Los Angeles Times Cookbook Hot List
1. “Kitchen Sessions With Charlie Trotter,” by Charlie Trotter (Ten Speed Press, $29.95). Companion volume to Trotter’s TV show focuses on preparing fine cuisine at home.
Last Week: 2
Weeks on List: 4
2. “Soup: A Way of Life,” by Barbara Kafka (Artisan, $35). All soups, all the time.
Last Week: 4
Weeks on List: 17
3. “Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone,” by Deborah Madison (Broadway Books, $40). Vegetarian cookbook with 1,400 recipes and sections on ingredients and cooking methods.
Last Week: 5
Weeks on List: 56
4. “How To Cook Everything,” by Mark Bittman (MacMillan, $25). A fresh approach to the cooking encyclopedia, with more than 1,500 recipes.
Last Week: 1
Weeks on List: 23
5. “Sophia Loren’s Recipes and Memories,” by Sophia Loren (Good Times Publishing, $28). Favorite family recipes and anecdotes from the movie star.
Last Week: --
Weeks on List: 2
6. “Seductions of Rice,” by Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Daguid (Artisan, $35). The world in a grain of rice.
Last Week: 6
Weeks on List: 12
7. “The Pie and Pastry Bible,” by Rose Levy Beranbaum (Scribner, $35). Another masterwork from America’s most obsessive cookbook writer.
Last Week: 3
Weeks on List: 17
8. “Desserts by Pierre Herme,” by Pierre Herme and Dorie Greenspan (Little Brown, $35). Recipes and dessert fundamentals from French pastry chef.
Last Week: --
Weeks on List: 1
9. “Jean-Georges,” by Jean-Georges Vongerichten and Mark Bittman (Broadway Books, $35). Creative restaurant cooking adapted for the home kitchen.
Last Week: --
Weeks on List: 21
10. “Emeril’s TV Dinners,” by Emeril Lagasse, Marcelle Bienvenue, Felicia Willett and Brian Smale (William Morrow, $25). The “bam” of that N’Awlins man.
Last Week: 7
Weeks on List: 17
Rankings are based on a Times poll of national cookbook and independent booksellers.