And rubies, for that final flourish

CRANBERRY red is the Tiffany touch on the Thanksgiving plate. The jewel-like quality of the color adds just the right accent to the dressiest meal of the year.

Just about everything else on the plate starts out one hue and morphs. Cranberries keep their in-your-eye vibrancy no matter how long you cook them, or how many other ingredients you make them play with. No wonder the Wampanoags who celebrated the first feast with the Pilgrims used the native berries as a dye as well as a food (they developed the original sun-dried cranberries for a form of jerky called pemmican).

Even cooks who compulsively reinvent the entire turkey-and-trimmings menu every November feel compelled to serve some permutation of cranberry sauce -- and not just for tradition’s sake. Certainly nothing else counters the richness of the meal as well, but the color contrast is as crucial as the tangy tartness.

Red complements every other classic ingredient: the white and dark meat of the turkey, the ivory of the mashed potatoes, the glistening tan of the gravy, the dusky brown of the stuffing, the velvety green of whatever vegetable steps up to the plate to add another hint of color -- and especially the deep orange of sweet potatoes, with or without their crown of marshmallows.

The fact that cranberries are one of the very few ingredients that remain truly seasonal simply adds to the allure of their skins. For all the incessant finagling of agribusiness, cranberries can only be brought to market for a few short months in the fall.

Maybe that’s why they evoke autumn leaves in New England. And anyone who has ever watched them being corralled on flooded bogs against the backdrop of countless trees changing from green to crimson and gold knows that the cranberry harvest is the greatest show in agriculture. A flash of jewel-worthy red brings a little of that drama to the table too.

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Cranberry fig tart

Total time: 2 hours plus cooling time

Servings: 8

Note: From Donna Deane

Butter to coat the pan

1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons shelled, blanched hazelnuts

1 cup flour

2 tablespoons sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup cold butter, cut into small pieces

2 to 3 tablespoons ice water

1 (12-ounce) package cranberries (about 3 cups)

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon grated orange zest

1 tablespoon orange juice

1/2 cup dried figs, quartered

1 cup heavy cream

2 teaspoons powdered sugar

2 teaspoons Cognac

1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 13 1/2 -by-4-inch rectangular tart pan with a removable bottom and set aside. Toast the hazelnuts 10 to 12 minutes in a shallow baking pan, stirring the nuts or shaking the pan a few times for even toasting. Let the nuts cool completely in the pan. Place one-third cup of the hazelnuts in a food processor and pulse to a fine grind for the crust; do not over-process or the nuts will become pasty. Coarsely chop the remaining hazelnuts to sprinkle over the top of the tart. Set aside.

2. In a mixing bowl, combine the ground hazelnuts, flour, sugar and salt. Add the butter and, with a fork or pastry cutter, work it into the flour mixture just until it resembles small peas. Drizzle 2 tablespoons ice water over the top of the dough and toss with a fork just until the dough forms a ball; if it is still a bit crumbly, add up to 1 additional tablespoon ice water. The butter will not be completely incorporated; there will be streaks of butter remaining in the dough.

3. Shape the dough into a flat 3-by-8-inch rectangle and cover with plastic wrap. Chill the dough about 30 minutes.

4. Remove the dough and roll it into a rectangle about 6 inches by 15 inches and one-fourth-inch thick to fit the tart pan. Carefully lift the dough into the pan, pressing it onto the bottom and sides. Trim the dough so that it’s even with the edges of the pan. Chill 30 minutes before baking.

5. Line the tart dough in the pan with aluminum foil and fill with pie weights. Bake 15 minutes, then remove the foil and pie weights. Continue to bake the tart 10 to 15 minutes until golden around the edges. Remove the tart from the oven to a wire rack to cool completely.

6. Combine the cranberries, brown sugar, kosher salt, grated orange zest, orange juice, and figs in a medium bowl. Spoon the filling evenly into the tart crust still in the tart pan; the filling will mound a bit in the center. Put the tart on a baking sheet and bake. After 25 minutes check the tart for browning. If the top looks like it’s browning too quickly, tent the top with aluminum foil. Bake a total of 55 minutes to 1 hour, until the cranberries pop and the sugar caramelizes. Remove to a wire rack to cool. Sprinkle the remaining chopped hazelnuts over the top.

7. Whip the cream to soft peaks, then beat in the powdered sugar, Cognac and vanilla extract. Serve the whipped cream with the tart.

Each serving: 429 calories; 4 grams protein; 45 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams fiber; 27 grams fat; 14 grams saturated fat; 71 mg. cholesterol; 128 mg. sodium.

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Spiced cranberry syrup

Total time: 25 minutes plus cooling time

Servings: Makes 2 1/2 cups syrup

Note: From Regina Schrambling. This is bracing as a substitute for creme de cassis in a kir royale before dinner (use demi-sec Champagne or a fruity Prosecco), or as a top-off for sparkling cider or even club soda. It will thicken and turn gelatinous as it sits, so make it fairly soon before using, or make it ahead, then reheat it and let it cool again on Thanksgiving.

1 cup sugar

10 white cardamom pods, crushed in a mortar and pestle

1 (1-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and minced

1 (12-ounce) bag fresh

cranberries, rinsed

1/2 cup pure maple syrup

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice

1. Combine the sugar, cardamom and ginger in a heavy saucepan. Add 1 1/2 cups water and bring to a boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Lower the heat to a simmer. Add the cranberries and cook, stirring occasionally, until they all pop, then simmer 5 minutes.

2. Remove from the heat. Strain into a bowl through a fine mesh sieve, pressing down to extract all the liquid, then discarding the solids. Stir in the maple syrup and lime juice. Cool completely.

3. Add about 2 tablespoons to a flute and pour sparkling wine, cider or club soda over. (Or top off each of those drinks with the syrup.)

Each serving of 2 tablespoons: 64 calories; 0 protein; 16 grams carbohydrates; 0 gams fiber; 0 fat; 0 saturated fat; 0 cholesterol; 1 mg. sodium.