How To Be A Domestic Goddess: Baking and the Art of Comfort Cooking / Nigella Lawson
One of the many fun cookbooks by this Food Network star, Nigella’s slap-dash cookery is a joy to watch as she has no patience for fussy kitchen prep. Her writing style is humorous and engaging; a cookbook that is a joy to read even if you don’t bother to make any of the recipes. Having said that, her pancake and brownie recipes have been a staple in my house since this book was published in 2001.

Baking Illustrated: A Best Recipe Classic / Editors of Cook’s Illustrated
If you love Alton Brown’s in-depth discussion about the science behind perfect recipes, this is the cookbook for you. Each recipe has been tested copiously to fine-tune the perfect cake, cookie, tart, etc. The recipes look daunting and are often labor intensive, but when your friends and family applaud your efforts, you will feel that it was time well-spent in the kitchen.

El Charro Café: The Tastes and Traditions of Tucson / Carlotta Dunn Flores
A gloriously colorful cookbook of recipes from the iconic El Charro restaurant in Tucson. Admittedly, the Flores family seems to rely a bit too much on canned peas, but the recipe for papas con chiles is delicious! And if you are a fan of their famous carne seca, and U.S./Mexican border cuisine in general, you will find lots of interest in this cookbook.

Barefoot Contessa Family Style: Easy Ideas and Recipes that Make Everyone Feel Like Family / Ina Garten
Sure, Ina Garten lives in the Hamptons and is a pal to Martha Stewart, but her food is delicious and unpretentious and most importantly her recipes are always a success. Crowd pleasing recipes in this volume include: Parker’s Fish & Chips and Linguine with Shrimp Scampi. These are recipes that you will make again and again.

Moosewood Restaurant New Classics: 350 Recipes for Homestyle Favorites and Everyday Feasts / Moosewood Collective
Update of the original Moosewood Restaurant Cookbook published in 1977, that made vegetarian and vegan food tasty, interesting and unintimidating to prepare. Flavorful recipes from all ethnic traditions add excitement to this edition.

Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Kitchen Underbelly / Anthony Bourdain
Viewers of the popular Travel Channel series, “No Reservations” will enjoy Bourdain’s first book and exposé of life in the kitchen, the precursor to such shows as Top Chef and Hell’s Kitchen. One memorable passage describes cooks using penne to snort cocaine in the kitchen. Not what you see everyday on the Food Network. . .

The United States of Arugula: How We Became a Gourmet Nation / David Kamp
Films like Super Size Me would lead you to believe that most Americans care nothing about the sensory experience of food. In fact, since the 1950s, Americans began to placing great value in the preparation of food, from organic farming to exotic ingredients and celebrity chefs. Kamp chronicles how this immense change came about, and delivers some choice gossip on big names in the industry.

Fortune Cookie Chronicles: Adventures in the World of Chinese Food / Jennifer 8. Lee
If you consider the sheer volume of Chinese restaurants in the U.S. you begin to understand how Chinese immigrants have shaped, and been shaped by, American culture. NY Times reporter, Jennifer Lee, illuminates the Chinese-American experience through a topic we can all appreciate: food.

My Last Supper: 50 Great Chefs and Their Final Meals: Portraits, Interviews and Recipes / Melanie Dunea
50 famous chefs describe what would be their preferred last meal on Earth. Their choices are often surprisingly simple and rustic. Recipes for some of the dishes are also included.

The Way We Eat: Why our Food Choices Matter / Peter Singer and Jim Mason
Ever wonder how that beautifully packaged prime rib arrives at your local grocery store? Singer and Mason depict the human and animal exploitation that occurs in our elaborate food chain and how we can be ethical consumers in such a diverse and confusing marketplace.

Tenth Muse: My Life in Food / Judith Jones
Judith Jones had a keen interest in food and the life of the senses, long before the opportunity arose for her to edit Julia Child’s manuscript for, “Mastering the Art of French Cooking.” This entertaining memoir includes many of Jones’ favorite recipes.