this to firm up after adding the cranberry sauce and orange.

Refrigerate gelatin until it is starting to thicken.

Remove from refrigerator and stir in all the other goodies, return to refrigerator and chill until the gelatin sets. Makes 8 servings.

Recipe from food editor Tommy Simmons of The Advocate, Baton Rouge, La.