Celebrity Thanksgiving recipes: Overeat like the stars

Gwyneth Paltrow's whole roasted turkey. (Courtesy goop.com)

Gwyneth Paltrow isn't the only celebrity with pretensions to culinary glory. Especially when it comes to the mother of all cooking days: Thanksgiving.

Last year, Paltrow -- insouciant gastronome extraordinaire -- shared a whopping 13 recipes, from caramelized Brussels sprouts to stuffed turkey burgers with cranberry ketchup, via her weekly GOOP newsletter. We've yet to see whether she'll update for 2010, but really -- why mess with perfection?

Earlier this month, another newspaper published Marilyn Monroe's recipe for a stuffing that would work in either chicken or turkey, the writer remarking that the ingredient-heavy concoction "bears the unmistakable balance of fussiness and flexibility that is the hallmark of an experienced and confident cook."

Looking for a more traditional stuffing? Maybe Tyrone Power's Turkey Stuffing -- which requires just seven ingredients (one of which is lard) -- is more your style. Bonus: while you cook you can ogle all the shirtless pix of the swashbuckling Power on the recipe page.

Stars, they're just like us! Which means they sometimes have to put up with pesky vegetarians (like me) bellying up to the table only to take a pass on the unnaturally massive poultry. Fear not. Alicia Silverstone -- also a veg -- shared this yummy recipe for Moroccan couscous with saffron in her book "The Kind Diet." The scrumptious-sounding dish includes chunks of butternut squash, carrots and zucchini. For more veggie fare, try Boy George's Chick Pea Corruption, which will provide much-needed protein and the opportunity to use that garam masala you've been keeping in the spice rack.

Timothy Leary -- so counter-cultural, that guy. Which explains why in 1984 he shared his choice for Thanksgiving's centerpiece: goose with prune, apple and chestnut stuffing. "Mrs. Leary prepares the feast," according to an article that appeared in Vanity Fair. "Dr. Leary never cooks. He also doesn't eat very much. Too busy with his projects, we presume." And, no, there's no secret three-lettered ingredient, though the pitted prunes that have been marinated in a jar of port for a week may be slightly hallucinogenic.

More: The 2010 Holiday Guide