COOKBOOK WATCH

This is the time of year when even takeout regulars get in their kitchens and cook; it’s also a time when they turn to cookbooks for help. This is why publishers release holiday-themed books that will, of course, go unused during the rest of the year. They know that these are the only books some people will ever use, because cooking, for them, is a tradition to be celebrated just once a year. “Thanksgiving” by Bon Appetit food editor Kristine Kidd (Time-Life Books, $14.95), part of the Williams-Sonoma Kitchen Library, has four basic turkeys and lots of sides to go with them. Carole Lalli’s “Stuffings” (HarperCollins, $16.95), however, goes beyond the holiday. Despite the turkey on the cover, Lalli stretches the stuffing category to include stuffed fruit, stuffed potatoes, stuffed radicchio, stuffed crepes, stuffed fish and more. For those who cook often, this might be a book that comes off the shelf after New Year’s Day.