Great Cookbooks to Give as Gifts
Dec. 22, 2005 — -- What should you give the foodies in your family this holiday season? They'd probably love a cookbook -- but with so many out there, choosing the right one is no easy task. Luckily, "Good Morning America" food contributor Sara Moulton has some terrific recommendations for cooks of all skill levels.
Classic Choices
"The French Chef With Julia Child 2" (2005)
If the cook in your life is a visual learner, then this might be the best choice. This set comes with three DVDs of episodes from Child's television show. The first disc teaches you starters, sauces and sides; the second disc teaches you main courses; and the third disc instructs you on breads and desserts.
"Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook" by Martha Stewart
This book works for beginners and experts. General baking tips start things off, along with an illustrated guide to baking equipment.
Fun With Cooking
"Don't Try This at Home: Culinary Catastrophes from the World's Greatest Chefs" by Kimberly Witherspoon and Andrew Friedman
If your favorite chef has a sense of humor, then consider this book. Literary agent Witherspoon and food writer Friedman corralled 40 gastronomic heavyweights to share their versions of dinners gone wrong. Chefs include Daniel Boulud, Mario Batali and Anthony Bourdain.
"How to Break an Egg: 1,453 Kitchen Tips, Food Fixes, Emergency Substitutions and Handy Techniques" by Fine Cooking Editors
In an organized, easy-to-access format for quick reference, this book offers kitchen-tested tips, shortcuts and ingenious solutions for all culinary emergencies.
International Flavor
"Mexican Everyday" by Rick Bayless
Forget takeout, make your own Mexican dishes. Bayless, a popular Chicago chef, puts together a lively collection of recipes designed to take no longer than 30 minutes to prepare.
"Mangoes & Curry Leaves: Culinary Travels Through the Great Subcontinent" by Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid
This book is for true foodies. It will help them discover the Southeast Asian tastes of Sri Lanka, the central Asian grilled meats and clay-oven breads of the Northwest frontier, and the vegetarian cooking of the Hindus of southern India and of the Jain people of Gujarat. It was only 20 years ago that cooks began to understand the multifaceted cuisines of the Mediterranean. Now the subcontinent is the next big thing.
"The New Spanish Table" by Anya von Bremzen
With gorgeous photographs, this 275-recipe collection gets right to the heart of the culinary goings-on in Spain today.
"Molto Italiano: 327 Simple Italian Recipes to Cook at Home" by Mario Batali
Batali won the James Beard award for outstanding chef in 2005. These recipes represent many of the 21 regions of Italy. The side dishes can be served as light meals.
Entertaining
"Perfect Recipes for Having People Over" by Pamela Anderson
No, not that Pamela Anderson. This book focuses on moderately easy, stick-to-your ribs, crowd-pleasing dishes that can be made in large quantities, serving up to 20 people.
Side Dishes
"Vegetable Love: A Book for Cooks" by Barbara Kafka and Christopher Styler
You don't have to be a vegetarian to enjoy this collection of 750 recipes, but you should be a devoted chef. This tome devotes 200 pages to background information on vegetable preparation, including buying, storing, cutting, yields and equivalencies.