Presenting a remake of the original, with America’s favorite stars.

THERE’S one way to get a great TV dinner: Avoid the freezer.

After eating a few, I realized everything on the tray could be easily improved just by starting from scratch. And so I set out to take the original tray and put it back together with 2003 ingredients and attitudes, all fresh, for a real meal.

To come up with the postmodern TV dinner, I started with the famous combination Swanson’s laid out in 1953, when the potpie producer had to unload 26 tons of unsold turkeys. The first aluminum tray held Thanksgiving in miniature, with roasted breast meat sitting on corn bread stuffing under gravy, mashed sweet potatoes to one side and green peas to the other. Dessert was later added, and the stuffing was changed to white bread. Sweet potatoes were eventually replaced with white, which tended to weep less when reheated (maybe because they were made from nice, dry flakes).

It’s obviously a good meal, or 250 million Americans would not replicate it every November. But it could be much better for everyday eating, near or far from the latest reality TV.

The turkey was the simplest occupant of the tray to reinterpret. I’ve always thought one of the great innovations in supermarkets has been turkey cutlets. I’ll roast a whole bird or breast if I have to when it’s not a holiday, but I like the fast flexibility of sliced white meat. If you cook it right, it stays juicy, and you can add any flavor to it. There’s a reason Waverley Root once wrote that the best veal scaloppine in Italy is actually turkey cutlets.

Instead of just laying the turkey on bread, in stuffing, which seems dated, I slipped it into a form of bread: fine, dry crumbs mixed with fresh sage, parsley and garlic. A dip in beaten eggs makes the mixture adhere. As it cooks, it forms a savory crust over succulent meat.

To make it more contemporary, I laid the turkey on a bed of mesclun, which is how we always eat it, as a combination entree and salad. The fried crust acts almost like the oil in a dressing for the greens, and a squeeze of fresh lemon adds the acidity. (Fifty years ago, iceberg would have been good enough, but even the worst supermarket now sells lettuce with character.)

For the potatoes, it would be impossible not to improve on the TV dinner rendition just by peeling a few and mashing them with milk and butter. Using Yukon Golds instead of regular Idahos or russets is an even bigger advance, on the level of throwing out the margarine and unwrapping Plugra. But this is a new century; if Americans have learned anything over the last 50 years it’s that richness is a virtue. I decided to follow Joel Robuchon’s heart-stopping example and turn starch into dairy. Butter, cream and creme fraiche are mashed in, and a drizzle of truffle oil carries the dish completely over the top.

For the second vegetable, the choice was a no-brainer. Instead of Birds Eye special green peas, straight from the freezer, I bought sugar snaps, the latest upgrade from snow peas. These sweet little mange-touts (literally, “eat the whole things,” pod and all) have only been grown commercially since the 1980s. Originally they were confined to farmers markets, but now supermarkets carry them year-round.

They could be simply steamed, but they take on more intense flavor when you braise them in a bit of butter and a touch of fruity vinegar. They’re still sweet and crunchy but the flavor soaks through. I topped them off with fresh chives, which were as foreign in the ‘50s as dark green lettuce.

For dessert, I played with an apple and pear cake, with New Age sun-dried cranberries and crystallized ginger, as a takeoff on the old soupy stewed fruits or dry cakes. Then it hit me that chocolate was the more progressive idea. Only in the last 20 years has it become an obsession; when I was growing up it was tasted only in brownies and layer cake and Baker’s was about all you could buy.

A flourless chocolate cake, with a little orange sauce, seemed like the ideal finishing touch. It’s easy; it’s foolproof; it can be served hot or cold. And unlike a molten chocolate cake, which is even more contemporary, it lies low in the tray, as a TV dinner should.

You could serve all this on a dinner plate, of course, but using a tray makes you realize one undying appeal of TV dinners: The design gives you the option of eating dessert first.

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Crispy turkey cutlets

Total time: 30 minutes

Servings: 4

1/2 cup slivered almonds

1 cup fine dry bread crumbs

3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh sage

3 tablespoons finely chopped Italian parsley

2 large cloves garlic, minced

Dash cayenne pepper

Salt

Freshly ground pepper

2 eggs

1 tablespoon milk

Flour, for dusting (about 3/4 cup)

4 (4- to 5-ounce) turkey breast cutlets, about 1/2-inch thick

About 5 cups frisee or mesclun

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

1 lemon, cut into 4 wedges

1. Heat the oven to 300 degrees. Spread the almonds on a baking sheet and toast until barely brown, about 10 minutes. Cool, then transfer to a blender and process until ground but not oily. Place in a shallow bowl and add the bread crumbs, sage, parsley, garlic, cayenne, and salt and pepper to taste.

