Novel Noshes

MA SPEAKS UP: And a First-Generation Daughter Talks Back by Marianne Leone

MAD HONEY by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan
From Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan: “There is an entire section at the end of the book that features recipes.  I’d use those.  There are also cocktails; Queen Bee Cocktail, and Bee’s Knees Cocktail - all are honey-based!
Recipes from Olivia’s Moleskin notebook include: Beekeeper’s Granola,  Cranachan, Pork with Honey-Lime Marinade, Kale Salad with Honey-Lemon Vinaigrette, Honey Loaf, Pavlova, Honey-Vanilla Frozen Custard

MAAME by Jessica George
Jessica's Jollof Rice recipe
Jessica's Book Club menu

including Condensed Milk Toffee, Millionaire's Shortbread, Bofrot

Also see: Macarons
Mushroom Risotto
Butternut Squash and Sage Pasta
Banoffee Pie Ice Cream Sundae

A MAGICAL NEW YORK CHRISTMAS by Anita Hughes

THE MAGNIFICENT LIVES OF MARJORIE POST by Allison Pataki
From Allison Pataki: “My brain just keeps screaming CEREAL; any Post cereal! So a larger breakfast theme could be fun: Eggs, bacon, cereal, oatmeal, toast, orange juice – that kind of thing. Marjorie loved to serve what she called ‘Adirondack Pie’—homemade pancakes with maple sugar, syrup, and whipped cream. It’s not light fare ;)— to her guests up at Camp Topridge.

Since Marjorie gave the world Grape Nuts cereal, I like the idea of using Grape Nuts to make Grapenut Pudding. Marjorie also gave the world Birdseye Frozen Foods, so perhaps working in frozen vegetables or berries to a side dish could be quite apt! Marjorie also owned Jell-O and frequently served it at her dinner parties, so Jell-O would be a perfect choice to add in for a gathering. And Marjorie was very well-known for abstaining from alcohol, so perhaps some fun ‘mock-tails’ that used orange juice or grapefruit juice or lemonade with some non-alcoholic bubbly could be a fun nod to the Hostess with the Most!”

THE MAGNOLIA PALACE by Fiona Davis

Potage Petite Marmite
Asparagus with Hollandaise Butter
Caramel Cake

THE MAID by Nita Prose
From Nita Prose: “Readers will find the following items discussed/mentioned/imbibed/eaten in the book: chardonnay, tea, lots and lots of tea, crumpets and jam, raisin bran muffin, The Olive Garden food, but especially the Tour of Italy (see their menu for more details) Many book clubs do an Italian night and recreate The Olive Garden menu items. Others do a high tea, which works perfectly with the themes of the book."

MAINE by J. Courtney Sullivan
–Souper P’s of Roswell, Georgia: Maine foods including lobster bisque, Irish soda bread (because the family was Irish Catholic), and for dessert, rice pudding with Maine blueberries!

THE MAKE-UP TEST by Jenny Howe (click for Jenny Howe's menu)

MALIBU RISING by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Bookish Ladies, Coto de Caza, California: Beach party based on beach theme of the book with surfboards, a sign for the restaurant, beach snacks, gummy fish, and homemade Mai tais! 

MAMA DAY by Gloria Naylor (see recipe and menus in The Book Club Cookbook)

MAN ENOUGH: Undefining My Masculinity by Justin Baldoni
Book Club Girls of Sparta, New Jersey: “We thought spicy Thai food (Justin is extremely handsome) and a crisp beer (it's the drink that most people associate with a ‘man’s’ drink, but we love it too) would pair with the book.”

Words with Friends of Greater Boston: Justin's Peanutbutter Cups (Justin's favorite treat)

THE MANDELBAUM GATE by Muriel Spark
–Overdue Book Club of Huntsville, Alabama: Israeli salad and a Middle Eastern rice dish

A MAP OF DAYS by Ransom Riggs
See our article and recipe in The Costco Connection

MARCH by Geraldine Brooks
–Bookwomen of Encinitas, California: Dinner of grilled summer vegetables (eggplant, peppers, portobello, onion, zucchini, and yellow squash), corn pudding, and a garden salad, all in keeping with Reverend March's vegetarian sensibilities, and boysenberry-apple pie for dessert.

MARILLA OF GREEN GABLES by Sarah McCoy

THE MARTIAN by Andy Weir
–Chick-Lits of Chino Hills, California: (What else?) a baked potato bar and Tang!

