Recently in the Sacramento News & Review, my friend Kate Washington asked me which cookbooks (of the hundreds that I have) do I use the most? My answers were off the top of my head, but it turns out that I was pretty accurate. When I came home, I looked through the shelves to which were the most thumbed. Here was my reply to Kate, and then I'll add on a couple more that I think are indispensable.

1. "Joy of Cooking, for basics.” [Note that I have three different editions!]

2. “Lately, I’ve been using The New Enchanted Broccoli Forest (Mollie Katzen's Classic Cooking) a lot again--I’ve always loved that one. [I have an original, well-stained copy.] I use the Apple and Cheddar Souffle, though lately I’ve been putting blue cheese in it, because it’s my favorite cheese in the world. I reworked the recipe to make Apple-Cheddar Quiche for my cookbook, with attribution.”

3. “What else? Madhur Jaffrey Indian Cooking. We make the Red Split Lentils with Cumin Seed and Spicy Green Beans at least once every two weeks. That book is how I started learning to cook Indian food.”

4. “Rick Bayless, Mexico One Plate At A Time. I make his mole sauce by the double batch, to put some of it in the freezer.”

PLUS: I use the Food Lover's Companion practically daily, although it's not a cookbook. Instead, it's a great compendium of food terms and ingredients for those times when I don't know the definition of a palacsinta (thin Hungarian crepe) or how to spell muffaletta.

I also love Susan Purdy's book A Piece of Cake, for no-fail baking recipes. It's out of print now, but re-released as The Perfect Cake: 150 cakes for Every taste and Occasion. Do yourself a favor and put her Anna's Swedish Butter Cake on regular rotation.