Altering the Thanksgiving dinner used to warrant sneers and jeers from traditionalists who wanted nothing more than Butter Ball turkey with mom’s good old-fashioned mashed potatoes and green bean casserole. The notion of deep frying turkey, for instance, incited more disgust than curiosity until the cooking method took root in the mainstream public several years ago. But tamper with those cherished family recipes for sausage stuffing and pumpkin pie, and you could still face death by torture from your holiday dinner guests.

Some argue that Thanksgiving Day isn’t a time to experiment in the kitchen unless you know exactly how your favorite wine will act in the gravy, or whether those gourmet herb rubs and marinade injectors will bungle the flavor of the turkey as we know it.

The Gay & Lesbian Times asked several accomplished chefs in the region how they successfully swoop up their Thanksgiving meals without completely tossing tradition out the window. We found that a few small changes can yield some delicious results.

The best mashed potatoes I ever made are boiled in vacuum-sealed bags, or you could use Ziplocks. Because the water doesn’t penetrate the potatoes, they retain their natural sugars and nutrients and taste more natural. I usually boil three potatoes per bag for about an hour. Then I mash them with cream and butter.

For my turkey, I use a large clay pot that I soak in cold water for 20 to 30 minutes. I stuff the turkey skin with aromatic herbs, cover it, and cook it at 400 degrees, but not in a preheated oven because the turkey loses its juices when it’s temperature shocked. In the last 40 minutes, I take off the cover to get a crispy skin.

At the restaurant this Thanksgiving, we’re going to butterfly the turkey breasts and tuck inside the dark meat that we’ll braise in turkey stock. Customers will get the best of both worlds. The stuffing will be fairly traditional. We’ll be using pumpernickel bread with a little cranberry and various spices.

A lot of people make mushroom gravy for their Thanksgiving dinner, but not with shiitake mushrooms, which adds a nice sweet earthiness to it. You can also use chanterelles, which are in season, or a variety of other mushrooms.

I also think it’s cool to bake just a turkey breast, and stuff underneath its skin an herb pesto made with arugula and sage. Or you can use a compound butter under the skin so that the turkey self-bastes as it’s roasting. You don’t want to go too far out there with Thanksgiving dinner, although a lot of people don’t want it overly traditional either since everyone has the same old recipes for turkey and stuffing.

At the restaurant we’ll be using a peppercorn-thyme rub for the turkeys.

One year we took a turkey and stuffed it with end pieces of squaw, rosemary and cinnamon bread from the restaurant. It was the best stuffing I ever made and I do it every year now. Another year we stuffed the bird with lemon grass, which gave it a lemony hint that was really good.

I also love to make white corn on the cob, marinated with chilies, limes and cilantro. It’s a break in tradition, but so delicious and different and even better when it’s grilled. And if I make pumpkin pie, I like to do a chocolate crust and chocolate drizzle. Pumpkin and chocolate actually go very well together.

My chorizo corn bread stuffing made on the side is the best. I add dried cranberries, cilantro and roasted corn, along with the sausage, which has great fat content that flavors the whole stuffing.

To make the stuffing, you have to take the chorizo out of their casings, crumble it up, then brown it in a skillet with celery, garlic and onions. I also use fresh cornbread that’s been pre-toasted and then re-hydrated with chicken stock. I make it on a yearly basis and everyone who knows me starts asking for it around this time of year. But when it comes to the turkey, I don’t mess with tradition.