Thanksgiving in the west: cook the best dishes from Sunset's $50,000 recipe contest

SIDE DISH RUNNER-UP

DOROTHY REINHOLD, MALIBU, CA

Fresh Cranberry-Ginger Relish

"I'm the candied ginger queen," says Dorothy Reinhold. "Many things are improved by ginger. Cranberry sauce can be a one-trick pony--all sweetness and not much else. But if you add something with bite, suddenly you have an adventurous meal on your plate."

PREP TIME: About 10 minutes

MAKES: About 3 cups; 12 servings

NOTES: You can make this relish up to 3 days ahead; cover and chill.

  1 bag (12 oz.; 3 1/2 cups) fresh cranberries
  1 lemon (5 oz.), rinsed
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup crystallized ginger, coarsely chopped
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1. Rinse and drain cranberries. Remove and discard any bruised or soft ones. Gently pat berries dry.

2. With a vegetable peeler, pare all the yellow peel (not the white pith) from lemon in thin strips; coarsely chop. Save lemon for other uses.

3. In a food processor, whirl cranberries, lemon peel, sugar, crystallized ginger, and ground ginger just until finely chopped. Cover and chill at least 4 hours.

Per 1/4-cup serving: 93 cal., 1% (0.9 cal.) from fat; 0.1 g protein; 0.1 g fat (0 g sat.); 24 g carbo (1.4 g fiber); 8.6 mg sodium; 0 mg chol.

Grand Prize

BEST DESSERT

KARI BOWERS, BELLEVUE, WA

Roasted-Sweet Potato Cheesecake with Maple Cream

"My two sons, ages 10 and 12, normally don't like sweet potatoes," says Kari Bowers. She suspected that roasting the potatoes for deeper flavor and then putting them into a cheesecake would change things. Many trials later, she came up with this recipe, which the whole family loves. In our test kitchen, it produced a luscious, silky texture every time--and rave reviews from our entire staff.

PREP AND COOK TIME: About 2 1/2 hours, plus at least 2 1/2 hours to cool and chill

MAKES: 12 to 16 servings

NOTES: You can make this cheesecake up to 3 days ahead; cover and chill. Garnish with cream up to 6 hours before serving; cover and chill until serving.

    2 dark orange-fleshed sweet potatoes (1 1/4 to 1 1/2 lb. total),
      such as jewel or red garnet (sometimes sold as yams)
    1 tablespoon melted butter Pecan crust (recipe follows)
    2 teaspoons lemon juice
    3 packages (8 oz. each) cream cheese, regular or light
      (neufchatel), at room temperature
  3/4 cup granulated sugar
  1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
    4 large eggs
  1/4 cup whipping cream
  1/4 cup sour cream
  1/4 cup maple syrup
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
    1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  1/2 teaspoon ground ginger Maple cream (recipe follows)

1. Preheat oven to 375[degrees] (convection not recommended). Peel sweet potatoes and cut in half lengthwise. Place in a 9- by 13-inch baking pan and brush with melted butter. Bake until potatoes are soft when pressed, 45 to 55 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, prepare crust. Bake in same oven with potatoes until lightly browned all over, 10 to 12 minutes.

3. Scrape any charred spots off potatoes, then cut potatoes into chunks. Whirl in a food processor or mash in a bowl with lemon juice until smooth. Reserve 1 cup; save any extra for another use.