Classics

The best for entertaining.  There’s something fanciful about the dips, the colors, the whole way she approaches food.  And it’s all brilliantly simple.

Buy The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook

Disclaimer: I know Michael and Kim McCarty. I've eaten at the New York City restaurant, and the one in Santa Monica. I love them (the restaurants, and the people). If you're not familiar with either restaurant, it might help to know that the New York restaurant is the center of the media universe (in terms of eating, anyway). And the Santa Monica restaurant is the West coast equivalent.

To quote Harper Collins editor David Hershey (from the book): "Every generation has its literary feeding trough. In the twenties and the thirties, it was the Algonquin; in the forties and fifties, it was Toots Shor's; in the sixties, it was the Lion's Head; in the seventies and the eighties, it was Elaine's; and since the nineties, Michael's has been the place for media and publishing types to eat."

 The cookbook that made people think even dimwits were excellent cooks and 25 years later, it’s still moderne.  Decadent Chocolate Cake, Marbella chicken, it’s that little extra something they always add, whether it’s raisins to the stuffing or olives to the chicken, that just makes things seems a little extra-ordinary and all you have to do is follow the incredibly easy to read and prepare recipes.

Buy The Silver Palate Cookbook