Our friend Deb Perelman, who runs the enormously adored cooking site Smitten Kitchen just published her first cookbook and I got to spend an afternoon in her kitchen making one of the recipes, an insanely decadent breakfast treat: think pretzel meets chocolate meets the most tender brioche dough you've ever laid teeth on. (Here's a peek into her kitchen!)

This is just one of over 100 recipes (and more than 300 photographs, all by Deb) 105-plus recipes. 300+ full-color photos. Smitten Kitchen fans will be pleased to know the book has almost all new material, with just a few old favorites from the site, re-tested and re-worked to perfection. More

When Yotam Ottolenghi's cookbook Plenty was published here in the United States last year, it was an immediate hit and consistently found its way to the top of everyone's best cookbook lists, including our own. Yotam has followed up that effort with an equally stellar but perhaps more personal cookbook called Jerusalem, which he co-authored with his co-chef and business partner, Sami Tamimi. They sat down with me over mint tea last week to generously share some of their kitchen wisdom for home cooks. More

Throwing a cocktail party this holiday season? Going to a potluck? Doing any kind of entertaining at all?! Yup, Salty Snacks is going to be a lifesaver. With clever ideas for everything from cheese straws to something simply (and temptingly) called "Deviled Bacon," we definitely won't be bringing the same dish twice to any parties this season. More

If you are, like me, a fan of the Canal House Cooks Lunch email series, then you will be relieved and thrilled to know that (at last!) the recipes are now available for all those delightful and delicious-looking dishes that pop up in our inbox every Mon-Fri this past year. For Canal House Cooks Every Day, the latest book by Christopher Hirsheimer and Melissa Hamilton, is just that: a beautiful, 384-page book that is mostly based on the emailed dishes, only this time we get the recipes, too! If you're not familiar with their emails or Canal House Cooking, then you're in for a real treat when you discover them through this lovely volume of over 250 recipes. More

Hip hip hooray! Here's a gluten-free baking book just in time for the holidays! All your favorites are here, from cutout cookies and rugelach to bûche de noël and pumpkin pie. No need to miss out on tasty holiday treats this year — Gluten-Free Baking for the Holidays will help fill your cookie tray. More

Q: My sister recently had a baby and is slowly becoming fed up with her husband's lack of cooking skills. Do you have any suggestions for a simple, quick, whole foods cookbook for a new dad? More

With all the meat-heavy meals this time of year, the holidays can leave vegans and vegetarians feeling rather left out of the party. Tofurkey can only do so much! Here is a book that aims to fill the gap with some holiday-worthy vegetarian dishes to truly get excited about eating. And not just vegetarians — Meatless Celebrations is packed with tasty dishes that will appeal to everyone sitting at the table regardless of their stance on roast turkey. More

Why would someone tuck a recipe for Chicken and Spaghetti Casserole in the pages of Michael Crichton's Sphere? Could that Dutch Apple Cake be someone's long-lost family recipe? Michael Popek has spent years with these mysteries while collecting recipes from the used books at his shop, first for his blog Handwritten Recipes and now for this cookbook. If you covet your grandma's recipe box and love paging through old church cookbooks, Handwritten Recipes is one more source of vintage recipes you'll definitely want to check out. More

Of my hundreds of cherished cookbooks, my old school community cookbooks rank at the top of the class. (Bonus points if written by a Southern Junior League!) I love reading these retro tomes for entertainment, but they are often the first place I turn for new recipe inspiration, as well. More

Everyone knows that you don't mess with comfort food, especially Southern comfort food. Unless, that is, you happen to be a Southern chef. Chef duo Allison Vines-Rushing and Slade Rushing of MiLa restaurant in New Orleans know just how far to push the comfort food envelope and where a little extra brown butter makes all the difference. More