There are a lot of reasons to love Thanksgiving—getting together with friends and family, watching the parade, all of the football games—but if we’re really being honest it’s all about the food. If the spread isn’t up to snuff you’ll be forced to wait 364 days before getting a chance to wash the bad taste out of your mouth. Don’t worry, you won’t have to endure that hardship since we have some great recipes from awesome tattooed chefs to help make your meal something to truly be thankful for.

Chef Jesse Schenker, owner of Recette and The Gander, gave us this recipe for Roasted Heirloom Carrots that will be sure to impress all of your friends and relatives.

Roasted Heirloom Carrots
Ingredients
5 shallots, minced
1/4 cup olive oil
1 lb. small heirloom carrots
5-7 sprigs of thyme
5 cloves garlic
3 T olive oil
2T butter, unsalted
1c. panko breadcrumbs
3-5 sprigs thyme1 clove garlic, smashed
salt, to taste

Directions
Place minced shallots in small sautee pan, cover with oliveoil. Heat over very low heat (do not let simmer) until shallots are softened. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Clean and peel carrots. Toss cleaned carrots with olive oil, thyme and garlic in a bowl. Place on sheet tray or roasting pan and roast for 20-30 minutes or until fork tender. While carrots are roasting, melt butter in medium pot. Add breadcrumbs, thyme and garlic. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until breadcrumbs are golden brown. Salt to taste.
To serve, place carrots on a serving tray and drizzle shallot confit over carrots to your liking. Sprinkle the breadcrumbs over the carrots.

Of course, if you are hosting your Thanksgiving feast you’re going to need a lot more than just an amazing vegetable dish to keep everyone happy. Since people will usually show up hours before the turkey is even ready to come out of the oven it’s essential to have some appetizers to snack on.

Chef Michael Symon has a perfect solution for you, check out his recipe for homemade chips with blue cheese fondue here. The Cleveland born Symon would surely enjoy chowing down on these while watching his beloved Browns take the gridiron. Be careful or you’ll spoil your appetite before the turkey arrives….

Chef Michael Voltaggio knows that the secret to a delicious turkey is keeping it moist. Anything that cooks in an oven for our will surely dry out, that’s just science, so Voltaggio recommends cooking the bird in a sous vide circulator. Check out his recipe for ultra-juicy turkey here. Even if it takes a couple of hours away from the table to regain any sort of appetite, Thanksgiving wouldn’t be complete without a great dessert.

It’s a given that someone in the family is going to bring a boring store bought pumpkin pie, so why not follow Nadia G’s lead and cook up something a little bit crazy? The host of Bitchin’ Kitchen dreamed up a recipe for a McIntosh Maple Crumble with Candied Bacon. Candied bacon? Yes, please.

Whip up any of these recipes and the entire rest of the family will be thankful for your cooking acumen. Have a great Thanksgiving.