Which Cookbooks Were Rated The Best Of 2010?

I collect cookbooks like they were going to be obsolete one day! That said, I know a lot of folks out there love to do the same or at least collect the recipes. About this time every year, I begin to wonder what the best cookbooks of the year are and begin to plan which ones I might want to pick up - for myself or for someone for the holidays.

Here are some great ideas on the Best Cookbooks of 2010!

WHAT MAKES A COOKBOOK A BEST COOKBOOK

I went to several different sources to come up with some ideas on the Best Cookbooks of 2010 and everyone will obviously have a different opinion. These are just ideas on what cookbooks are out there this year and why they are considered to be some of the best in their class.

But what is the criteria that one should consider when selecting a cookbook, either for themselves or someone else?

Here are some ideas on attributes and the different kind of audience these cookbooks may benefit.

Photo Credit: Flickr JSPatchwork

PROFESSIONAL COOK

This is someone who lives and breathes cooking. Maybe this person even runs a catering business or a full scale food preparation operation such as a restaurant. This type of person needs serious cookbooks defining everything from soup to nuts, although the cookbooks can be specific, such as a cookbook about baking scones or a specific book on Cajun cooking. Specialty cookbooks of a professional nature are great gifts for the chef any time.

JUST MARRIED

Newlyweds always need cookbooks - at least if they want to survive on anything other than take-out and fast food! For the just married, cookbooks most often are all-encompassing, meaning in that cookbook, you could look up how to boil an egg and the next day, look up how to cook a meatloaf; still another day how to carve a turkey. These are usually basic cover everything cookbooks that people generally save for years and years. These cookbooks usually have many different recipes for the same dish and then many instructions on 'how to' throughout the cookbook. These 'standard' cookbooks are great wedding gifts.

CAN'T COOK - TWO BROWN THUMBS

These are the folks who want to try to cook but they have a hard time with it. For some reason, everything they try, things burn up or just don't come out right. Cookbooks for these folks are usually simple and come with many illustrations - and fewer ingredients. These are cookbooks that lead a person to want to cook more by being successful rather than facing culinary disasters. These can also be great cookbooks for college students or people with minimal time or money for cooking. This kind of cookbook makes an excellent graduation gift or starting school present.

BUSY COOK

Cookbooks for the busy cook are usually geared towards quick and easy menus and recipes that require very little prep. These cookbooks are more along the lines of nutrition but keeping the recipes short and sweet and to the point - maybe mixing in some already prepared foods to go along with natural foods or foods in their uncooked state. Busy cook cookbooks are also usually chock full of ideas on how to save time and prepare food ahead. This makes a great gift for someone who has just gone back to work and has a busy family life.

HEART-HEALTHY OR SPECIAL DIET

These specialty cookbooks are geared towards people with special needs - or people who are extremely health conscious for one reason or the other. Most often, the recipes are either low in fat or cholesterol, or low in 'bad' carbs or sugar, although there are many cookbooks that are specific to one particular illness. Cookbooks from this category are a great idea for someone who is battling a particular disease or is needing to cut back on certain foods, learn better ways of cooking for a health reason. This can be a really neat gift for someone who for instance just had heart stenting. It makes a great get-well gift!

COOKING ENTHUSIAST

These cookbooks would be aimed at someone like myself - someone who absolutely loves to cook and try new recipes and who is always trying to tweak them to make them better. Basically, cookbooks in this category can be anywhere from gourmet cookbooks on the order of Bon Appetit to specialty cookbooks on how to make your own pasta. If you know the tastes of the cook, you can better match a cookbook to his or her skill level. These cookbooks make excellent gifts for yourself!

BESTSELLING COOKBOOKS ACCORDING TO BROWN-EYED BAKER

• The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz
• Baking Illustrated by America's Test Kitchen
• The Bread Baker's Apprentice by Peter Reinhart
• Julia's Kitchen Wisdom by Julia Child

PICKS BY INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CULINARY PROFESSIONALS

• Stephanie Alexander's Kitchen Garden Companion by Stephanie Alexander
• My New Orleans: The Cookbook by John Besh
  
• Go Fish by Al Brown
• Gourmet Today by Ruth Reichl
• Williams-Sonoma Family Meals by Maria Helm Sinskey
• Mastering the Art of Chinese Cooking by Eileen Yin-Fei Lo
• Of Sugar and Snow: A History of Ice Cream Making by Jeri Quinzio
• Waste by Tristram Stuart
• Ad Hoc at Home by Thomas Keller and Dave Cruz
• The New Portuguese Table: Exciting Flavors from Europe’s Western Coast by David Leite
• The Cancer-Fighting Kitchen: Nourishing, Big-Flavor Recipes for Cancer Treatment and Recovery by Rebecca Katz and Mat Edelson

JAMES BEARD AWARD COOKBOOKS BY CATEGORY

AMERICAN

• My New Orleans by John Besh
• Real Cajun by Donald Link
• The Lee Brothers Simple Fresh Southern: Knockout Dishes with Down-Home Flavor by Matt lee and Ted Lee

BAKING/DESSERT

• Baking by James Peterson
• DamGoodSweet: Desserts to Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth, New Orleans Style by David Guas, Raquel Pelzel
• Peter Reinhart’s Artisan Breads Every Day by Peter Reinhart

BEVERAGE

• Been Doon So Long: A Randall Grahm Vinthology by Randall Grahm
• The King of Vodka: The Story of Pyotr Smirnov and the Upheaval of an Empire by Linda Himelstein
• World Whisky by Charles Maclean

