Here at Houlihan Lawrence, we're thankful to serve gorgeous neighborhoods and a talented team who share our passion for them. We're also thankful to have plentiful places to source local, sustainable ingredients to baste serious flavor into our Thanksgiving feasts, from organic free-range turkeys at Westchester's Stone Barns Center to the boundless farmsteads of the Hudson Valley. We turned to our Houlihan Lawrence "family" to share recipes they'll be enjoying at their turkey day tables throughout our communities north of New York City and the stories behind them. Here were our favorites:

Sweet Pepper Stuffing in a Charlotte Mold

"When George and I bought our home in '93, we found this cookbook by local Pawlingite Joe Famularo (whose house, Tara North, is currently listed with Houlihan Lawrence). I make this every year. This recipe is the perfect reason to own a charlotte Mold!" -Bill Bonecutter, Millbrook

Ingredients:
8 large red and yellow bell peppers or 2 jars roasted peppers (12 ounces)
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup dried currants
3/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup butter, melted
2 medium onions, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups drained canned plum tomatoes, seeded and coarsely chopped
3 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano or 2 teaspoons dried
Salt and papper
16 slices firm white bread
2 eggs, lightly beaten
Parsley sprigs and red and yellow bell pepper slices (garnish)

10 servings.

Directions:
1. Preheat broiler. Broil the peppers on a rimmed baking sheet, turning until they are blackened on all sides, about 10 minutes. Place in a paper bag and let stand 15 minutes. Core the peppers and wipe away seeds; peel. Chop coarsely and set aside.2. In a nonaluminum saucepan, combine the vinegar and currants and bring to boil. Remove from heat and stand 15 minutes.
3. Combine the oil and butter. Heat 1/4 cup of the mixture in a large skillet and sauté the onions for 5 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté for 2 minutes. Add the currants, vinegar, and roasted peppers and cook for 5 minutes. Add the tomato, oregano, salt and pepper and cook for 5 minutes longer. Remove from heat.
4. Brush the inside of a 2-quart charlotte mold with some of the oil mixture. Lightly brush 12 slices of bread on both sides with the mixture. Cut off and reserve the crusts. Cut bread slices in half. Arrange several pieces of bread in the bottom of the mold, slightly overlapping and trimming as necessary to fit (reserve trimmings). Line the sides of the mold with the remaining half slices, overlapping.
5. Preheat oven to 350F. Coarsely chop all the remaining bread, crusts and trimmings. Place in a mixing bowl. Add any remaining oil mixture. Add the pepper mixture and eggs and toss lightly but thoroughly. Pour into the bread-lined mold.
6. Bake until the filling is set and the bread lining is browned, about 50 to 60 minutes. Let cool 5 to 10 minutes, then run a knife carefully around the edge of the mold to loosen. Turn the stuffing out onto a platter. Garnish with parsley sprigs and slices of red and yellow pepper. Serve hot or at room temperature. THis may be assembled a day ahead and kept covered in the refrigerator. Bring to room temperature before baking.

Bird is the Word Bacon-Wrapped Bird

"My husband Chris is the chief architect of the Thanksgiving turkey in our house, while I put my energy into the sides and dessert. No matter how I try to 'up my game' with the sides his bacon-wrapped bird is solidly the star of the show. The bacon preserves all of the moisture in the bird while adding outstanding taste to the meat. I also believe rocking out to the Pandora Gypsy Kings station while it roasts adds to the flavor. Add some great wine and we are #bamboleo!"-Anne Marie Gianutsos, Director of Digital

Ingredients:
1 turkey
Approx 1lb smoked bacon
1/4 cup White vinegar
1 tbs Dijon mustard
5-6 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion
2 celery stalks
3 carrots
1 bell pepper
1 tbsp tomato paste
Rosemary, sage, thyme or your favorite fresh herbs

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Clean and dry the bird, and tie the legs together. Place in roasting pan, rack recommended. In a bowl mix together vinegar, mustard, minced garlic, and season with salt and pepper. Brush the mixture over the entire bird, including the inside cavity. Stuff the inside with springs of rosemary, or your favorite herb springs.

2. Chop up all veggies and put in the bottom of the pan with 3 cups of water. Overlap bacon strips across the turkey. Roast for 30 minutes, and then lower the temperature to 350 degrees. If the bacon begins to look like it is getting burned at any point you can cover with some tinfoil. Half-way through cooking, add tablespoon of tomato paste to the pan juices. Baste every 45 mins, and cook until the internal temp reaches 160 degrees. Remove turkey and let it rest as you prepare the gravy.

