Marion Sullivan

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As soon as we round the corner into November, my mind turns toward Thanksgiving. One of the best gifts that my friend Nathalie Dupree has ever given me was instructions on holiday planning. By cooking ahead and stocking the freezer, I can drastically cut down on the kitchen chores that usually accompany not only Thanksgiving dinner, but also the days before and after. Baked goods freeze well, so that's where I start. "The Craft of Baking: Cakes, Cookies & Other Sweets With Ideas for Inventing Your Own." Known for a simple approach, author Karen DeMasco was the pastry chef for desserts at Craft, Craftbar and 'wichcraft, NYC restaurants of "Top Chef" Tom Colicchio. She builds "upon traditional recipes," tweaking them as in the gingersnap recipe below, using butter instead of the traditional shortening, and fresh ginger instead of dried. Other examples are great for this season: Coffeecake Muffins With Pecan Streusel (just take as many out of the freezer as you need so there's no whole cake to crumble on the counter); carrot cupcakes and gingerbread cupcakes (ditto); Grandma Rankin's Cashew Brittle, with variations of Cocoa Nib Brittle, Pumpkin Seed Brittle and Honeycomb Brittle (what a great tin of standbys).

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