MARY JANE by Jessica Anya Blau:
From Jessica Anya Blau: "Mary Jane takes place in 1975, in Baltimore, Maryland. The protagonist, Mary Jane Dillard, lives with her tidy, conservative parents who have a framed picture of President Ford hanging in their dining room. The family includes the President and his family in their nightly prayers. Mary Jane helps her mother with dinner each night and then takes her mother’s recipes with her to the Cone house where she’s a summer nanny who also prepares meals. Unbeknownst to Mary Jane’s mother, Dr. Cone is not the kind of doctor she thinks of as “respectable.” Rather, he’s a psychiatrist, and he and his wife have secretly taken in a rock star, Jimmy Bendinger, and his movie star wife, Sheba, for the summer in order to help Jimmy get sober.

Mary Jane and Izzy, her five-year-old charge, buy lots of candy for the Cone house. Everyone eats candy necklaces, Screaming Yellow Zonkers (candied popcorn), and popsicles. Mary Jane also buys Slim Jims which Jimmy likes to eat in alternating bites with something sweet. For breakfast each morning, Mary Jane makes what she calls, “Birds in a Nest.” To do this she makes pancakes, cuts out a hole in the center with a glass, cracks an egg in there, and then flips it until it’s all cooked. She uses lots of butter in the pan, lots of salt on top, and serves it with syrup and butter. For dinner at the Dillard house and the Cone house, they have ham, meatloaf, string beans, fried potatoes, chicken a’ l’orange (recipe), and salad.
The meatloaf is made with onions, diced celery, garlic powder, salt, and pepper added to hamburger meat and then baked in a loaf pan. The potatoes are sliced into discs and fried in Crisco. The salad is an iceberg lettuce wedge with cut tomatoes arranged on top and buttermilk ranch dressing poured over it. For dessert, Mary Jane serves orange sherbet with three Nilla Wafer cookies broken in half and then arranged like a flower in the center of the sherbet. She also serves angel food cake one night. None of the food is organic, olive oil is never used, and there are no grains other than white rice.

To create the recipes and meal plans in the book, I went online and looked at homemaking magazines from 1975. It was fun reading—I highly recommend it!"

THE MASTERPIECE by Fiona Davis

THE MATCHMAKER'S GIFT  by Lynda Cohen Loigman (click for Lynda Cohen Loigman's menu)
Also:
My Mom and I of Carmichaels, Pennsylvania: “A smorgasbord! We had a blast capturing foods mentioned in the book lox and capers, cornichons— we decorated pickle jars with ‘The Pickle King’, as in the book. We had magical color-changing butterfly tea, as we wanted some magic to go with the story, and chocolate babka for dessert, like our beloved characters, baked.

The Ladies of Autumnwood of Grande Isle, New York: “We enjoyed Challah and red wine, and took home jars of pickles that I designed with a Raskin’s label.”

Not Your Mama's Book Club of Georgetown, Kentucky: several varieties of pickles and chocolate babka

MATHILDA SAVTICH by Victor Lodato
–The Literary Lyres of the San Fernando Valley, California: Absolut Train Wreck Cocktail; fried chicken, curly fries and chocolate pudding packs (all Mathilda's favorites!)

THE MAYFAIR BOOKSHOP by Eliza Knight (click for Eliza's menu)
See our article and recipe in The Costco Connection

THE MEASURE by Nikki Erlick
From Nikki Erlick: Some of the best food opportunities might be inspired by Nina and Maura’s trip to Venice. You could pair Venetian Spritz cocktails with traditional Venetian cicchetti, or small bites, such as mozzarella in carozza (fried cheese sandwiches), baccalà mantecato (grilled polenta and creamed cod), or polpette di carne (meatballs). Similary, Amie and Ben enjoy a first date of cappuccinos and biscotti.

Much of the story’s action also occurs in New York City, so perhaps an NYC-themed menu featuring classics such as soft pretzels, bagels and lox, black & white cookies, and cheesecake could be fun.

Of course, anything wrapped in “string” or snacks served in a little box would also be very thematic and a chance to get creative with your culinary skills!

MEDIOCRE: The Dangerous Legacy of White Male America by Ijeoma Oluo
"Anybody who knows me knows that when times get tough, the tough make pudding. Between the pandemic, a house fire, and being immersed in white male supremacy for this book and in my life, times have certainly been tough. Fortunately, homemade pudding is one of the most comforting foods on the planet. Its buttery creamy goodness takes you back to a better childhood than you actually had. And pudding is so easy to make! Here’s my go-to recipe for butterscotch feminist pudding."