3. Put some of the vegetables, pan juices, and few tablespoons of the pan fat from the bottom of the turkey pan into a sauce pan. Add any herbs you like; we recommend sage and thyme. Simmer about 10-15 minutes. Finally, using an immersion blender, puree vegetables until gravy is smooth. If the gravy needs to be thicker, add more veggies and puree again. Season with salt and pepper.

Rice and Peas

"With me being Jamaican and Stephen being British, neither of us grew up with Thanksgiving as a holiday we celebrated. However, our daughter Victoria enjoys all traditions: Jamaican, British and American. So our Thanksgiving table is usually a smorgasbord of our favorites for all three traditions. In Jamaica, a meal is not special unless you serve it with rice and peas. Regular meals are served with white rice, rice and peas were for Sunday dinner, Easter and Christmas. So our Thanksgiving table always has rice and peas made the traditional way—how my grandmother made it." -Camille T. Allen Mordaunt, Rye

Ingredients:
2 cups kidney beans - soaked in water overnight
1 can coconut milk (this is the only modification from my grandma’s recipe - we used to make the coconut milk from scratch)
1 2/3 cups of water
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
2 stalks scallion, chopped
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1 teaspoon whole allspice (pimento)
1 scotch bonnet pepper, this adds flavor as long as you are careful not to burst the pepper during cooking, take it out before serving
Salt and black pepper to taste
2 cups of long grain rice, rinsed and drained

Directions:
1. Pour all liquid ingredients into measuring cups until you have 4 cups of liquids in a large pot.
2. Add all other ingredients, except rice, to pot, cover and bring to a boil.
3.  Lower flame to a simmer for about an hour - check to see if beans are tender. If not leave simmering for 15 mins at a time and check tenderness.
4. Add rice, add water if necessary to cover rice.  Stir, cover and bring to boil.
5. Turn heat on low, cook covered until all liquid is absorbed, about 15 to 20 mins. Add water a bit at a time, if absorbs too quickly.

Fluff and enjoy a fabulous side dish - taking you back to the islands for Thanksgiving.

Turkey Pot Pie

"This is a simplified version of Ina Garten's recipe that I love to cook with our leftover turkey. We always have so much of it and I find after the second or third serving it takes getting a little creative to keep things from getting boring!" -Liz Nunan, Vice President: Global Business Development

Ingredients:
4-5 cups cooked turkey, cubed
3 tablespoons olive oil
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
5 cups turkey stock, preferably homemade or substitute chicken stock
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
1 cup yellow onions, chopped (about 1 onion)
1 cup chopped leeks (about 2-3 leeks)
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 cups diced carrots
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup frozen corn
1 1/2 cups frozen small whole onions
1/2 cup minced fresh parsley leaves
1 puff pastry sheet
1 egg for eggwash on top of pastry
1 Tablespoon cold water

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Thaw one or more pastry sheets depending on the size of your baking dish for 30 minutes before using.
2. In a large pot or Dutch oven, melt the butter and saute the onions, leeks and carrots over medium-low heat for 10 to 15 minutes.. Add the flour and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Add the hot stock to the sauce. Simmer over low heat for 1 more minute, stirring, until thick. Add 2 teaspoons salt, 1/2 3. teaspoon pepper, and the heavy cream. Add the cubed turkey, peas, corn and small whole onions and parsley. Mix well.
3. Pour filling into one large baking dish. Unwrap a pastry sheet and trim to fit over the top of the filling if needed. Crimp the dough to fold over the side, pressing it to make it stick. Make an egg wash with the egg and water. Brush the top and sides of the dough with egg wash and make 3 slits for venting across the top. Sprinkle 5. with sea salt and cracked pepper. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 35 to 45 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and the filling is bubbling hot.

Baked Acorn Squash with Pineapple

" This is a good make ahead dish because as it sits, the flavors meld and taste better.  If you like it sweeter, add more brown sugar.  Remember to taste for seasoning!" -Gina Tanney, Larchmont

 Ingredients:
3 acorn squash, halved
1 tsp salt
1 can (8 oz) crushed pineapple in its own juice
¼ c firmly packed brown sugar
6 tbsp. butter or margarine
½ tsp cinnamon

Directions:
Scoop out seeds and place halves, cut side down onto prepared baking sheet (I line with foil & use cooking spray). Bake in 400-degree oven for 40 minutes until squash is fork tender.  Remove squash from oven.  Carefully scoop out squash, leaving a thin wall around halves - ¼" or so.  This can be the tricky part!  If you’re doing it for show, go ahead and try it, but I usually just put it in a serving bowl and mash the squash with remaining ingredients.  Put back in oven to reheat for about 15 minutes.