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Family dinners are smaller affairs these days as children grow up, go away to school or move to far-flung places, and a more intimate meal is often called for.

Here is a sophisticated Thanksgiving dinner menu for six people. It features roast capon instead of the larger and more traditional turkey.

The recipes are not difficult, but they are special enough to add flair to a seasonal feast.

JERUSALEM ARTICHOKE SOUP WITH SCALLOP Ravioli

Jerusalem artichokes look a little like ginger root and their flavour has a slight artichoke edge to it. Once they are peeled and sliced, you should have about 2½ cups.

what you need

Soup:

2 tablespoons butter

½ cup chopped onions

1 pound Jerusalem artichokes, peeled and chopped

½ cup chopped Yukon gold potatoes

Salt and freshly ground pepper

4 cups chicken stock

½ cup whipping cream

2 tablespoons chopped chives

Scallops:

6 large scallops

Salt to taste

1 teaspoon curry powder

1 tablespoon chopped mint

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

6 wonton skins, blanched for 1 minute

what you do

Heat butter in soup pot over medium heat. Add onions and sauté for 3 minutes or until softened. Add Jerusalem artichokes and potatoes and continue to sauté for 2 to 3 minutes or until coated with butter and beginning to soften. Season lightly with salt and pepper.

Pour in stock and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 15 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

Place in blender and blend until smooth. Return to pot and add whipping cream. Bring to boil then simmer for 5 minutes or until flavours are blended. Season again to taste. Set aside and keep warm.

Meanwhile, season scallops with salt, curry powder and mint. Heat oil in skillet over high heat. Add scallops and sear each side about 1 to 2 minutes depending on size. Place each scallop on a wonton skin and drape skin around it. Place scallop on base of soup plate. Pour hot soup over it and scatter with chives. Serves 6.

ROAST CAPON

A capon is a rooster whose reproductive organs have been removed. It is fatter and tastier than a regular chicken and usually weighs 6 to 8 pounds. Leftovers are invariably succulent. You can substitute a smaller roasting chicken in this recipe. Serve with roasted fingerling potatoes.

what you need

1 6-to-8-pound (2.7-to-3.5-kilogram) capon

2 tablespoons butter, softened

1 tablespoon chopped rosemary

Salt and freshly ground pepper

Sauce:

½ cup cranberry juice

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

3 cups chicken stock

1 tablespoon soy sauce

2 tablespoons cranberry sauce or red-currant jelly

What you do

Preheat oven to 400 F.

Rub with butter and season with salt, pepper and rosemary. Tie capon with string to help hold its shape and place on a rack over a roasting pan.

Roast for 1½to 2 hours (depending on size, about 15 minutes to the pound) or until juices run clear. An instant-read thermometer will read 155 F when inserted in the breast, 165 F in the legs. Baste occasionally.

Remove to a carving board and cover with a tea towel. Let sit for 10 minutes while making sauce.

Skim fat from juices in roasting pan and discard. Place pan with remaining juices on the stove top over medium-high heat. Add cranberry juice and vinegar and bring to boil. Reduce to 1 tablespoon. Add stock and soy sauce and reduce by half. Stir in cranberry sauce. If sauce is too thin, thicken with a little cornstarch mixed with water. Carve capon into slices and serve with sauce. Serves 6. BRUSSELS SPROUTS CRUMBLE

You could add some sautéed bacon to the Brussels sprouts for extra flavour.

what you need

1 pound Brussels sprouts (about 4 cups)

¼ cup butter, plus 2 tablespoons

½ cup fresh breadcrumbs

¼cup chopped almonds

½ tsp grated lemon rind

what you do

Trim sprouts and cut in half. Bring a pot of water to boil. Add sprouts and boil for 3 to 5 minutes or until crisp-tender. Drain and run under cold water. Place in buttered baking dish. Dot with 2 tablespoons butter.

Preheat oven to 350 F. Melt¼ cup butter in skillet and add breadcrumbs, almonds, lemon rind and salt and pepper. Sauté until breadcrumbs start to crisp.

Sprinkle over sprouts and bake for 15 minutes or until sprouts are hot.

MUSHROOM SAUTÉ

Farmer's markets and grocery stores offer an abundant variety of wild and cultivated mushrooms. Use as many kinds as you can find for this dish. Larger types like king mushrooms and portobello should be sliced.

what you need

1 pound mixed mushrooms (about 8 cups)

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoons chopped garlic

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

½ cup chicken stock

2 tablespoons Port or Madeira

2 tablespoon chopped parsley

Salt and Freshly ground pepper

what you do

Trim mushrooms, removing stalks if you are using shiitake, but leave them whole.

Heat oil in skillet over high heat. Add garlic and mushrooms and sauté until beginning to loose their juices, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add balsamic, and stock and bring to boil. Reduce until liquid practically disappears then add Port. Sauté 1 minute longer, sprinkle with salt, pepper and parsley.

PUMPKIN SQUARES

These squares have all the flavour of pumpkin pie without the work. Drizzle the cream-cheese topping over them for a fancy touch, or serve them plain.

what you need

Base:

2 cups flour

½ cup icing sugar

1 cup unsalted butter, cubed

1 teaspoon kosher salt

Filling:

3 eggs, beaten

1 14-ounce can pumpkin purée

¾ cup packed brown sugar

1/3 cup corn syrup

½ cup whipping cream

2 teaspoons lemon juice

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon allspice or nutmeg

½ teaspoon ground ginger

¼teaspoon kosher salt

Topping:

2 tablespoons butter, softened

2 tablespoons cream cheese, softened

½ cup icing sugar

1 to 2 tablespoons milk

what you do

Preheat oven to 350. Line a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with parchment paper.

Mix together flour, icing sugar, butter and salt in a food processor or by hand until mixture just comes together. Do not let it form a ball. Pat into prepared baking pan and bake for 25 minutes or until golden.

Combine eggs, pumpkin, brown sugar, corn syrup, whipping cream, lemon juice, vanilla, cinnamon, allspice, ginger and salt in food processor or blender and process until well combined. Scrape sides and process again.

Pour mixture over base and bake for 35 to 45 minutes or until centre springs back when touched. Cool.

Combine butter and cream cheese using a hand beater until soft and fluffy. Beat in icing sugar and enough milk to make a thin icing. Pour into a plastic sandwich bag and cut a small hole in one corner. Drizzle over squares, and draw a knife through the lines to make a design. Chill and cut into squares. Makes 24 squares.

Mea culpa: Last week's column about safe eating for people with food allergies promised seafood-food free recipes. However, as one vigilant reader noted, I included fish sauce (which is made from anchovies) in the pad Thai recipe. I should have specified that it was shellfish (the most common seafood allergy) that the column set out to avoid.