Ratio - good for all things baking and flour and sauces and how food goes together.

I second (or third, or whatever) Hazan's Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking. I also like The Art of Simple Food by ALice Waters. I also consider James Peterson's Meat: A Kitchen Education a must-have.

I love this thread, thank you!

The Joy of Cooking. Hands down.

New Basics Cookbook always has interesting ideas

The Joy of Cooking

Smitten Kitchen - no need to buy the cookbook though as most of her recipes are online in her blog.

I like Carla Hall's two cookbooks. She balances both health and flavor with a comfort food base.

The Joy of Cooking
How to Cook Everything - Bittman
Mastering the Art of French Cooking - Julia Child - excruciatingly detailed and complicated but a nostalgic favorite
The New Elegant But Easy Cookbook - Marian Burros
anything by Joan Nathan if you like Jewish cooking

Anonymous wrote:The Joy of Cooking. It's the first place to look for how to prepare anything. Then the Barefoot Contessa's cookbooks for entertaining.

This is still my bible.

Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi

Anonymous wrote:America's Test Kitchen New Best Recipe

+1 on any America's Test Kitchen cookbook!

I have:

The Complete America's Test Kitchen
Joy of Cooking
Fannie Farmer (only for occasional reference)
Marcella Hazan Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking
Maida Heatter's Book of Great Chocolate Desserts

Bittman's How to Cook Everything
Hazan's Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking
The Fanny Farmer Cookbook
Jenkins/Fox, Olives and Oranges
The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook
At Home With Madhur Jaffrey

America's Test Kitchen New Best Recipe

The Joy of Cooking. It's the first place to look for how to prepare anything. Then the Barefoot Contessa's cookbooks for entertaining.

Subject title says it all. What are your favorite cookbooks? Which cookbooks should be an essential part of any serious home chef's collection? Cooking, baking, etc.