Top Ten Cookbooks

Here is our list of favorite cookbooks that we use throughout the year. Remember to serve good wine with good food. These cookbooks can be purchased through Amazon. Click on the link to select and/or order books.

Mustards Grill Napa Valley Cookbook and Big Small Plates by Cindy Pawlcyn
We love going to Cindy Pawlcyn's restaurants in the Napa Valley and we have two of her cookbooks: We use the recipes in these books when we are entertaining guests.

Food Matters by Mark Bittman
We subscribe to New York Times Mark Bittman's podcast "The Minimalist" and have enjoyed his quick, easy, and delicious recipes. "Food Matters" is about healthy cooking and Mark's recipes hit the mark for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Cooking School Secrets by Linda Carucci
Every now and then we pull this book off our shelf and read one of Linda Carucci's chapters. There are several tips in the books that are insider secrets chefs know like a special cooking technique or that one ingredient that will make the big difference in a dish.

Perfect Pairings: A Master Sommelier's Practical Advice - Wine with Food
By Evan Goldstein
Can you guess what we like about this cookbook? Yes, the very fact that each meal is matched with a wine. I wish more cookbooks did this.

Joanne Weir DVD Cooking Recipes
We watch Joanne Weir on PBS but it's great to have the DVD sets to get the recipes and watch her techniques. Both being former teachers, we appreciate good teaching when we see it. This video series is essentially one big cooking class and inexpensive when you consider how much a real cooking class costs.

Made in Spain by Jose Andres
Spanish cuisine is the latest rage and rightly so. Spanish foods are so flavorful and terrific with wines. Jose Andres has a PBS program and this cookbook is based on that program. Cook the cuisine of the various regions of Spain.

Mexican Everyday by Rick Bayless
It is funny that the most well know Mexican chef in the U.S. is a gringo. Rick Bayless has the famous Frontera Grill in Chicago. Everyone should have a Mexican cookbook on their shelf and this one is the best. Like Joanne Weir and Jose Andre, Rick Bayless also has a cooking show on PBS.

Sopranos Family Cookbook
You would think that this book is just a gimmick because it is based on the "Sopranos" HBO series. But this cookbook is just fabulous. If you want to cook authentic Italian food this is the cookbook you need. The photos of the Sopranos characters are very funny.

Webber Book of Grilling
If you cook any barbecue meals, use this one not only for recipes but for reference on cooking times and cooking methods on the grill.

See our list of favorite wine books.

See our list of favorite and best wine gifts.