MEET ME IN BOMBAY by Jenny Ashcroft

MEET ME IN MONACO by Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb

MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA by Arthur Golden
(see our recipes for MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA in The Book Club Cookbook)
–Reading Between the Wines of Ridgewood, New Jersey: Sushi

MIDDLEMARCH by George Eliot (see recipe and menus in The Book Club Cookbook)

MIDDLESEX by Jeffrey Eugenides (see recipe and menus in The Book Club Cookbook)

MIDWIVES by Chris Bohjalian
–Moms Reading of Wakefield, Massachusetts: Foods you craved when you were pregnant
The Literary Ladies of Avon, Ohio: Vermont-based foods

MILK IN MY COFFEE by Eric Jerome Dickey (see recipe and menus in the first edition of The Book Club Cookbook)

MILLICENT GLENN'S LAST WISH by Tori Whitaker

A MILLION REASONS WHY by Jessica Strawser

MIRACLE CREEK by Angie Kim

Also: Book Club of Frankfort, Illinois: In the book, there is a discussion about timing and doing what you feel you have to do versus what you want to do. A lot of that centered around food. So this meal did not appear in the book, but in keeping with the idea of not depriving ourselves or forcing ourselves to do what we should do instead of what we really wanted to do, we had the indulgent meal we wanted with multiple courses, desserts, and beverages.

MIRROR GIRLS by Kelly McWilliams

MISS KOPP JUST WON’T QUIT by Amy Stewart

MONKEY BUSINESS by Carleton Eastlake

MONSOON MANSION by Cinelle Barnes

MORE HOME COOKING: A Writer Returns to the Kitchen by Laurie Colwin

THE MOST LIKELY CLUB by Elyssa Friedland

THE MOSTLY TRUE STORY OF TANNER & LOUISE Colleen Oakley

MOTHERLAND: A Memoir of Love, Loathing, and Longing by Elissa Altman
Also: Literary Gourmets of San Diego, California: in recognizing the differences between you and someone you care for, you try to make them happy, or at least well-fed! We served: French Garden Salad with roasted beets, roasted asparagus, goat cheese and spiced pecans and mixed greens, roasted eggplant layered with pesto, marinara, roasted pineapple with pistachios, raspberries, and crème fraiche.

MOTHERLESS BROOKLYN by Johnathan Lethem (see Johnathan Lethem’s essay and recipe and book club menus in The Book Club Cookbook)

THE MOTHER-IN-LAW by Sally Hepworth
From Sally Hepworth: "Diana serves roast lamb and cauliflower at her first meeting with Lucy, maybe that could feature on the menu? There are also references to a green salad and potato salad."

MOZART'S STARLING by Lyanda Lynn Haupt:
From Lyanda Lynn Haupt: "Definitely Sacher Torte! This is the famed dessert of Vienna. There are many recipes available online. On the side, serve deep, rich espresso with a cube of raw sugar and a small glass of sparkling water. The water is often added to the espresso. Too late in the evening for caffeine? The beverage of choice in Vienna is a wine spritzer—either red or white wine with sparkling mineral water. The ratio is about 50-50. While not traditional, but of course, some lovely juice could substitute for the wine if preferred."

MR. EMERSON'S WIFE by Amy Belding Brown
–Pressed for Time Book Club of Westerly, Rhode Island: Traditional New England dishes featuring cranberries and apples -- a hearty apple crisp with oatmeal topping, and Wensleydale cheese with cranberries.

MUDBOUND by Hilary Jordan
(see our recipes from Hilary Jordan in Table of Contents)
–The Souper Ps of Roswell, Georgia: Potato soup, a salad with small mozzarella balls to represent cotton, and Mississippi mud pie
–Beyond the Book of Sebring, Florida: Catfish, greens, mudpie, and mudslides

MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS by Agatha Christie
Reading Moms of Antioch, California:  Tour of European cuisine, including, from Vincovci in Croatia, potato pancakes with Lesco (Hungarian relish). "Although named 'Hungarian' this is also eaten widely in Serbia, so I used it to represent Vincovci, where most of the book takes place".

THE MURMUR OF BEES by Sofía Segovia

MY ANTONIA by Willa Cather (see recipe and menus in The Book Club Cookbook

MY MOTHER'S KITCHEN by Meera Klein
–Messy Housekeeper's Book Club of Cobleskill, New York: Chocolate popcorn & hot chocolate mulled cider

MY FINE FELLOW by Jennieke Cohen: Empanadas and book club menu

MY SISTER’S KEEPER by Jodi Picoult (see Jodi Picoult’s recipe and menus in The Book Club Cookbook)

MY SOUL TO KEEP by Tananarive Due (see author recipes and menus in the first edition of The Book Club Cookbook)

MYSTIC RIVER by Dennis Lehane (see recipe and menus in the first edition of The Book Club Cookbook)