Getting Ready for Thanksgiving

"Mark Bittman is revered for his simple, straightforward, and flexible approach to everyday cooking. In Dinner for Everyone, he shares 100 essential main dishes, each with easy, vegan, and all-out recipes as the mood or occasion requires. These 300 all-new recipes, accompanied by more than 100 full-color photographs, form a diverse collection that includes quick meals for busy weeknights (hearty soups, tacos, and one-pot pastas), creative plant-based fare that will please both vegans and non-vegans alike (lemon polenta with mushroom ragu, pomegranate-glazed eggplant, or cauliflower tinga tacos), and impressive dishes perfect for entertaining (handmade noodles and even your Thanksgiving centerpiece). Whatever the experience level, craving, or time constraint, home cooks will find exactly what they need to prepare all their favorites with confidence and enthusiasm. Rooted in Mark's philosophy of using efficient cooking techniques, fresh ingredients, and basic equipment--and written in his signature to-the-point style--Dinner for Everyone is a one-stop, indispensable reference for life's ultimate question: What's for dinner?" (from Amazon.com)

“Families crave rituals,” says Jenny Rosenstrach, and by rituals she means not just the big celebrations—Valentine’s Day dinners, Mother’s Day brunches, Halloween send-offs, Thanksgiving feasts, holiday cocktail parties—but the little ones we may not even realize are rituals: a platter of deluxe nachos on Super Bowl Sunday, or a bowl of creamy mashed potatoes after every braces-tightening session. Whether simple or elaborate, daily or annual, these rituals all serve the same purpose for Rosenstrach: to bring comfort, connection, and meaning to every day.  

100+ recipes, including:

• popovers, apple fritters, and golden pancakes, perfect for sleepover mornings or birthday breakfasts
• “Interfaith Sliders”: one version with ham and another with brisket
• Rosenstrach’s legendary chocolate Mud Cake—plus an entire section on birthdays, including a one-size-fits-all party planner that does not rely on pizza
• complete menus for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Eve
• and, of course, dozens of Rosenstrach’s signature family dinners: Grilled Soy-Glazed Pork Chops, Harissa Roasted Chicken, Crispy Chickpeas with Yogurt Sauce and Naan, Grilled Spicy Shrimp Tacos with Avocado Butter and Summer Cabbage, and more

In this digital, overscheduled age, How to Celebrate Everything helps families slow down, capture the moments that matter—and eat well while doing it." (from Amazon.com)

"Ree Drummond―accidental country girl, award-winning blogger, Food Network personality, and #1 New York Times bestselling author―presents The Pioneer Woman Cooks: A Year of Holidays, a fantastic collection of recipes, photos, and homespun humor to help you celebrate all through the year. Ree shows you how to ring in your favorite holidays with inspired menus for breakfasts, brunches, lunches, dinners, parties, deliveries, and feasts, accompanied by fun instructions and hundreds of her signature step-by-step photos. Filled with creative and flavorful ideas for intimate dinners, group gatherings, and family meals, The Pioneer Woman Cooks: A Year of Holidays includes dozens of mouthwatering dishes (with nineteen recipes for Thanksgiving alone!), helping home cooks create a variety of delights. Whip up a Resolution Smoothie on New Year’s Day; Whiskey BBQ Sliders and Dr Pepper Cupcakes for The Big Game; Glazed Ham for Easter; Watermelon Sangria for a sizzling Fourth of July cookout; and perfect Popcorn Balls on Halloween. For Christmas, Ree includes special homemade treats, including Caramel Apple Rolls, Christmas Rum Cake, and a selection of smile-inducing cookies, perfect for Christmas deliveries to family and friends. Enjoy holidays all year ’round...Pioneer Woman style!" (from Amazon.com)

