1. 'Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day' by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois (St. Martin's Press, $27.95): Hertzberg, a doctor and University of Minnesota professor, and Francois, a local pastry chef, have come up with a quick, simple method that produces a crusty loaf as good, if not better than, most bakeries do. The instructions are brief and so clearly written the loaves practically assemble themselves.

Here's how it works: You mix a few ingredients in a container, let the mixture set a few hours, and you'll have enough dough for four loaves. When you want fresh bread, cut off a piece of dough, shape it, let it rise for 40 minutes and then bake it. The rest of the dough will keep in the refrigerator for about two weeks. I've tried four of the recipes, and they were all winners. Finally, loafing around proves to be productive.

2. "The Art of Simple Food" by Alice Waters (Clarkson Potter, $35): This is the little black dress of cookbooks - tasteful, timeless and simple. Waters, who the New York Times called the "mother of modern American cooking," is the founder of the iconic Chez Panisse restaurant in Berkeley, Calif.

This primer, with it's jacketless Dijon-mustard-gold cover, shopping notes and recipes with limited ingredients, echoes her philosophy of paying attention to quality, buying local and eating seasonally. This isn't something we haven't heard before. But Waters is a charismatic, creative teacher who produces the lesson plans and fires up our souls. When it comes to delivering the core principles of home cooking, this book gets an A+.

3. "The Cheese Lover's Companion" by Cheryl Tyler Herbst and Ron Herbst (William Morrow, $16.95): Five months after producing the manuscript for this book, Cheryl Tyler Herbst passed away after battling ovarian cancer. Her first book, "The Food Lover's Companion," is a bible of food terminology and cooking techniques.

This one, co-authored with her husband, is another indispensable reference book. From Asadero to Ziegenkase, it provides a lot of information that most cheese books leave out, like how to pronounce the names and what the cheeses taste like. Plus, it's small enough to tuck in a purse or pocket, keeping it handy when you're in the mood to buy.

4. "5 Spices, 50 Dishes" by Ruta Kahate (Chronicle Books, $19.95): Most Indian dishes are too complicated to cook at home. It seems like every time I want to make a curry, I have to make a special trip to an Indian store and spend $50 on ingredients.

This book is geared to people with busy lives. The premise is simple: Stock your pantry with five basic spices - coriander seeds, cumin seeds, mustard seeds, ground cayenne and ground turmeric - and a few ingredients readily available at any supermarket, and you can turn out meals that taste like you've been taking Indian cooking classes for years.

The mild fish stew with cod and coconut milk has become a meal staple at my house, and so have the spicy lamb meatball curry and the sautéed beets with mustard and lemon juice. If you've never cooked this food, there are helpful techniques, menu ideas and pretty photos so you know what things are supposed to look like.

5. "A Twist of the Wrist" by Nancy Silverton (Knopf, $29.95): This book is for foodies who long to cook gourmet meals but can't find the time. Silverton, one of L.A.'s best chefs and founder of La Brea Bakery, has come up with 137 recipes that require 30 minutes or less to prepare, championing the use of all things jarred, canned, bagged and boxed. And she has recruited some of her celebrity chef friends - Jonathan Waxman, Tom Colicchio and Jean-Georges Vongerichten - to contribute.

But these recipes won't appeal to everyone. Many of them require special ingredients like fennel pollen, Saba and paprika paste. (Good luck finding those!) And she doesn't let us off the hook when it comes to making our own mayonnaise, either.

Still, there are lots of simple recipes that appeal, including creamy corn soup with bacon and cheddar crostini and olive-oil-fried eggs and pasta. And seared salmon with lentils and salsa rustica would be just the thing to serve at that dinner party you've been wanting to throw but can't find the time.

6. "Great Food Fast" by Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (Clarkson Potter, $24.95): Stewart's Everyday Food magazine is all about meals that are full of flavor and easy to prepare with ordinary supermarket ingredients. Here's all of that and 250 recipes, arranged by season.

The diverse lineup includes hot-and-sour soup for spring, Indian-spiced chicken burgers for summer, roasted Cornish hens with grapes for fall and pasta with lentils and arugula for winter.

Besides uncomplicated recipes, each displayed on its own page, there are pretty photos and step-by-step close-ups on making rice, risotto and couscous. If you like the magazine, you'll love the book.

7. "Can I Freeze It?" by Susie Theodorou (William Morrow, $24.95): Eggs in their shells should not be frozen. Neither should mayonnaise, salad greens or ham. A freezer takes up a big space in our kitchens, but too many of us are clueless as to how to properly use it.

Thankfully, Theodorou's book explains everything: How a freezer works, what to put in it and how long to keep it. The book also provides some great recipes so we can come home on a busy weeknight to more than a carton of freezer-burned ice cream and gallons and gallons of chicken soup.

8. "America's Best Lost Recipes" by editors of Cook's Country magazine (America's Test Kitchen, $29.95): The editors of Cook's Country magazine asked readers to send in "lost recipes," ones that were special, tasted great and told a story. They received almost 3,000 and then began the difficult task of whittling the list.

The result is 121 recipes "too good to forget," including Brooklyn cheese puffs, Grandma June's sauerkraut soup, Nesselrode pie and mashed potato fudge. Too bad the recipes didn't include a tomato soup cake like my mom used to make. But maybe it's for the best that some things stay lost.

9. "Soup's On" by Leslie Jonath and Frankie Frankeny (Chronicle Books, $19.95): Professional chefs love to make soup, but home cooks often find the process intimidating. If you need help or are stuck in a chicken noodle soup rut, get this book. It has easy, satisfying recipes from some of America's most respected chefs, cookbook authors and cooking teachers. And some of the proceeds benefit NextCourse, a nonprofit that teaches low-income communities to shop, cook and eat nutritiously.

With his lentil and bacon soup, celebrity chef Charlie Trotter proves you can do wonders if you keep things uncomplicated. Cookbook author Kitty Morse's chicken Moroccan stew is also short on preparation time but big on flavor. Mmmm, mmmm, good.

10. "Apples for Jam" by Tessa Kiros (Andrews McMeel, $29.95): The type is hard to read. And who knows what the editors were thinking when they decided to arrange the recipes according to color. But thumbing through Kiros' book makes me want to get in the kitchen and cook.

The writing is fresh, the ideas are terrific and the 200 recipes are personal and appealing. They range from traditional (veal involtini, broccoli soup and chicken croquettes) to quirky (chicken sautéed with cheese and milk, beef and bread kebabs and lemon curd ice cream).

Kiros may not provide culinary fireworks, but the recipes offer plenty to satisfy even the experienced home cook. Plus, cute family photos scattered throughout are like icing on a cake.
