My ostensible reason for writing this month’s column is to give you yet another option for taking advantage of all of the turkey available in the markets at this time of year. The more obvious reason is that I needed the right food to complement this month’s wine selection, and nothing does that better than a hearty burger served on a Kaiser roll. But the real true reason is that I am a sucker for the accompanying yam fries, and I want to turn you into one too — a sucker, not a fry.

As many sentient home cooks are now looking for alternatives to mass-produced beef and chicken, it probably won’t take much to persuade you, if you haven’t done so already, to give turkey a whirl. But don’t judge the ground meat the same way you would meat from whole-bird dining. Even if you’re a member of the majority that prefers white meat to dark, you’ll want to bear in mind that white meat is drier and less flavorful than dark, and there’s nothing like grinding it up to reveal the truth of this. Ground turkey comes in several types, so if you’re buying it in a supermarket, read the label to be sure you get what you want. The leanest (about 3 percent fat) is white meat only, with no skin. It’s labeled “ground turkey breast.” The package labeled simply “ground turkey” is made from white and dark meat, with some skin, and is about 10 percent fat (similar to the fat percentage of ground round beef). Frozen ground turkey is usually all dark meat with skin, and is 15 percent fat (similar to ground chuck). Thus, if you’re a believer in “fat makes for the best taste,” go with the frozen. The Cheddar cheese in the recipe below, however, makes for plenty of additional caloric intake.

Before moving onto the piece de resistance, I have to say a word about technique and terminology. First, technique. Sometimes in recipes calling for onions or shallots to be added to ground meat, the hurried cook will decide to skip the step of cooking the vegetables first. “Ah, what the heck,” you say to yourself, “it’s all going to cook together, anyway.” Not quite true. While it is all going to cook together eventually, the process of browning onions (or their cousins garlic and shallots) changes the taste of those vegetables, sweetening and mellowing their flavors — hence the term caramelizing. Which brings us to word choice. In the original recipe for these burgers, the recipe writer had used the now-popular word sweat, as in “first sweat the shallots.” This term has simply got to go. If it’s not bad enough that onions have the reputation of smelling like perspiration, this newfangled cookery term only adds insult to injury. So we’re not going to sweat the shallots, OK? We’re going to saute them. There is nothing wrong with a good old-fashioned French term, used judiciously.

Now the yams, though French-fried, are a specialty from hotter regions of the world. You can find versions of them in most African cuisines, but the best ones I’ve had have been in Cuban restaurants. I cannot go to Havana Rumba in St. Matthews, for instance, without ordering up a plate of these fritas. They are lightly spiced and fried to crispy perfection, then served with ketchup. (Yams and sweet potatoes, as discussed in a previous column, are not the same thing, but either will do for this recipe.)

This whole meal, especially if you do a starter course such as pureed chestnut soup, might just persuade you to stay home and deal with your own turkey.

TURKEY CHEDDAR BURGERS WITH SUN-DRIED TOMATO MAYONNAISE

1 large shallot, finely chopped (1/4 cup)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 1/2 pounds ground turkey (not labeled “all breast meat”)
5 ounces extra-sharp Cheddar cheese, cut into 4 half-inch-thick slices
4 Kaiser rolls
1/4 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained
1 tablespoon water
2 teaspoons cider vinegar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup mayonnaise

Put an oven rack in the middle position and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Saute the salted and peppered shallots in the olive oil in an eight-inch skillet over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until golden (two to three minutes), then transfer to a bowl. Add the ground turkey and mix in the shallots gently but thoroughly. Turn the turkey out onto a sheet of wax paper and divide into eight equal mounds. Form one mound into a four-inch patty and top with a piece of cheese, then put a second formed patty on top, enclosing the cheese by pinching the double-patty’s edges together. Make three more burgers in the same way.

Heat a lightly oiled, well-seasoned iron skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then grill the burgers, turning once, until just cooked through (meaning no longer pink but not dried out), about four minutes on each side. While the burgers are cooking, heat the rolls on a baking sheet in the oven until crusty, about five minutes. Transfer the rolls to a cooling rack.

Puree the tomatoes with the water, vinegar and quarter-teaspoon salt in a blender or mini food processor, scraping down the sides as necessary, then bl/files/storyimages/in the mayonnaise.

Cut the rolls in half horizontally and spread the cut sides with the tomato mayonnaise. Serve the burgers on the rolls with lettuce. Serves  four.

YAM FRIES

4 medium yams or sweet potatoes
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Olive oil for frying

Wash, peel and slice the potatoes lengthwise. (The slices should not be over a quarter-inch thick.) Place the potato slices in a dish of cold water to retain color. In a small bowl, bl/files/storyimages/all of the dry ingredients. Pat the potatoes dry. Heat a heavy frying pan filled with an inch of olive oil. Fry the potatoes until their edges turn slightly brown and begin to curl. Drain the potatoes on paper towels. While they’re still hot, sprinkle them with the dry mixture on both sides. Serve immediately. Serves four to six.