Winter Fiction and Warm Recipes for the Season 2023-2024
It's the time of the year where you want to pile on the multiple layers, stay cozy inside where festive garland and lights are hung, and maybe even enjoy the crackling sounds and toasty heat of a fire as you read a book. I know that's what I look forward to! Staying warm but enjoying the beauty of the clean, fresh snow falling from instead my home. Specifically crafted for that exact scenic concept, we have a book list with winter fiction and cookbooks full of warm recipes!
Take an adventure to a cabin in the woods, seasonal taxi ride to the bright light city, or journey back to winter in the early 1900s with these hand picked new release fiction books for the winter season. Paired with the books we have recipes from cookbooks for soups, curries, easy recipes, and hot culinary cuisines from across the globe to keep you warm as you read these snowy, winter novel!
Plus since we are all about giving you next-level exclusive content, keep scrolling to find a special recipe from one of the cookbooks below!
Cheers!
winter fiction
Snow Hare
by Paula Lichtarowicz
In this "riveting, heartfelt" novel of love and consequences (Heather Morris, New York Times bestselling author of The Tattooist of Auschwitz), a woman dreams of becoming a doctor until World War II leads her instead into an astonishing love--and a fateful choice.
Is it possible to fall in love at the edge of life?
Lena has lived a long, quiet life on her farm in Wales, alongside her husband and child. But as her end approaches, buried memories begin to return. Of her childhood in Poland, and her passion for science. Of the early days of her marriage, reluctant wife to an army officer. Of the birth of her daughter, whose arrival changed everything.
Dead of Winter
by Darcy Coates
USA TODAY BESTSELLER * JULY 2023 LIBRARYREADS SELECTION
Eight strangers. One killer. Nowhere left to run.
When Christa joins a tour group heading deep into the snowy expanse of the Rocky Mountains, she's hopeful this will be her chance to put the ghosts of her past to rest. But when a bitterly cold snowstorm sweeps the region, the small group is forced to take shelter in an abandoned hunting cabin. Despite the uncomfortably claustrophobic quarters and rapidly dropping temperature, Christa believes they'll be safe as they wait out the storm.
She couldn't be more wrong.
A Winter in New York
by Josie Silver
A young chef stumbles on a secret family recipe that might lead her to the love--and life--she's been looking for in this stunning novel from the New York Times bestselling author of One Day in December.
When Iris decides to move to New York to restart her life, she realizes she underestimated how big the Big Apple really is--all the nostalgic movies set in New York she'd watched with her mom while eating their special secret-recipe gelato didn't quite do it justice.
But Bobby, Iris's best friend, isn't about to let her hide away. He drags her to a famous autumn street fair in Little Italy, and as they walk through the food stalls, a little family-run gelateria catches her eye--could it be the same shop that's in an old photo of her mother's?
A Murder at Balmoral
by Chris McGeorge
The Crown meets Clue in this delightful locked-room mystery, sure to charm Agatha Christie fans and keep readers guessing to the end.
The king is dead. The killer is in the family. Solving this murder will be a royal pain.
The royal family has gathered at their Scottish retreat, Balmoral Castle, for a traditional Christmas. As a blizzard gathers outside and a delicious dinner is prepared, the family circles up for a holiday toast. King Eric has something momentous to say--in fact, he is about to name his successor. But as he raises a glass of his favorite whiskey, he drops dead.
Winter Guest: A Mystery
by W C Ryan
SHORTLISTED FOR THE CWA GOLD DAGGER AWARD
January 1921. Though the Great War is over, in Ireland a new civil war is raging. The once-grand Kilcolgan House, a crumbling bastion shrouded in sea mist, lies half empty and filled with ghosts, both real and imagined, while it shelters the surviving members of the Prendeville family. Then, when an IRA ambush goes terribly wrong, Maud Prendeville, Lord Kilcolgan's eldest daughter, is killed, leaving the family reeling. Yet the IRA column behind the attack insists they left her alive, that someone else must be responsible for her terrible fate. Captain Tom Harkin, an IRA intelligence officer and Maud's former fiancé, is sent to investigate. He becomes an unwelcome guest in this strange, gloomy household.
Through the Snow Globe
by Annie Rains
What if you could have one more day with someone you lost?