"Beloved Food Network personality, restaurateur, and author Paula Deen loves a party, and in her latest book, Paula Deen Celebrates!, Paula shares with fans old and new how she celebrates a year's worth of holidays and special occasions. Now anyone can share in the down-home celebrations Paula, her husband, Michael, their kids, and extended family enjoy at their beautiful home in Savannah, Georgia. What better way to start off the New Year than with a New Year's Eve Brunch with friends—at midnight! This colorful celebration includes Crab and Spinach Casserole and Baked Tomatoes, and finishes with a quintessentially southern Hummingbird Cake and Irish Coffee. Welcome St. Patrick's Day, Savannah style, with Lamb Stew and Green Grits Pie. The centerpiece of an Easter dinner is a Peanut Butter-Glazed Ham, accompanied by Spinach-Swiss Casserole, Squash Boats, and flaky Butterhorns, with a bonus recipe for Ham Salad that makes eating leftovers a treat. Looking for a reason to party, south-of-the-border style? Try Paula's Cinco de Mayo Fiesta menu, with Macho Nachos and a cool and creamy Margarita Mousse. Paula honors the memory of her mother, and all the other women who have blessed her life, with a Mother's Day Tea of dainty sandwiches and irresistible cookies served on her best china, and fathers get their due with a Father's Day Boating Picnic. The Fourth of July is the perfect occasion for an Outdoor Grill Party and Low-Country Boil, and if what you want is a quiet evening at home, pop a movie in the DVD player and chow down on your choice of Paula's savory and sweet pizzas. Gather the family to watch some football and savor Jamie's Cheeseburger Pies, and give family and friends the gift of a sweet treat at the holidays with Paula's Icebox Fruitcake or Peppermint Bark. Her Christmas feast starts with Cranberry Holiday Brie and stars an impressive Standing Rib Roast, with Twice-Baked Potato Casserole. The show-stopping dessert is Paula's butter-laden Coconut Pound Cake glazed with coconut syrup and covered with icing and toasted coconut!" (from Amazon.com)

Next Week is Thanksgiving!

Here are a few cookbooks that may help you plan your perfect Thanksgiving!

How to Celebrate Everything helps families slow down, capture the moments that matter--and eat well while doing it. "Families crave rituals," says Jenny Rosenstrach, and by rituals she means not just the big celebrations--Valentine's Day dinners, Mother's Day brunches, Thanksgiving feasts--but the little ones we may not even realize are rituals: A platter of deluxe nachos on Super Bowl Sunday or a bowl of creamy mashed potatoes after every braces-tightening session. Whether simple or elaborate, daily or annually, these rituals all serve the same purpose for Rosenstrach: to bring comfort, connection, and meaning to everyday family life. Recipes here are organized into groupings unique to Rosenstrach but familiar to everyone: Our Family Rituals (think tomato sandwiches for lunch after a family walk to the market, or homemade popovers on sleepover mornings); Holidays We Didn't Invent, including Friday Challah and Easter Ham (yes, both, more on that inside); a Halloween Launch Party for trick-or-treaters, featuring a self-serve simmering pot of Chicken Chorizo Chili. A section on Birthdays includes Rosenstrach's legendary chocolate frosted "mud" cake as well as a one-size-fits-all party planner with menus that do not rely on pizza. Lastly, in Family Dinners you'll find celebratory Sunday meals (Soy-Glazed Grilled Pork Chops, Harissa Roasted Chicken, Summer Cobbler) alongside Rosenstrach's signature easy weeknight fare (Crispy Chickpeas and Yogurt, Shrimp Tacos with Avocado "Butter," and vegetable-packed Burrito Bowls)--all of which translate to prime quality time with the family. In this digital, overscheduled age,

"Ree shows you how to ring in your favorite holidays with inspired menus for breakfasts, brunches, lunches, dinners, parties, deliveries, and feasts, accompanied by fun instructions and hundreds of her signature step-by-step photos. Filled with creative and flavorful ideas for intimate dinners, group gatherings, and family meals, The Pioneer Woman Cooks: A Year of Holidays includes dozens of mouthwatering dishes (with nineteen recipes for Thanksgiving alone!), helping home cooks create a variety of delights. Whip up a Resolution Smoothie on New Year’s Day; Whiskey BBQ Sliders and Dr Pepper Cupcakes for The Big Game; Glazed Ham for Easter; Watermelon Sangria for a sizzling Fourth of July cookout; and perfect Popcorn Balls on Halloween. For Christmas, Ree includes special homemade treats, including Caramel Apple Rolls, Christmas Rum Cake, and a selection of smile-inducing cookies, perfect for Christmas deliveries to family and friends. Enjoy holidays all year ’round...Pioneer Woman style!" (from Amazon.com)

 "Thanksgiving is perhaps the most American holiday of all, a celebration of beloved foods, and customs that evoke happy memories of good times shared with family and friends. Williams-Sonoma Thanksgiving Entertaining is a complete guide to creating those favorite traditions in your own home. Equal parts cookbook and how-to manual, it presents five menus for entertaining over the Thanksgiving weekend, including three distinctive ideas for the holiday feast. Fot traditionalists, there is a classic New England Thanksgiving dinner featuring roasted turkey with pan gravy and all the trimmings, including an old-fashioned oyster stuffing,, cranberry relish, and buttery mashed potatoes. A contemporary California-style holiday menu showcases a butterflied turkey and light, seasonal Mediterranean-inspired accompaniments, while an elegant southern buffet offers a glorious glazed ham, spooned bread, and collard greens. Because Thanksgiving entertaining often extends beyond the holiday meal, this book includes menus for a casual Day-After Lunch, with turkey sandwiches and snacks, and a homey weekend breakfast, with French toast, smoothies, and an irresistible Pumpkin Bread. In addition to the nearly fifty recipes, there are step-by-step instructions for decorating your home, setting an attractive table, and making a variety of festive drinks -- all lavishly illustrated with color photographs. Detailed work plans accompany each menu, and helpful reference sections provide guidelines on tableware and glassware, setting up a buffet, pairing food and wine, and more. You'll find everything you need to know to host a memorable Thanksgiving that both you and your guests will enjoy." (from Amazon.com)

