Check this out . . . books of the year, and I think you might like to grab a few copies for yourself or your friends as a holiday gift. 

I am sure I am omitting a bunch. The omissions on the list are owed solely to operator error. And no, they are not in order. 

The Art of Living According to Joe Beef 

I am biased, but what Fred, David, and Meredith are doing in Montreal is singular. I eat out all year long sometimes having dozens of dishes a day in cities all over the world. I wish I could tell you that I had a more memorable meal than the one I had at JB but I cannot. And every nuance of the JB greatness is in the book. 

 Paris 1906 

Grant Achatz is an innovator and he had turned the pub world on its ear when his first e-book paying homage to his alt-resto concept Next came out. Every three months he changes the concept, this last go-round he channeled Escoffier. Its amazing. And yes, you can cook the recipes. 

Ideas in Food 

This book is a game changer for a thousand reasons. Get it. It will reboot the way you think about food. 

Girl Hunter 

I obviously have a huge food crush on Girl Hunter Georgia Pellegrini. We both like to cook, hunt, and eat. And her book cover is my favorite of the year. Love her critter recipes. More importantly she marches to her own drumbeat.

The Mozza Cookbook  

The Mozza Cookbook is one of the year’s best. Nancy Silverton is a mega-talent and if for nothing else this book offers up her famous caramel and sea salt infused Butterscotch Budino. 

Serious Eats 

Part guidebook, part armchair culinary quarterback, Ed Levine has done it again. Buy now, and eat your way through the recipes and plan your next roadtrip accordingly as well. 

Momofuku Milk Bar Cookbook 

Crack Pie. End of discussion

Ruhlman’s Twenty

This book by Michael Ruhlman is one of my top five books of the last few years. The Technique Maven rides again. 

The Fearless Baker 

Author Emily Luchetti offers a new approach to channeling your faith and overcoming your baking aversion. I love this woman. 

The Food52 Cookbook 

From one of my favorite websites comes the book that I always felt was the reason the website existed in first place. I am a paranoid cynic and I was wrong. These ladies (Amanda Hesser and Merrill Stubbs) believe in their community and their book celebrates it. 

Odd Bits 

Jennifer McLagan’s Odd Bits is a book on one of my favorite subjects from one of my favorite writers. 

Mourad Lahlou’s New Moroccan 

I love this guy. I met him last year, and his book is a stunner of North African Flavors.

My pals at Zero Point Zero have made an amazing iPad App featuring one of my best buds, meat maven and hunter extraordinaire Pat LaFrieda. Pat LaFrieda’s Big App for Meat was chosen as the iPad App of the Week in the iTunes store – worldwide. In the Lifestyle category of the app store, it’s currently No. 1!

So go to the App Store And after you download it, check out this Meat Demo. 

 You can thank me later.