Gifts for Foodies:
Top Ten Book Picks of 2001

By Cheri Sicard

If you love to cook, or are on the lookout for a special gift for that "foodie" in your life, we have 10 great book picks for you to consider. Read on!

Every end of the spectrum
As always, it was tough to narrow down the field to just 10. In making our selections, we tried to choose a variety of topics, as well as an overall list that would have something for cooks at every end of the spectrum.

With the exception of choice No.1, our favorite book of 2001, the list is in no particular order. Perhaps some of these books would be the perfect gifts for the foodies in your life?

1. Chef's Night Out by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page
Have you ever wondered where chefs eat on their night off? It would only make sense that people so passionate about food would search out the best places to eat. While I'm often left cold by critical restaurant reviews, this books reads more like good friends sharing their best restaurant finds -- if those friends happen to be America's top chefs (the panel includes such luminaries as Charlie Trotter, Paul Bertoli, Susan Feniger and Mary Sue Milliken, Mario Batali, Nancy Silverton, Rick Bayless, Bobby Flay, Daniel Boulud, Todd English, Jacques Torres and Hans Rockenwagner).

The restaurant picks range from fine dining establishments to small dives that only the locals know about. If you love to eat and you live in or travel to Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Honolulu, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Memphis, Miami, Milwaukee, New Orleans, New York (and nearby New Jersey), Philadelphia, Phoenix, Portland (Oregon), Providence, San Francisco (and the nearby Napa Valley), Savannah, Seattle, Tucson, Washington, D.C. or Williamsburg (Virginia), you need this guide.

2. The Professional Chef, 7th Edition, Culinary Institute of America
If you've ever fantasized about going to chef's school, this book is the next best thing. For serious cooks and foodies, this is the Mother of all cookbooks -- literally the textbook for chefs training at the prestigious Culinary Institute of America. A whopping 1,036 pages of recipes and culinary reference, chock-full of full-color photographs that illustrate every step of the process. Just about any food and cooking question you can come up with is answered with these pages. If you truly want to learn how the pros do it and turn out gourmet restaurant quality fare at home, this book can teach you how.

3. The All New Good Housekeeping Cookbook
A time honored classic cookbook that probably served as the staple culinary reference in your mother's kitchen returns in an updated new and improved edition. "The Good Housekeeping Cookbook" is a comprehensive, almost encyclopedic cookbook that can be counted on for just about any occasion from quick and easy weeknight suppers to elegant special event dinners. There are more than 1,500 triple-tested recipes, illustrated with more than 600 color photographs. The abundance of cooking tips and tutorials can answer most any question the average cook will ever encounter and many that go far beyond the basics as well.

4. The Elements of Taste by Gray Kunz and Peter Kaminsky; Photographs by Andre Baranowski
Taste. Have you ever wondered why some dishes seduce the palate more than others? Exactly what is it about some dishes that makes them infinitely more interesting than others? Four star chef Gray Kunz and food writer Peter Kaminsky examine these questions in this innovative book that looks at food the same way a wine connoisseur dissects a fine wine.

Included are 130 innovative recipes, all conceived according to the interplay of 14 categories of taste. But more than a cookbook, mastering the principles set forth in these pages will give cooks the knowledge they need to elevate their skills to an entirely new level, even without master chef Kunz's formulas.

5. A Year in Chocolate by Alice Medrich
Chocolate is always in season and Alice Medrich proves it with great style and taste in her latest cookbook featuring "four seasons of unforgettable desserts.

There are so many mouth-watering recipes, it would be impossible to know where to start -- if not for the book's clever format. Begin at whatever season you find yourself in and decadently eat your way through the rest of the year. Each season's recipes take advantage of seasonal favorite ingredients and take into account special holidays and celebrations. There are more than 50 spectacular chocolate (and white chocolate) recipes, gorgeously illustrated with 40 full-color photographs. This book would make a wonderful gift for any chocolate or dessert lover (perhaps package it with some chocolate so the recipient can start cooking right away).

6. The Dessert Bible by Christopher Kimball
Of course, there are hundreds of recipes for every favorite dessert imaginable, but The Dessert Bible is about so much more than recipes. Christopher Kimball, founder, editor and publisher of Cook's Illustrated, shares an in-depth investigation of how and why the recipes work. What this means in practical terms is that anyone who studies this book will have the skills they need to turn out spectacular desserts, anytime, anywhere. After spending years testing and re-testing countless dessert recipes, Kimball is now qualified to present the most foolproof way of achieving the most flawless results. The culinary challenged will especially appreciate the "What can go wrong" section, which highlights the typical problems home cooks are likely to encounter, as well as how to solve them.

