10 Best Cookbooks to Give or Get

Shelly G. Keller and Jeannie R. Howard

BIBA CAGGIANO, chef-owner of Biba Restaurant in Sacramento, knows just how much the people and places of Italy are intertwined with the food. Overflowing with 133 bona fide Italian recipes and food travel tips, Biba's Italy (Artisan, $29.95) dishes up the inside scoop on eating in Italy. With recipes authentic to great dining destinations-Rome, Florence, Bologna, Milan and Venice-plus tips on restaurants, food markets, cooking schools and more, this book is part cookbook, part culinary road map, and a delicious travel guide. Biba's eighth cookbook reads like a love letter to her homeland and just may be her best ever. Perfect for: foodies, travel lovers and anyone planning a trip to Italy.

KAREN MACNEIL uncorks the magic of perfectly paired food and wine in Wine, Food & Friends (Oxmoor House, $24.95). As chair of the wine department of the Culinary Institute of America in St. Helena and author of The Wine Bible, MacNeil is today's preeminent wine authority. This book combines her zeal for wine with 150 cooking light, wine-friendly recipes to help home cooks reach new levels of gastronomic glory. The 30 seasonal menus with wine recommendations, 125 color photos, and MacNeil's tried-and-true food and wine matchmaking concepts make this cookbook a match made in culinary heaven. Perfect for: cooks who like to entertain.

Family life today is hectic with hardly enough time to eat dinner together, let alone cook together. See Dad Cook (Clarkson Potter, $16.95) by WAYNE HARLEY BRACHMAN, professional chef and father of two, doles out inspiration to get dads and their kids in the kitchen. The book covers the basics-equipment and ingredients to have on hand, grocery shopping guidance, and nutritional advice-with plenty of shortcuts for even the most kitchen-phobic dads. Using sports analogies to illustrate techniques, this book helps dads get meals on the table successfully. The 100-plus, family-friendly recipes will satisfy taste buds of all ages. Perfect for: dads of any age.

Since opening in Chicago in 1978, Morton's Steakhouse has set a high standard for the all-American steakhouse experience. In Morton's Steak Bible (Clarkson Potter, $30), KLAUS FRITSCH, Morton's co-founder, shows how to re-create-from cocktails to dessert-this renowned dining experience. With tantalizing photography and close to 100 easy-to-follow recipes plus wine recommendations, cooking techniques and tips on buying steak and seafood, here's the skinny on re-creating authentic steakhouse food. From the Rolls-Royce of steakhouses comes advice on how to prepare all manner of steaks-and do it right. Perfect for: beef lovers and backyard cooks.

MITCHELL DAVIS, vice president and director of communications at the James Beard Foundation, inspires home cooking in Kitchen Sense (Clarkson Potter, $35), a fat volume with more than 600 foolproof recipes along with guidance to become a terrific home cook. Keeping in tune with time- and dollar-conscious lifestyles, the book offers advanced preparation techniques, party planning tips and suggestions for leftovers, plus lots of instruction in the basics. Davis' knowledgeable insight on subjects from brunch to poultry makes this book a great start to any culinary library. Perfect for: beginner cooks.

In Eating Cuban (Stewart, Tabori & Chang, $37.50), award-winning cookbook writers BEVERLY COX and MARTIN JACOBS serve up 120 recipes that celebrate Cuba's melting pot of cuisines with its Spanish, Native American, Creole, African, Chinese and French traditions. Gorgeously illustrated with photos from Jacobs' travels, this is the quintessential guide to Cuban food, one of today's hottest cuisines. Cox and Jacobs take readers through the barrios and big cities of Cuba to Florida's emigre communities where Cuban cooking landed in America. Chapters on Street Food and New Wave Cooking plus a detailed glossary and restaurant directory encourage readers to "cook and eat Cuban." Perfect for: Caribbean food lovers.

Food TV star GIADA DE LAURENTIIS (granddaughter of film-producer Dino) captures the spirit of casual family meals, Italian-style, in Giada's Family Dinners (Clarkson Potter, $32.50). With more than 115 recipes full of vibrant Italian flavors, De Laurentiis proves she's much more than just a pretty face. This is rustic food with a refined, modern simplicity that any cook can make any night of the week. Straightforward soups and sandwiches, interesting salads and easy-to-prepare main dishes will tempt even neophyte cooks into the kitchen for real family-style cooking and eating. Perfect for: cooks who like casual entertaining.

Garlic worshippers everywhere will love the hearty California-Italian fare created by executive chef ANDREA FRONCILLO in The Stinking Rose Restaurant Cookbook (Ten Speed Press, $19.95). The 65 appealing recipes are pretty simple and don't demand great technique, and color photos capture the restaurant's food and decor. The original Stinking Rose in San Francisco's North Beach is famous for serving more than 3,000 pounds of garlic each month. Living up to the restaurant's motto: "We season our garlic with food," this unique cookbook will fill any kitchen with the tantalizing aroma of "the stinking rose." Perfect for: garlic lovers.

In Vegetable Soups from DEBORAH MADISON'S KITCHEN (Broadway Books, $18.95), this vegetarian cookbook author offers a step-by-step guide to making mouth-watering soups. Organized by seasons, the 100-plus recipes present a user-friendly guide to one of our healthiest comfort foods. Madison covers light soups, hearty soups, summer soups, roasted vegetable soups, winter soups and even tips and tricks for doctoring canned soups. Here are enticing recipes guaranteed to satisfy appetites and deliver daily servings of grains and vegetables. Perfect for: soup connoisseurs and vegetarians.

Inspired by the bountiful farm stands at San Francisco's Ferry Building, The San Francisco Ferry Plaza Farmers' Market Cookbook (Chronicle Books, $22.95) by CHRISTOPHER HIRSHEIMER and PEGGY KNICKERBOCKER is a must-have for any cook with access to fresh, local produce. The book shows you how to choose, store, prep and cook the abundant seasonal produce grown by local organic and specialty-crop farmers. The 130 easy-to-assemble recipes spotlight the virtues of each featured ingredient without much fuss. The fresh food dictionary and the book's compact size make it the perfect companion when you shop farmers markets. Perfect for: farmers market cooks.