Last-Minute Gifts: Top 10 Cookbooks

Dec. 20, 2007 — -- Chef Sara Moulton has her Top 10 cookbook picks of the year -- the perfect gift for the foodie in your life this holiday!

The Bacon Cookbook by John Villas

Who doesn't love bacon? Over the past four to five years, there has been a 40 percent increase in bacon consumption in the Unites States. This book has more than 150 recipes that -- with a little bit of bacon -- transform otherwise boring dishes into memorable culinary treasures.

The Corn Bread Gospels by Crescent Dragonwagon

Corn bread happens to be one of those things that's the cause of great debate among the different regions of this country. Southern corn bread has no sugar in it; corn bread in the north does. The author, Crescent Dragonwagon, studied corn bread for 33 years in Arkansas, so she knows her stuff.

Crescent City Cooking by Susan Spicer

Susan Spicer, a chef who grew up in New Orleans, collects her favorite recipes from her restaurants. There's so much Nola flavor in the recipes, but she also puts an international twist on some dishes. The book is filled with well-informed recipes that really do work.

A Love Affair With Southern Cooking by Jean Anderson

Jean Anderson has written a ton of cookbooks, and talk about well-tested recipes -- she's one of the best. The great thing about this book is that even though her parents are New Englanders, Anderson grew up in the South. So this is her love letter to the homey, comforting food from there.

Mediterranean Harvest by Martha Rose Shulman

We've all heard that people from the Mediterranean are healthier than most, and a lot of that has to do with their food. But it's not just Italy and Greece that make up the region. In this book, Shulman takes advantage of all of those really flavorful and healthy dishes. And though this is a vegetarian cookbook, it's not just for vegetarians. It's filled with really exciting and hearty recipes that'll stick to your ribs.

How to Cook Everything Vegetarian by Mark Bittman

With more than 2,000 recipes, this is encyclopedic book of vegetarian dishes, so it will definitely keep you busy for a while. Bittman labels each recipe with either a "v" for vegan, an "f" for fast, and a "m" for make ahead of time.

Chez Jacques by Jacques Pepin

Many people love cookbooks with pictures, and this is a coffee-table cookbook pick of this year. One of Moulton's all-time favorite memoirs is Jacques Pepin's "The Apprentice," and this book has that same feeling. Pepin is an amazing chef, but he's also a wonderful writer. Besides his 100 favorite recipes, the book features beautiful photos and Pepin's own artwork.

Desserts by the Yard by Sherry Yard

This is a great book for those who don't bake much. It is a beautiful book filled with fun and imaginative recipes that range from "easy" for a novice baker all the way to fabulous and more challenging ones for those with more baking experience.

The Wheat Free Cook by Jacqueline Mallorca

More people are discovering that they are allergic to either wheat or gluten, and that's probably because doctors are just now able to recognize it. This cookbook is filled with delicious recipes for people who have this problem. It even has a whole chapter on how to grocery shop and what to buy if you have the allergy, so it's really useful and the recipes are absolutely tasty.

The Sharper Your Knife, The Less You Cry by Kathleen Flinn

This is our pick for the "food novel" category. It is a great, fun read about the author who decided to quit her middle-management job and move to Paris to attend the Le Cordon Bleu cooking school. Instead of all of the glitz and glamour of French cooking, she quickly learned what it's really like to work in a kitchen. You get the real feeling of both the pressure and passion of it. It reminded me of Julia Child's memoir when she went to Le Cordon Bleu, and it's fun to see how the school has changed since when Child's attended it in the 1950s.