"cookbooks" news and stories

• Even as they pass stricter food-safety laws, lawmakers love their junk food.
• Wondering what the year's best cookbooks are? Here you go.
• R.I.P., Elaine Kaufman -- one of the last of a great, and fading, breed of restaurateurs.
• When it comes to Burgundies, the rule is "producer, producer, producer."
• Guess what makes an eggnog fabulous? Eggs! A no-brainer.

When it comes to giving a cookbook as a gift, there's no such thing as one size fits all -- sometimes you want a cookbook for a serious cook; sometimes you want a sweet-and-simple general-interest cookbook, and sometimes you want a cookbook for someone who doesn't actually cook but likes to read about cooking. We've asked T. Susan Chang -- food writer, cookbook reviewer for KitchenDaily and The Boston Globe, and a frequent contributor to NPR's Kitchen Window series -- to do the sorting for you. Here are her favorite gift-cookbook picks:

Cute little books for anybody:

• Tea and Cookies: Enjoy the Perfect Cup of Tea--with Dozens of Delectable Recipes for Teatime Treats, by Rick Rodgers (William Morrow, $21.99). Cookie cookbooks are a gift that keeps on giving, especially if you happen to be invited over for tea. A smart selection in a delightful package.

• Simply Ming One-Pot Meals: Quick, Healthy & Affordable Recipes, by Ming Tsai (Kyle Books, $29.95). Nobody likes cleaning pots. Keep it to a single one, with Asian-fusion how-tos from the cutest Chinese chef on TV.

Still rounding out your holiday shopping list? Surely you've got an aunt, grandma or second cousin somewhere who lives for daytime TV, and for whom this would make the perfect (or ironic) gift: Soap Dishes: The Cookbook.

Billed as a collection of favorite recipes from your favorite soap stars, the book features more than 30 dishes from the villains and vixens of such daytime staples as General Hospital, All My Children, Days of Our Lives, Bold and the Beautiful, One Life to Live and The Young and the Restless.

Which pastas go with which sauces, and why? Why is gemelli and pesto such a great combination, while gemelli and clam sauce doesn't really work at all? According to a Fox News story, you should look for answers in The Geometry of Pasta, a recent cookbook by graphic designer Caz Hildebrand and Jacob Kennedy. The book deciphers pasta shapes (there are more than 300 of them), lays down the rules, and delves into the history, geography, agriculture, texture, mouth feel and graphic design of the pairings. Plus, there are more than 100 recipes. Hildebrand's book design features striking black-and-white illustrations that not only detail pasta in its many forms but make for a pretty dramatic, and unusual, presentation of our favorite carb, one that Publishers Weekly calls "an instant classic."

Deciphering the Geometry of Pasta

They make us laugh, they make us cry . . . and they make great lasagna. Actors, it seems, can't get enough of cooking, and writing about it. In celebration of National Cookbook Month, the editors over at YumSugar decided to pay tribute to the unsung genre of the celebrity cookbook by whipping up a quiz. Ok, we're supplying a clue for Alicia Silverstone's ode to the vegan lifestyle. But we're not telling you if Eat Well with Patti LaBelle is an actual title; all we'll say is: Who knew that voice could also come up with something called "Over the Top, Top, Top Macaroni and Cheese?

Test Your Knowledge: Can You Match the Cookbook to the Celebrity?