Diana Merriman, a physical therapist, is probably the only person in the small town of Snow Haven, North Carolina, who isn't looking forward to Christmas. It's been three weeks since her fiancé Linus was critically injured when a car hit him as he biked home from the toy store he owns and manages. Watching him open his eyes is the only gift she wants, but she can't help losing a little more hope every day.
But an unexpected visit from a friendly neighbor and finding a snow globe of Snow Haven--a gift Linus had hidden in the closet--the night before Christmas Eve changes things in ways Diana never would have imagined. Because on Christmas Eve Diana wakes up to find that it's not--Christmas Eve, that is. Instead, it's somehow December 4 all over again, the day Linus got hurt, and as mystified as Diana is, she immediately starts a plan to save her partner from his fate.
Nobody But Us
by Laure Van Rensburg
An "amazing" (NYT bestselling author of Gone Girl, Gillian Flynn) high-concept thriller in which a couple's romantic weekend-getaway is not what is seems.
Named a Most Anticipated Book by Bookish
Steven Harding is a handsome, well-respected professor. Ellie Masterson is a wide-eyed grad student. Together, they are driving south from New York for their first vacation: three days in an isolated cabin, far from the city. Ahead of them, the promise of long, dark nights--and the chance to get to know each other better, away from prying eyes. It should be a perfect romantic getaway for two. But when a snowstorm strands them in the house.
Warm Recipes
Every Season Is Soup Season: 85+ Souper-Adaptable Recipes to Batch, Share, Reinvent, and Enjoy
by Shelly Westerhausen Worcel - Wyatt Worcel
From the author of the bestselling Platters and Boards comes this versatile collection of 85+ go-to recipes for soups, soup fixings, and more. Plus 100 beautiful photos that will make you instantly crave a luscious bowl of soup!
Every day is a good day for soup! From broths and gazpachos to chowders and chilis, this flexible cookbook is overflowing with scrumptious soups for every season. These simple base recipes for healthy, yummy soups are easy to prepare and so satisfying. And the best part? You can riff on them endlessly with toppings and fixings--add mini meatballs, grilled cheese croutons, or a handful of grains. Or transform yesterday's soup into an entirely new dish: Carrot-Orange-Ginger Soup becomes a savory breakfast oatmeal; French Onion Soup is reinvented as a bubbling, golden strata!
Comfort and Joy: Irresistible Pleasures from a Vegetarian Kitchen
by Ravinder Bhogal
From the IACP award-winning author of Jikoni, a cookbook celebrating indulgence in vegetarian and vegan home cooking.
It's well-proven that a diet centering fruits, vegetables, beans, grains, and nuts is healthier for us and our planet, but talks of decreasing global meat and dairy intake have for too long been tied to narratives of culinary sacrifice. Ravinder Bhogal, award-winning chef and self-described "half-woman, half-hummus," knows better. In Comfort and Joy, she radically reclaims vegan and vegetarian cooking in all its abundance, with decadent, craveable recipes that bring together crisp okra fries with curry leaf mayonnaise, earthy roasted beet salad with blood orange and creamy burrata, whipped feta with tomatoes confit, and so much more.
Good Soup: 52 Colorful Recipes for Year-Round Comfort (Soups and Stews Cookbook)
by Joris Bijdendijk - Samuel Levie
Before Chef Joris Bijdendijk cooked together three Michelin stars and Samuel Levie became a prolific sausage maker, soup was a regular guest in many memories. Good Soup pays tribute to the phenomenon that is soup in 52 recipes from all over the world.
Whether your soup is a meal in itself or a light starter, it is always comforting. For chefs Joris Bijdendijk and Samuel Levie, soup is the regular guest in many memories: a comforting bowl of broth when they were ill, steaming cups or cold gazpacho when there was something to celebrate, or a hot mug of soup after skating. Or that first time they made their own fish stock as young chefs...
An ode to soup in all its forms, this vibrant cookbook features weekly recipes for comfort all year round, including thai coconut soup, mushroom cream soup, gazpacho, and goulash. Not a week can go by without a delicious bowl.
On the Curry Trail: Chasing the Flavor That Seduced the World
by Raghavan Iyer
Award-winning author and instructor Raghavan Iyer explores the origin of curry across the globe with 50 recipes in this illustrated cookbook about the simmering, scrumptious history and lore of a globally beloved dish.