PROFESSIONAL COOKING

• Araxi: Seasonal Recipes from the Celebrated Whistler Restaurant by James Walt
• Momofuku by David Chang and Peter Meehan
• The Fundamental Techniques of Classic Pastry Arts by the French Culinary Institute with Judith Choate

GENERAL COOKING

• Ad Hoc at Home by Thomas Keller with Dave Cruz
• Salt to Taste: The Keys to Confident, Delicious Cooking by Marco Canora with Catherine Young
• The Pleasures of Cooking for One by Judith Jones

HEALTHY FOCUS

• Eating Well: Comfort Foods Made Healthy by Jessice Price/Editors of Eating Well
• Golden Door Cooks at Home: Favorite Recipes from the Celebrated Spa by Dean Rucker with Marah Stets
• Love Soup: 160 All-New Vegetarian Recipes from the Author of The Vegetarian Epicure by Anna Thomas

INTERNATIONAL

• Lidia Cooks from the Heart of Italy by Lidia Bastianich and Tanya Bastianich Manuali
• Mastering the Art of Chinese Cooking by Eileen Yin-Fei Lo
• The Country Cooking of Ireland by Colman Andrews

PHOTOGRAPHY

• Eat Ate by Earl Carter
• New American Table by Paul Brissman
• Seven Fires: Grilling the Argentine Way by Santiago Soto Monllor

SINGLE SUBJECT

• Pasta Sfoglia by Ron and Colleen Suhanosky with Susan Simon
• Weber’s Way to Grill by Jamie Purviance
• Well-Preserved: Recipes and Techniques for Putting Up Small Batches of Seasonal Foods by Eugenia Bone

BEST BASED ON SALES BY INDEPENDENT BOOKSTORES NATIONWIDE (ENDING AUG 2010)

• In The Green Kitchen by Alice Waters 
• What’s New, Cupcake? Ingeniously Simple Designs for Every Occasion by Karen Tack, Alan Richardson 
• Joy of Cooking (75th Anniversary Edition) by Irma Rombauer and others 
• Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics by Ina Garten, Clarkson Potter  
• Fiesta at Rick’s: Fabulous Food for Great Times with Friends by Rick Bayless 
• Planet Barbecue: 309 Recipes, 60 Countries by Steven Raichlen 
• Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume I by Julia Child and others 
• Fast, Fresh & Green: More than 90 Delicious Recipes for Veggie Lovers by Susie Middleton 
• 101 Things I Learned in Culinary School by Louis Eguaras 
• The Art of Simple Food by Alice Waters 
• Ad Hoc at Home by Thomas Keller 
• Jamie’s Food Revolution: Rediscover How to Cook Simple, Delicious, Affordable Meals by Jamie Oliver 
• Hello, Cupcake! By Karen Tack 
• How to Cook Everything Vegetarian: Simple Meatless Recipes for Great Food by Mark Bittman 
• Giada at Home: Family Recipes from Italy and California by Giada de Laurentiis 
• How to Cook Everything: 2000 Simple Recipes for Great Food by Mark Bittman 
• Molto Gusto: Easy Italian Cooking by Mario Batali 
• The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Recipes from an Accidental Country Girl by Ree Drummond 
• Now Eat This!  By Rocco DiSpirito 
• The New Moosewood Cookbook by Mollie Katzen 
• Everyday Food: Fresh Flavor Fast: 250 Easy, Delicious Recipes for Any Time of Day by Martha Stewart Living Magazine 
• The Pleasures of Cooking for One by Judith Jones 
• The Frankies Spuntino Kitchen Companion & Cooking Manual by Frank Falcinelli and others 
• The French Women Don’t Get Fat Cookbook by Mireille Guiliano 
• Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois

SOME OF THE BEST COOKBOOKS PER AMAZON.COM 2010

• 12 Best Foods Cookbook: Over 200 Recipes Featuring the 12 Healthiest Foods by Dana Jacobi 
• Food & Wine Best of the Best Cookbook Recipes by Editors of Food and Wine 
• The Recipe Hall of Fame Cookbook (Best of the Best) by Gwen McKee Moseley 
• Slow Cooker: The Best Cookbook Ever with More Than 400 Easy-to- Make Recipes by Diane Phillips 
• Best-Ever Casseroles Cookbook by Gooseberry Patch 
• How to Cook Everything, Completely Revised 10th Anniversary Edition: 2000 Simple Recipes for Great Food by mark Bittman 
• The Best Light Recipe by Editors of Cook’s Illustrated Magazine 
• The Best Casserole Cookbook Ever by Beatrice Ojakangas and Susie Cushner 
• The Sheraton World Cookbook: Great Recipes from Great Chefs: 1980 
• The Best Soups in the World by Clifford A. Wright 
• The Gloriously Gluten-Free Cookbook: Spicing Up Life with Italian, Asian, and Mexican Recipes by Vanessa Maltin

Well, as you can see, there are a lot of cookbooks that are rated as the Best Cookbooks of 2010.  I am sorry I typed this up because to be honest, now I want about 10 of these cookbooks - at least!

To preview the cookbooks, you can always check at your local library and see if they have the cookbooks available - or check out your local bookstores - bricks and mortar or on-line.

I buy a lot of my cookbooks on Amazon.com and I also purchase a lot of them on Ebay.  Both are great places to get great deals!

Whether you're looking for great additions to your own cookbook repertoire or are buying a cookbook for a gift, hopefully you will have plenty of information when it comes to the Best Cookbooks of 2010!