"Historical Thanksgiving Cookery is chock full of delightfully delicious ideas favored by many famous families of yesteryear. It contains the prized recipes for those Thanksgiving dishes served and eaten by some of the heroes of the Revolutionary War. You will be able to fix and then eat the same things served to those great men who so bravely signed the Declaration of Independence. You will be able to enjoy sharing an identical Thanksgiving meal with those who wore both the blue and the gray during the War Between the States, or as some unreconstructed Southerners still refer to it, the War of Northern Aggression.Yes, every recipe found in this unique book was a popular favorite throughout the Thanksgiving holidays in our nation's long and colorful history. Many were coveted within a particular family and handed down from generation to generation. Others are historical gems, for they were the inventions of, or the favorites of, some notable family or individual from the past. Here they are being presented, for the first time, for America's families of today to have the fun and experience the thrill of cooking and baking. And lastly, to thankfully pass a blessing over before eating - be it for breakfast, lunch or dinner - on Thanksgiving Day." (from Amazon.com)

"Every fourth Thursday of November, Americans open their homes to friends and families. But when was the last time most of us made dinner for such a big crowd? With Thanksgiving 101 by your side, preparing for the holiday will be a pleasure. With step-by-step instructions for classic Thanksgiving dishes, as well as new twists on old favorites, this book will become gravy-stained in its first outing. Whether you're looking for new ways to cook turkey; traditional trimmings, chutneys, or chowders; a vegetarian entrée; or fresh ideas for regional classics, including Cajun-or Italian-inspired tastes, Thanksgiving 101 serves up a delicious education for novice and experienced cooks alike. And cooks will turn to these dishes all year long whenever they are throwing a big party.With foolproof recipes, detailed menu timetables, and down-to-earth advice, Thanksgiving 101 is the holiday cook's best friend." (from Amazon.com)

June is Bridal Season

June is traditionally thought of as the month of brides and all things bridal. In fact, in the U.S. it is the busiest month for the wedding industry. I thought I would showcase a few books to help you with your bridal needs. One is specifically about weddings; two feature entertaining tips and tricks; and the last one helps you to let go if things in the marriage go south.

Weddiculous: An Unfiltered Guide to Being a Bride by Jamie Lee (with Jacqueline Novak) is a fresh, funny look at all things bridal. The author--a stand-up comedian, TV writer, and actress—talks about her experience planning her own wedding and gives practical and hilarious tips to other brides on how to not run yourself (and others) crazy during this stressful process. Jamie opens each chapter with a snippet of the kind of advice that big bridal business gives to potential brides; she then blows that advice out of the water! This book is worth the read even if you’re not planning a wedding.

Looking for ideas on entertaining in general? Why not check out Modern Hospitality: Simple Recipes with Southern Charm by Whitney Miller or How to Celebrate Everything by Jenny Rosenstrach?

Whitney Miller was the Season 1 winner of MasterChef hosted by Gordon Ramsay. This young woman hales from Poplarville, Mississippi and is a graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi. Her book contains more than 75 original southern-style recipes, ideas for entertaining, and stories from her own family and traditions.

Jenny Rosenstrach includes more than 100 recipes in her book; each one designed to celebrate those days most special to your family. She includes complete menus for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Eve as well as ideas for Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, and Super Bowl Sunday. She also includes notes on her own family rituals for holidays and birthdays and why it is important for families to celebrate together.

If your wedding doesn’t pan out into eternal wedded bliss, then, The Optimist’s Guide to Divorce by Suzanne Riss and Jill Sockwell may be worth reading. When their own marriages began falling apart, the authors looked and looked for advice to help them through their tough times. They both realized that they needed the support of other women who understood what they were going through. In this book they bring together that practical advice on everything from deciding to divorce, custody battles, and moving house to making a plan, budgeting for your new life, and jumping back in the dating pool. Most importantly, they teach women that it’s okay to hurt, but there is hope and healing on the horizon.