A Spoonful of Ginger

Nina Simonds

After French culinary school I worked on the line at a Japanese/American restaurant. At that time there were very few books if any at all that demonstrated the flavors of the Asian pantry & kitchen. This book helped me navigate my way through the Asian pantry and understand the subtleties of the Asian flavor dynamic. To this day, I still refer to it!

The Zuni Café Cookbook

Judy Rodgers

Hands down it has the best Chocolate Pots d'Creme recipe! Which can be multiplied and multiplied and still come out perfect. And then I could talk days about how divine the Zuni Roast Chicken w/ Bread Salad is... great for dinner parties.

Couscous and Other Good Food from Morocco

Paula Wolfert

Every Fall & Winter I pull this book out to make Harira & Tagine - I crave them. For a cuisine that is not commonly seen in the US the recipes are extraordinarily comprehensive & doable in both a commercial and home kitchen.

Hors d'Oeuvres

Eric Treuille and Victoria Blashford-Snell

A go-to for any caterer or home cook looking for best practices and the right equipment for making classic bites for a party. Mine is so messed up and sticky noted....

The Way to Cook

Julia Child

Tapas: The Little Dishes of Spain

Penelope Casas

It's a culinary school textbook wrapped in a pretty package sharing everything tapas; history, types, technique & doable recipes that can be used everyday in any kitchen.

Jamie at Home

Jamie Oliver

The first time I saw *The Naked Chef* (his first cookbook) at Books for Cooks in London I refused to buy a cookbook with the word naked in the *title*! I'm not a prude but really? Then I saw his TV show, then I bought Jamie at Home and fell in love; not with Jamie, his recipes. It's hard for me to say but the recipes I've used are *awesome*!

Barefoot In Paris

Ina Garten

For one of my catered events I made her potato chip recipe for a party of about 100. While most of us in the biz UNDERSTAND that's not cost effective, the result was pure perfection. Her technique is classic and simple. Her recipes represent this over and over again.

Weir Cooking

Joanne Weir

Joanne understands the anatomy of a recipe, how to pair flavors and write so the home cook understands both completely. Her recipes are awesome.

Prune

Gabrielle Hamilton

I haven't cooked from it - yet! However, I've read it and I KNOW I'm just going to enjoy cooking the *shiz* out of it. It's simmering right now on my shelf waiting to be savored.