November – Booklist
Food is the language of celebration, nostalgia, and gratitude. It connects us to our past, grounds us in the present, and is the delicious foundation upon which new memories are built. Whether it’s a time-honored family recipe, a challenging new dish, or simply the ritual of gathering around a groaning table, the culinary arts take center stage this time of year. This booklist explores Thanksgiving through great recipes, and tales of gathering at the holiday table.
Nonfiction
The Book on Pie: Everything You Need to Know to Bake Perfect Pies
This essential handbook on all things pie starts with an in-depth tutorial, complete with troubleshooting and expert tips for decorating, before diving into recipes for every kind of pie imaginable from classic fruit, custard, cream, chiffon, cold-set, savory, to inspired unique creations.
American Food Writing: An Anthology with Classic Recipes
Essays, anecdotes, poems, and recipes representing various eating habits, culinary practices, and ethnic traditions throughout American history. Includes Walt Whitman’s account of the comforting effects of ice cream, Mary Lincoln’s recipe for chicken chartreuse, and selections by Anthony Bourdain, Julia Child, Craig Claiborne, H.L. Mencken, David Sedaris, and others.
Quick Vegetarian Pleasures by Jeanne Lemlin
Grains, tofu, tempeh, and fresh vegetables are some of the ingredients in Lemlin’s recipes for the short-on-time vegetarian cook. Along with helpful kitchen tips, Lemlin provides menus such as a vegetarian barbecue and a Thanksgiving feast.
Make it Ahead by Ina Garten
In addition to Ina’s advice on how you can escape the kitchen and join your guests when you are hosting, this book gives you lots of amazing recipes that taste just as good, and sometimes even better when they’re made in advance. Ina also includes recipes for the biggest cooking day of the year—Thanksgiving. Her Ultimate Make-Ahead Roast Turkey and Gravy with Onions & Sage may just change your life.
Fiction
Murder She Wrote: A Fatal Feast by Jessica Fletcher and Donald Bain
Jessica Fletcher would like nothing more than to sit back and relax as Thanksgiving comes to Cabot Cove. But this year, she’s already got more on her plate than she can handle as host for the bountiful feast for an ever-growing list of friends when she stumbles upon the body of a man with a carving knife stuck in his chest.
A Quilter’s Holiday by Jennifer Chiaverini
For the Elm Creek Quilters, the day after Thanksgiving is a time to gather at Elm Creek Manor and spend the day stitching holiday gifts. This year Sylvia Bergstrom Compson Cooper has invited her friends to continue the tradition by sewing quilt blocks that represent their thankfulness and gratitude. If you like spending time with the Elm Creek Quilters, read the many other volumes in this series.
An Old-Fashioned Thanksgiving by Louisa May Alcott
The seven Bassett children decide to prepare Thanksgiving dinner themselves after their parents leave suddenly to care for an ailing grandmother. Includes recipes from the dinner. This warm Thanksgiving tale is a timeless classic for children and adults.
The Ghost at the Table by Suzanne Berne
San Francisco freelance writer Cynthia reluctantly spends Thanksgiving in New England with her married sister Frances and their long-estranged father, Robert. Cynthia believes Robert was responsible for their mother’s death twenty-five years ago, but Frances has a different take and the reunion deteriorates as they all confront their shared past.
Image Description: A Thanksgiving table set with classic dishes like green beans, stuffing, turkey, cranberry sauce and mashed potatoes and gravy and fall decor. Photographed from above looking straight down.