Pretty awesome little thing. Definitely came in handy this fall, even though it was read somewhere near the end of the spring when it came up. ( )

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. I like it better than Christmas because it's all about the food rather than the stuff. I'm fortunate in that my family Christmases tend to be all about the food, as well, so I'm planning to use at least one recipe from the Fine Cooking Thanksgiving Cookbook for my Christmas dinner since family will be here this year. I'm currently waffling about Thanksgiving since it's just two of us - do I make the turkey breast and a bunch of sides or do we go for Chinese food - but whatever I do this cookbook is great for the holidays.

The Fine Cooking Thanksgiving Cookbook offers lots of advice for making your Thanksgiving cooking adventure less daunting - advice on planning ahead, lots of different ways to make a yummy turkey, oodles of sides and desserts. I'm especially excited about the sides because I'm not fond of turkey and at past Thanksgivings with large crowds have been known to skip the protein and just eat sides. My husband likes the proteins, though, so if I do cook I'm obligated to provide one. The recipes are clear and simple without being plain and boring, nice photographs, lots of advice and ideas. While I won't make a pie this year (I remain terrified of pie crust and the packaged ones just aren't that great), if I wanted to this would be a great reference with step-by-step instructions for making it all work out right. I got a copy for review on my Kindle and this is one cookbook I'll buy in print because it's got so many great recipes in it. A fun reference for novice cooks and for experts! ( )