Cookbooks fit to be gift-wrapped Choosing from a library of cookbooks for the tastiest gift

Cookbooks are hot. In fact, they are the best-selling category of books given as gifts, according to American Bookseller magazine.

The average household has 15 cookbooks, and three out of 10 women are described as cookbook collectors.

Since this is prime time for indulging in food passions with books, let's get straight to this year's selections.

For a new cook's food library, you can't go wrong with The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook ($34.95), a hefty loose-leaf offering from the ATK staff on PBS-TV. The recipes come with tips, techniques, explanations and step-by-step photos.

There also are new editions of the Better Homes & Gardens and Betty Crocker classics, but beyond these basics lies a world of new foods and flavors.

For a fresh take on American restaurant and garden foods:

Artisanal Cooking by Terrance Brennan with Andrew Friedman (John Wiley & Sons, $35) teaches pantry basics, techniques, cheeses and inspired recipes such as duck pastrami, Caesar salad soup, and chestnut spaetzle from his restaurant Picholine and Artisanal bistro-fromagerie in Manhattan.

Homegrown: Pure and Simple, by Michel Nischan with Mary Goodbody (Chronicle, $35), follows the chef's return to his Mom's country cooking using foods from his organic garden.

In Chef, Interrupted: Delicious Chefs' Recipes That You Can Actually Make at Home (Clarkson Potter, $32.50), author Melissa Clark adapts recipes from 50 star chefs, simplifying techniques, ingredients and directions for home cooks while retaining the four-star quality. Included are recipes from local chefs: Mark Vetri's lush asparagus flan with parmesan, Jonathan Waxman's Pollo al Forno and Marcus Samuelsson's mushroom risotto with truffle tea foam.

Food Network Favorites: Recipes From Our All-Star Chefs (Meredith Books, $29.95) samples 11 chefs and food styles, including Bobby Flay, Rachael Ray, Wolfgang Puck and Dave Lieberman.

The Latin trend

With Spain the new epicenter of creative cuisine, the trendy Latin contingent is led by . . .

The New Spanish Table by Anya von Bremzen (Workman, $35 hardcover; $22.95 paperback). Fusing classic and contemporary, this tour of Spain is packed with up-to-date regional recipes from top chefs, seafood shacks, tapas bars and farmhouse kitchens.

Penelope Casas' La Cocina de Mam (Broadway Books, $29.95) shares Spanish family recipes from home cooks up to master chef Ferran Adria.