Cook On Your Gift List Would Love These Books

“I read cookbooks like they’re novels.” How many times have you heard that or said it?

Well, get reading. Cookbooks are one of the largest segments of publishing, with hundreds of new titles joining the shelf each year. And this time of year, when savvy publishers know you’ll be looking for no-fuss holiday gifts, the shelf threatens to topple.

A good cookbook has voice, a loving attitude that shows through in the author’s respect for the subject. A good cookbook has enthusiasm and the delight of discovery. A good cookbook whets your appetite and makes you hunger to try it.

In other words, a good cookbook is like a good meal - an experience you want to have again and again.

I’ve sifted through this year’s offerings and found several that are worth noting:

“Baking With Julia,” by Dorie Greenspan (William Morrow, $40). In the third book based on her “Master Chefs” television shows, Julia Child takes pains to give everybody else the credit - and that’s great. The recipes come from chefs with nationwide reputations, like Marion Cunningham, Nancy Silverton and Alice Medrich. And oh, what recipes - everything from yeast breads to wedding cakes, with clear directions, lots of how-to photos and the reliability you’ve come to expect from any Julia Child effort. A must-have for bakers.

“Rick Bayless’ Mexican Kitchen,” with Deann Groen Bayless and Jean Marie Brownson (Scribner, $35). Building on his first book, “Authentic Mexican,” Bayless breaks Mexican cuisine into essential flavors and moves them in to the American kitchen. The owner and operator of Chicago’s Frontera Grill and Topolobampo, Bayless presents recipes simpler than most chef creations, but most require you to make an accompanying sauce or salsa. However, he includes many simple tips for easy dishes.

“The Vegetarian Table: America,” by Deborah Madison (Chronicle, $22.95). Madison is the respected author of “The Greens Cookbook” and founder of San Francisco’s popular restaurant Greens. Here she gives us down-to-earth dishes that respect their ingredients. You won’t miss the meat.

“In Praise of Apples,” by Mark Rosenstein (Lark Books, $34.95). There are other books on apples but none so nicely done. Rosenstein, who lives and cooks in Asheville, N.C., covers the subject thoroughly, from glossary to tips. The recipes are unusual, if a bit ambitious - Apple-Stuffed Morel Beignets? - but many contain simple ideas that will inspire you.

“Red, White and Greens: The Italian Way With Vegetables,” by Faith Willinger (HarperCollins, $25). This is the book to have on hand when the movie “Big Night” hits the video store. Her essays on each vegetable are informative, and her recipes are enticing. This is not a vegetarian book, though - meat is used in many recipes, although usually in small quantities.

“Jane Fonda Cooking for Healthy Living” (Turner Publishing, $29.95). The focus here is on menus and recipes, with nothing too exotic and lots of color photographs. Too bad the menus don’t come with shopping lists that make efficient use of the ingredients, but Fonda doesn’t have to live on a budget. Still, you have to admire her candor. In the press materials, she admits, “I seldom cook. But this is a book about how I eat, not how I cook.”

“Wild Women in the Kitchen,” by the Wild Women Association (Conari Press, $12.95). The latest in a series of books that celebrate “wild women” throughout history. This one pays homage to women like Isadora Duncan and Joan of Arc while offering eclectic recipes from Black Truffle Souffle to Chicken Escabeche (in honor of Frida Kahlo).

“The First Book of Vegetarian Cooking,” by Dionne Stevens (Prima, $24). Designed as a handbook for beginners, this hefty book focuses on both health issues and familiar dishes made meat-free. The author is a naturopath and slips in information on food as medicine. Includes nutrition information, mail-order directory and glossary. Do you have teen-agers on your gift list who have decided to go vegetarian? Hand them this and point them toward the kitchen.

“Cafe Nervosa: The Connoisseur’s Cookbook” (Oxmoor, $14.95). I usually frown on cookbooks that spin off from TV shows and movies, but this one, from NBC’s “Frasier,” is more appealing than most. The names of dishes mostly avoid the fake castname syndrome (one exception is Pita Nicoise Pour Niles) and there are more pictures of the dishes than of the cast. Appetizing recipes, too.

“Food Gifts for All Seasons,” by Anne Byrn (Peachtree, $15.95). Fifty-two recipes arranged by seasons, designed to have you cooking all year. Subjects include the expected jellies and jams but also delve into cakes and even casseroles. Give it to a friend who’ll take the hint.

“Cooking for Jack,” by Tony Baratta (Pocket Books, $20). The author is a friend and cooking consultant for Jack Nicholson. The recipes are low-fat and low-fuss with an Italian twist. As cook-for-the-star books go, this one is low-key and the recipes are certainly simpler than “In the Kitchen With Rosie,” by Oprah Winfrey’s chef Rosie Daley.

“Good Mornings,” by Michael McLaughlin (Chronicle, $16.95). A stylish entry from McLaughlin, best-known for “Back of the Box Gourmet.” Here he gives the traditional waffles and such but also stretches the morning boundaries - Gruyere Fondue for brunch, anyone? Recipes are a good mix of plain and fancy, plus bright photographs and hip design.

“An Alphabet of Sweets,” by Marcel Desaulniers, (Rizzoli, $15.95). Cute idea: whimsical paintings creating a character and dish for each letter of the alphabet. But many are a stretch - the Warlord of Whipped Cream? - and the dishes are often involved. After all, Desaulniers is known for the cake Death by Chocolate. But the book is sweet, if slight, like a wet meringue.

“Patricia Wells at Home in Provence” (Scribner, $40). She’s the former restaurant reviewer for the International Herald Tribune, and she lives in a French villa that is so beautiful people spend big bucks to travel there for personal cooking lessons. Don’t you want to hate this woman? But you can’t help liking anyone who would build a bread oven in her living room. She brings the flavors of Provence alive, and her recipes draw you to the kitchen like a siren song by Maurice Chevalier.