2. Beat the eggs with the milk in a second shallow bowl. Have ready a third shallow dish with flour for dredging. Season the cutlets on both sides with salt and pepper. Dip them into the flour, then the egg mixture and finally dredge in the bread crumb mixture to coat both sides.

3. Divide the frisee or mesclun among TV trays, in the largest compartment, and set aside.

4. Heat 1 or 2 large skillets over medium-high heat. Add the butter and when the foam subsides, carefully lay the cutlets into the pan(s). Lower the heat to medium and cook until the cutlets are browned and crisp and cooked through, about 2 to 3 minutes on each side, depending on the thickness. Lay each on the greens on a tray and serve at once, with lemon for garnish.

Each serving: 650 calories; 627 mg. sodium; 223 mg. cholesterol; 29 grams fat; 10 grams saturated fat; 44 grams carbohydrates; 52 grams protein; 4.41 grams fiber.

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Truffled mashed Yukon Golds

Total time: 35 minutes

Servings: 4

Note: Truffle oil is available at specialty and gourmet markets.

2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled

Coarse salt or coarse sea salt

6 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

1/3 cup creme fraiche

Freshly ground white pepper

2-3 tablespoons white truffle oil

1. Cut the potatoes into large, even chunks and place in a pot with water to cover. Add a tablespoon or so of salt. Bring to a boil and cook until the potatoes are soft, about 25 minutes.

2. While the potatoes cook, melt the butter in a small saucepan and add the cream; stir until heated. Set aside.

3. Drain the potatoes well and transfer to a large bowl. Add the butter mixture and mash partway. Add the creme fraiche and continue mashing until completely smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Divide among serving trays and drizzle with truffle oil to taste.

Each serving: 564 calories; 104 mg. sodium; 84 mg. cholesterol; 40 grams fat; 20 grams saturated fat; 47 grams carbohydrates; 5 grams protein; 4.10 grams fiber.

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Balsamic-braised sugar snap peas

Total time: 10 minutes

Servings: 4

3 cups fresh sugar snap peas

1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Coarse sea salt

2 teaspoons top-quality balsamic vinegar

Freshly ground white pepper

2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives

1. Trim the sugar snaps, removing any tough strings. Rinse well in a colander and set aside.

2. Melt the butter over medium heat in a skillet just large enough to hold the peas. Add the peas, with water clinging to them, and stir or toss until completely coated with butter. Season well with salt and toss again. Add the vinegar and toss to coat. Lower the heat, cover the pan and cook until the peas are just crunchy-tender, 2 to 3 minutes, depending on their age and size. Uncover the pan, season with pepper and toss with chives. Serve at once.

Each serving: 91 calories; 79 mg. sodium; 12 mg. cholesterol; 5 grams fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 9 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams protein; 3.42 grams fiber.

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Dark chocolate cake

Total time: 1 hour

Servings: 8

7 ounces good bittersweet chocolate, chopped

3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces

4 eggs, separated

3/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Dash salt

Bitter orange sauce, for drizzling

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-inch-square baking pan.

2. Combine the chocolate and butter in the top of a double boiler set over, but not touching, simmering water and stir until melted and smooth. Remove from the heat and cool slightly.

3. Whisk the egg yolks with the sugar and whisk into the chocolate mixture. Whisk in the vanilla. In a clean bowl, beat the egg whites with salt just until soft peaks form. Carefully fold into the chocolate mixture. Pour into the prepared pan. Bake until set but not dry, 30 to 35 minutes.

4. Cool slightly, then cut into squares and serve. Serve with the bitter orange sauce drizzled over top.

Each serving: 407 calories; 73 mg. sodium; 158 mg. cholesterol; 30 grams fat; 18 grams saturated fat; 35 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams protein; 1.46 grams fiber.

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Bitter orange sauce

Total time: 45 minutes

Servings: 6 to 8 (1 1/4 cups)

Note: This is adapted from a recipe by Nancy Silverton in “Desserts” (Harper & Row, 1986).

1 cup heavy whipping cream

Grated zest of 3 large oranges

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons orange juice

2 egg yolks

1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon Grand Marnier

1. Combine the cream and orange zest in a small saucepan and heat just until bubbles form around the perimeter. Remove from the heat and let stand 30 minutes.

2. Boil the orange juice until reduced to about 1 1/2 tablespoons and starting to caramelize. Blend into the cream.

3. Whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until the sugar dissolves. Reheat the cream to scalding, then pour about one-fourth into the egg yolks, whisking continuously. Whisk the mixture back into the saucepan with the cream. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 5 minutes. Stir in the liqueur. Serve warm or chilled.

Each of 8 servings: 92 calories; 8 mg. sodium; 69 mg. cholesterol; 7 grams fat; 4 grams saturated fat; 6 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram protein; 0.52 gram fiber.