In his tasty new book Cooking with Zac, Zac Posen presents his favorite kitchen creations from “rustic to refined.” For Thanksgiving, he recalls a revelation from when he was just six years old: brining and massaging a turkey, thanks to Patty Shay, a family friend.

“Once the turkey finished roasting, it looked like something out of a banquet in a fairy tale,” Posen recounts in the book. “Bronzed, glistening, and so centerpiece-stunning.”

Ditto his dynamite recipe for a citrus and spice Thanksgiving duck with cranberry-orange relish on the side.

Posen always presents it on the table with a turkey “because why not?” he says. “If you can’t indulge in excess on Thanksgiving, when can you?”

“Thanksgiving,” he adds, “has always been important to my family, as there is always so much to be thankful for. We all get together to cook the delicious meal and catch up and as my father says ‘a family that eats together stays together.’” The CFDA family agrees!

Click through the gallery is for Posen’s very special duck recipe.

Cooking with Zac is published by Rodale and available for purchase here.