On the Curry Trail is an enlightening journey across Australia, Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Americas to explore the origins of curry and the signature, essential curries of each region. This diaspora of curry brings alive not only the most iconic, category-defining recipes from these continents, but also the history, lore, anecdotes, and familial remembrances that fashion each dish. It delves into the story of curry.
Brilliant Bites: 75 Amazing Small Bites for Any Occasion
by Maegan Brown
WOW your family and friends with miniature versions of all their favorite foods! These 75 appetizers are easy to shop for and prepare, for effortless, kid-friendly entertaining.
In Brilliant Bites, Maegan Brown (aka The BakerMama)--the best-selling author of Beautiful Boards--has created and curated visually exciting and deliciously enticing finger foods for parties and special occasions, breakfast and brunch, everyday snacks and meals, dessert, and her specialty--holiday-themed bites.
Designed to be simple from start to finish, these perfectly portioned apps contain minimal, easy-to-find ingredients, can be enjoyed in one or two bites, and require no plates or utensils--so shopping, eating, and cleanup are a cinch. You'll have time to relax and enjoy the little things...and bites.
Noods: 80 Slurpable Noodle Recipes from Asia
by Smith Street Books Smith Street Books
A book brimming with fifty noodle recipes, inspired by the best dishes from Asia's kitchens.
This volume covers the best of the noodle world, from ramen to pho, lo mein to pad see ew. With fifty slurpable recipes, beautiful photography, and dishes that are as simple as they're packed with flavor, this book is (almost) as good as a trip across Asia.
Noods is a snapshot of the wide world of noodles, captured in four chapters: Stir-fried, Soups, Cold, and Instant. From the staples you've loved for years to contemporary creations that will have you cooking them again and again.
Smithsonian American Table: The Foods, People, and Innovations That Feed Us
by Smithsonian Institution Smithsonian Institution
In collaboration with the Smithsonian Institution, a sweeping history of food and culture that summons everyone to the table for a fresh look at the people, ingredients, events, and movements that have shaped how and what we eat in the United States
This exploration of the American table presents a fresh look at what and how we've fed ourselves, for sustenance and for pleasure, through the lens of location, immigration, ingenuity, innovation, and culture. Learn about Native Americans growers and chefs who are reclaiming and reinventing Indigenous ingredients and cooking techniques. Meet a Black chef who gained national renown and culinary influence by showcasing her skills on her own television show in segregated New Orleans. And find out how everything from fondue to Jell-O salads to pumpkin spice (even in hummus) became national obsessions.
Soups of Château de Verzat: A Literary Cookbook & Culinary Tribute to the French Revolution
by Debra Borchert
Free Recipe from Cookbook Below
The characters of Her Own Legacy, Her Own Revolution, and Her Own War stunned their author when they demanded she publish their recipes. Happy to comply, Debra Borchert created this cookbook as a companion to her Château de Verzat series.
In addition to healthy and easy-to-make soup recipes, you'll find book excerpts and learn why soup might be the first form of fast food. The proud owner of ten slow cookers-for serving at her annual soup parties-Debra also includes tips for throwing a Souper Soup Party.
debra borchert's Cranberry Sauce with grand marnier
Ingredients | |
2 Cups orange juice | 2–3 Tablespoons Grand Marnier* |
1 Cup frozen apple juice concentrate | ½ Teaspoon cinnamon |
2 Bags organic cranberries (12 oz./each) = 6 cups | ¼ Teaspoon nutmeg |
1 Orange, skin and pith removed, coarsely chopped | ¼ Teaspoon cloves |
1 Granny Smith apple, coarsely chopped | 1 orange peel, finely grated, optional |
Directions:
- Bring orange and apple juices to a simmer over medium heat in a large, heavy pot.
- Add washed and sorted cranberries and stir occasionally.
- When cranberries begin to pop, and mixture begins to foam, add orange, and stir. Cook for 10 minutes.
- Add apple and cook for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- When all cranberries are popped, the foam has subsided, and mixture has thickened, add Grand Marnier.
- Cook the sauce down on very low heat until mixture is thick and a deep, shiny red.
- Remove from heat and stir in spices and orange peel if using.
- Allow sauce to cool and then refrigerate.
* Orange liqueur may be substituted for Grand Marnier.
© Debra Borchert