Thanksgivings can get so offbeat today that some festive tables are planned without turkey, some with so few side dishes that the menu resembles Lean Cuisine. But everyone -- the vegetarians, the dieters, and the fussiest of eaters -- wants at least a spoonful of mashed potatoes. Dreamy spuds, crisp turkey skin, and succulent turkey meat are one of the great combinations of the American table. Some people claim there is no food on earth that doesn't go with mashed potatoes. That is certainly true of every dish on the harvest spread. A forkful of mashed potatoes and some tart cranberry sauce are delectable together; so are mashed potatoes and stuffing (two carbs in a world that shuns them make this match particularly spectacular).

Once the turkey is in the oven, we boil a pot of big russets fit for baking, mixed with one of the yellow-potato varieties such as Yukon Gold. This way, there's plenty of starch from the bakers and great flavor from the yellows. If you add milk to the water, the spuds will be very sweet. When they're tender, we work them through a food mill or use an old-fashioned masher to break them up, beat in some hot cream and a little butter, and return them to their cooking pan. A thin layer of hot milk (or cream), poured over the potatoes, will seal them for many hours. Just before serving, turn the heat back on, set it at low, then use a wooden spoon to beat the potatoes to their original fluffiness.

If crisp potatoes fit your menu better, mash the spuds without cream and return them to the oven in a baking dish to crisp on top, or roast spears with coarse salt to make chubby oven fries. The next morning, when it's time for scrambled eggs, form leftover mashed potatoes into pancakes and brown them in oil or butter.

Recipes

Creamy mashed potatoes

Serves 8

4 large russet (baking) potatoes, peeled and cut into 3-inch chunks

6 medium Yukon Gold or Yellow Finn potatoes, peeled and halved

4 cups water

3 cups whole milk

Salt and pepper, to taste

4 tablespoons butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup heavy cream, heated until hot

In a heavy-based saucepan, combine the potatoes, water, milk, and salt. Bring the mixture to a boil. Turn the heat to medium-low and cook the potatoes for 20 to 25 minutes or until they are tender when pierced with a knife.

If using a masher, use a slotted spoon to transfer the potatoes to a bowl and mash them with salt, pepper, butter, and cream. Serve at once.

If using a food mill, set the mill over a bowl. Use a slotted spoon to transfer several chunks of the potatoes to the mill. Work the potatoes in the mill until they are mashed. Continue until all of the potatoes have been through the mill. Beat in salt, pepper, butter, and cream. Serve at once. Sheryl Julian and Julie Riven.

Make-ahead mashed potatoes

Serves 8

1 recipe creamy mashed potatoes (see above)

3/4 to 1 cup whole milk, heated until hot

After making the mashed potatoes, rinse and dry the potato cooking pan and return the potatoes to the pan. Add enough of the milk to cover the potatoes in a thin layer. If your pan is wide, you may need a little more milk. Make sure the puree is covered completely. Then cover the pan with the lid and set the potatoes aside for up to 4 hours.

To serve: Over medium heat, cook the puree, blending in the layer of milk and then stirring often, for 3 to 5 minutes or until the puree is heated through. Serve at once. Sheryl Julian and Julie Riven.

Crusty mashed potatoes

Serves 8

Olive oil (for the dish and for sprinkling)

4 large russet (baking) potatoes, peeled and cut into 3-inch chunks

6 medium Yukon Gold or Yellow Finn potatoes, peeled and halved

4 cups water

3 cups whole milk

Salt and pepper, to taste

Have on hand a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Oil the dish.

In a heavy-based saucepan, combine the potatoes, water, milk, and salt. Bring the mixture to a boil. Turn the heat to medium-low and cook the potatoes for 20 to 25 minutes or until they are tender when pierced with a knife.

Set the oven at 400 degrees.

Drain the potatoes. On a large plate with a potato masher, mash the potatoes so that they are quite coarse. Add them to the baking dish, layering them with salt, pepper, and a sprinkle of oil. (You can prepare to this point up to 2 hours ahead; set the dish aside at room temperature.)

Bake the potatoes in the hot oven for 20 minutes or until the top is crisp and golden. Sheryl Julian and Julie Riven.

Mashed-potato cakes

Serves 4

Leftover mashed potatoes mean crisp, golden potato cakes the following morning. Add a poached or fried egg.

4 cups cold mashed potatoes

1/4 onion, grated

1 egg, lightly beaten

1/4 cup flour

Salt and pepper, to taste

Extra flour (for shaping)

Butter or olive oil (for frying)

In a bowl, mix together the mashed potatoes, onion, egg, flour, salt, and pepper. Using floured hands, form the mixture into 4 large cakes.

In a large nonstick skillet, melt the butter or heat the oil. Brown the cakes in the hot fat for about 5 minutes on a side or until they are crisp, golden, and hot in the center. Sheryl Julian and Julie Riven.

Pommes Anna in a skillet

Serves 8

This easy version of the famous French dish begins with very thinly sliced potatoes. Use a French mandoline or a Japanese hand-held slicer (not a food processor). The potatoes are layered in special copper pommes Anna pans, but a nonstick skillet works well. The starch in the potatoes keeps them together, so that when they're turned out, they form a cake. An overlapping pattern, made on the bottom of the skillet, is now on top.

8 large russet (baking) potatoes, peeled and left in cold water

3 tablespoons butter

Salt and pepper, to taste

Set the oven at 350 degrees. Have on hand a 12-inch nonstick skillet with a heatproof handle.

With a mandoline or another hand-held slicing machine, slice the potatoes as thinly as possible.

In the skillet, melt the butter. Remove the pan from the heat. Arrange the potatoes so that they overlap tightly in the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Continue layering until the pan is full.

Set the pan over medium heat. Cook the potatoes for 15 minutes or until the underside is browned. To check this, use a long metal spatula to lift the cake at the edge.

Transfer the skillet to the oven. Cook the cake for 1 hour or until the top is golden and the potatoes are tender when tested with a skewer.

Use the spatula to release the potato cake all around. Carefully flip the cake out onto a board. Cut it into 8 wedges and serve at once. Sheryl Julian and Julie Riven.

Chubby oven fries

Serves 8

4 russet (baking) potatoes, unpeeled 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Salt and pepper, to taste

Set the oven at 450 degrees. Have on hand a rimmed baking sheet.

Halve the potatoes crosswise. Slice each half into thick wedges.

In a bowl, toss the potatoes with the oil, salt, and pepper. Arrange them on the baking sheet, cut sides up. Roast the potatoes for 40 minutes, moving them in the pan after 20 minutes, or until they are crisp and golden brown. Serve at once. Sheryl Julian and Julie Riven.