Perhaps cookbook publishers were less willing to take risks this year; there were many well-known names and fewer unfamiliar ones. Surprisingly, there were only few standout Italian cookbooks, usually a fertile category but now apparently replaced by cookbooks under the more all-encompassing "Mediterranean" category. The shelves saw the northern lights of Scandinavia with such titles as Kitchen of Light (Artisan) by Andreas Viestad. Serious books on Asian cooking, such as Ming Tsai's Simply Ming (Clarkson Potter), are also making their way to the top. In the U.S., there were several nods to Southern cooking, including Beyond Gumbo (S&S) by Jessica B. Harris. Comfort food was big last year, and while there were fewer titles this year, we continued to see books on soups, stews and bread making—but homecooks took a decadent turn with a focus on chocolate, in volumes such as Real Chocolate (Rizzoli) by Chantal Coady.
People were still concerned about their health, and this category saw many books refuting and spinning off from the diet plan of Atkins, who died this year. Parents, meanwhile, were concerned with encouraging children to read—and letting children be children: Reclaiming Childhood (Times Books) by William C. Crain.
The South Beach Diet: The Delicious, Doctor-Designed, Foolproof Plan for Fast and Healthy Weight LossArthur Agatston (Rodale)
In spite of the glitzy title, this is one of the more appealing diet books among the new "anti-carb" programs.
The Bread BibleRose Levy Beranbaum (Norton)
As in her seminal The Cake Bible, which won an IACP prize, Beranbaum doesn't just offer recipes; she dissects them, explains how they work, then puts them back together again with a number of variations.
How to Get Your Child to Love Reading: From a Teacher Who Really KnowsEsme Raji Codell (Algonquin)
Codell creates a contagious enthusiasm for children's literature, which will leave parents primed for their next trip to the library or bookstore.
The Distinctive Home: A Vision of Timeless DesignJeremiah Eck (Taunton)
Copiously illustrated with architectural drawings as well as photographs of inviting interiors and intelligent facades, this unpretentious project identifies the four enduring qualities of the genuinely comfortable home.
The Essential Mediterranean: How Regional Cooks Transform Key Ingredients into the World's Favorite CuisinesNancy Harmon Jenkins (HarperCollins)
Jenkins walks a fine line between intellectual and accessible, and provides those of us not lucky enough to reside along the Mediterranean with the tools for creating authentic cuisine.
From My Mexican Kitchen: Techniques and IngredientsDiana Kennedy (Clarkson Potter)
Kennedy has often been termed the Julia Child of Mexican cuisine, and the comparison is almost inescapable in this competent, humorous and balanced guide to the techniques needed to create dishes indigenous to Mexico.
The Gift of Southern Cooking: Recipes and Revelations from Two Great American CooksEdna Lewis and Scott Peacock (Knopf)
Lewis, grande dame of Southern cooking, at last offers a cookbook explicitly devoted to the traditional cooking of the American South, and it's a terrific one.
Bittersweet: Recipes and Tales from a Life in ChocolateAlice Medrich (Artisan)
Medrich's offerings are highly inventive creations, grouped in chapters loosely defined more by feel than by strict adherence to categories.
The Balthazar CookbookKeith McNally, Riad Nasr, Lee Hanson and Kathryn Kellinger (Clarkson Potter)
This cookbook from Manhattan's booming, six-year-old brasserie lifts the lid on the essence of French brasserie cooking.
Everything You Never Wanted Your Kids to Know About Sex (But Were Afraid They'd Ask): The Secret to Surviving Your Child's Sexual Development from High Chairs to High SchoolJustin Richardson and Mark A. Schuster (Crown)
Doctors Richardson and Schuster bring extraordinary expertise and scintillating intelligence to this forthright parenting guide, which covers everything from toddler sex play and teenage dating to homosexuality and birth control.
Aquavit: And the New Scandinavian CuisineMarcus Samuelsson (Houghton Mifflin)
Executive chef at New York City's swank Aquavit, Samuelsson elevates this book beyond traditional Swedish cooking to an expression of one chef's unique viewpoint.
Essentials of Asian Cuisine: Fundamentals and Favorite RecipesCorinne Trang (Simon & Schuster)
Trang's newest is an ambitious, encyclopedic summation of the history, techniques, ingredients and recipes of the major Asian nations.
The Slow Mediterranean Kitchen: Recipes for the Passionate CookPaula Wolfert (Wiley)
Mediterranean cooking expert Wolfert invites readers to sit back, relax and enjoy this charming paean to the kinds of foods that require time to prepare, but are worth the wait.
See our "best books" in the following categories:
