The first year that my parents were married, my grandmother (my mom's mother-in-law) gave her a stack of cookbooks. She was a little insulted at the time, but came around quickly, learning to depend on the Joy of Cooking that was the centerpiece of the gift. From that time on, my mom has been convinced that cookbooks make good holidays gifts and often turns to them (or picture frames for some reason) when she isn't quite sure what to get someone. Personally, I always love getting a new cookbook, so I've never had a problem with this.

If the person on your list doesn't already have it, the Joy of Cooking makes a great gift because it is versatile and can answer just about any cooking question you throw at it. Although I love my 1970's version dearly, I'm really starting to be swayed by the latest edition.

The original Moosewood Cookbook is great for the folks who need frugal, healthy recipes. It's the book I turn to most often for soup inspiration.

If you've got new vegetarians on your holiday list, consider getting them a copy of The New Laurel's Kitchen. It is my resource for cooking with grains and beans and it has never let me down in that department.

I'm of the opinion that a kitchen is not complete without a copy of the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook, particularly if it's the one that is a looseleaf binder (that feature makes it really easy to use because it lays flat on the counter).

In the eighties, home cooking got substantially more gourmet and the Silver Palate Cookbook is in large part responsible for that. Besides, no cook's repertoire is complete unless they know how to make Chicken Marbella.

Heidi Swanson's Super Natural Cooking is another really good one for vegetarians as well as anyone who is trying to incorporate more whole grains and really healthy foods into their lives. Every recipe I've tried from this book has turned out really well and tasted amazing.

Marion Cunningham is one of my favorite cooking and food writers and I often turn to my squat little paperback edition of The Fannie Farmer Cookbook when I'm looking for homey food inspiration. This is another that is quite definitive and is a great one to have, especially if you're trying to keep your cookbook collection relatively small.

Home Cooking by Laurie Colwin isn't exactly a cookbook. It's a collection of essays that all happen to include recipes. The beauty of this book is that as you read the essays, you'll be compelled to leap up, head to the kitchen and start making whatever she was writing about. In that way, it's a very effective cookbook.

The last two books, which are not pictured, are The Way We Cook by Sheryl Julian and Julie Riven and the Frog Commissary Cookbook. The Way We Cook is a great, beautifully imaged book that will make your mouth start to water. The Frog Commissary Cookbook comes out of a couple of now-defunct restaurants in Philadelphia that were known for their amazing soups, salads and quiches. All the recipes are in this book and it's a great one to have on hand.