This is a book that will be treasured by novice as well as experienced cooks. The recipes are enticing, the tips and techniques truly practical, and instructions clear and compelling. Nearly 100 line drawings further clarify tricky techniques, making this one of the best, most comprehensive books on the subject that weve ever encountered.

7. The Greens Cookbook by Deborah Madison
From the famous San Francisco restaurant comes a collection of over 260 recipes for sophisticated vegetarian fare that celebrates the extraordinary range of fresh ingredients available to today's home chefs.

Recipes range from simple and traditional to boldly innovative and cover all seasons and occasions. Along with each recipe are the author's personal notes and tips to help home cooks achieve spectacular restaurant quality results. A glossary of unfamiliar ingredients and advice on kitchen tools add extra insurance towards achieving homestyle culinary excellence. This is also one of the first books which offers extensive advice on selecting wines for vegetarian meals. If you're ready to take vegetarian dining to a new level of quality and sophistication, you're ready for The Greens Cookbook.

8. Simply Tuscan by Pino Luongo
More than just great recipes, this is also one of those coffee table type cookbooks that is as much travel guide as it is cookbook. Recipes are accompanied by the author's witty commentary and pages are filled with breathtaking full-color photographs, both of the recipes themselves and of the fabulous Tuscan countryside.

A perusal of the recipes in this book will act like a Siren's song on your consciousness that won't let you go until you actually start cooking. And boy will your friends and family be happy you did, the results will be delicious. What makes these recipes all the more appealing is the fact that most are simple and relatively easy to prepare. Yes, some of the recipes would be considered gourmet and some of the ingredients might take a bit of time to procure (although a good Italian market should fix you up just fine). But most of the recipes could easily be whipped up for every night fare -- albeit every night fare that will make the entire neighborhood want to eat at your house.

9. Slow Cooker Cooking by Lora Brody
If you thought that slow cookers were just your mother's (or even your grandmother's) cooking tool, think again!

Yes, it's true most people conjure up visions of overcooked pot roasts or hearty stews or chilis when they remember slow cooker dishes of the past, but Lora Brody is about to change the way you look at that often neglected kitchen appliance hiding in the far dark corners of your cabinets. Brody takes slow cooker cooking to entirely new arenas, using it to create gourmet pantry items like infused oils, roasted garlic, even wonderful sauces, salsas and syrups. Who ever knew the slow cooker could be used to make classic fondues or fruit bases for soufflés or ice creams? Brody did, and she can teach your old slow cooker a few new tricks too.

In addition to a host of recipes that make up the basis for other dishes, you'll of course find innovative versions of popular slow-cooker favorites. Although many of the uses Brody comes up with for this timeless appliance are new, cooks still won't have to give up any of the convenience associated with slow cooking. You can still pile in the ingredients, turn on the slow cooker and let it do the work while you go about your busy life. Pick up a copy and see what new heights your slow cooker can reach.

10. Mrs Wilkes' Boarding House Cookbook by Selma Wilkes with a history by John T Edge
Fans of good down-home Southern cooking will love Mrs Wilkes' Boardinghouse Cookbook. Savannah residents and visitors alike know about the great food available at Mrs Wilkes, but national coverage in Esquire, The New York Times and on David Brinkley's evening news programs put this restaurant on the international map.

Celebrities and ordinary folks alike flock from near and far to eat at the boardinghouse that Selma Wilkes, now 93 years old, founded in 1943. Four generations of Wilkes have helped Selma keep the business thriving, serving countless platters of Selma's legendary fried chicken, biscuits, pork ribs, mashed sweet potatoes, collard greens, banana pudding and other traditional southern staples.

This book showcases more than 250 recipes from Mrs Wilkes boardinghouse, but it's much more than just a cookbook. Historian John T Edge's text brings to life Selma Wilkes' contributions to Savannah culture and Southern cuisine, making this a cookbook that you'll take to bed at night to read as well as to the kitchen to cook. The book celebrates the essence of what makes Mrs Wilkes Boardinghouse so special, in words, historical photos and of course, mouth-watering recipes. Selma Wilkes still works in her restaurant every day, but if you can't get to Savannah to visit in person, this book is the next best thing.

What's for dinner? Choose here!

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About the author: Cheri Sicard is the editor of Fabulous Foods, a site offering recipes, online cooking school, celebrity chefs, travel, holidays, and more!