WOODSTOCK — Just in time for Thanksgiving, a well-known cookbook author and food writer is coming to FoxTales Book Shoppe tomorrow with his newest cookbook.

Fred Thompson will sign his latest offering, “Fred Thompson’s Southern Sides: 250 Dishes That Really Make the Plate” Friday at 7 p.m.

Those attending can enjoy a free tasting of an appetizer from the new cookbook as well as meet the renowed author. The event is free and those in attendance can purchase a cookbook for the author to sign.

“Side dishes are the very heart and soul of Southern cuisine,” Thompson writes in the book.

From traditional, such as Pableaux’s Red Beans and Rice, to contemporary, such as Scuppernong-Glazed Carrots, Thompson’s 250 recipes featured in the book recommend the virtues of the simple and the unexpected.

“Fred Thompson’s Southern Sides” celebrates the joy of cooking and eating these old and new classic dishes.

Thompson is a food, wine, and travel writer and is publisher of Edible Piedmont. He is author of 10 cookbooks, including “Barbecue Nation: 350 Hot-off-the-Grill,” “Tried-and-True Recipes from America’s Backyard” and “The Big Book of Fish and Shellfish: More than 250 Terrific Recipes.”

He is the Weekend Gourmet columnist for the Raleigh News and Observer.