Los Angeles Times Cookbook Hot List

1. “The Cake Mix Doctor” by Anne Byrn (Workman, $14.95). How to turn a box cake into something special.

Last Week: 2

Weeks on List: 10

2. “The French Laundry Cookbook” by Thomas Keller, Michael Ruhlman and Susie Heller (Artisan, $60). The restaurant showpiece cookbook of the year.

Last Week: 1

Weeks on List: 23

3. “Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home” by Julia Child and Jacques Pepin (Alfred Knopf, $40). A spirited kitchen conversation between two great cooks.

Last Week: 3

Weeks on List: 30

4. “Essentials of Cooking” by James Peterson (Artisan, $40). A step-by-step manual in full color.

Last Week: 8

Weeks on List: 8

5. “How To Cook Everything” by Mark Bittman (MacMillan, $25). A fresh approach to the cooking encyclopedia, with more than 1,500 recipes.

Last Week: 5

Weeks on List: 72

6. “The New Joy of Cooking” by Irma Rombauer, Marion Rombauer Becker and Ethan Becker (Scribner, $30). The updated edition of the American cooking bible.

Last Week: -

Weeks on List: 29

7. “The Herbfarm Cookbook” by Jerry Traunfeld (Scribner, $40). Recipes from the highly praised Washington restaurant.

Last Week: -

Weeks on List: 1

8. “Dr. Atkin’s Quick and Easy New Diet Cookbook” by Robert C. Atkins and Veronica C. Atkins (Fireside $14). Another from the best-selling diet author.

Last Week: 7

Weeks on List: 4

9. “The Cafe Cook Book” by Ruth Rogers and Rose Gray (Broadway Books $35). More great recipes from London’s queens of rustic Italian cooking.

Last Week: 4

Weeks on List: 5

10. “Crazy Plates” by Janet and Greta Podleski (Perigee $19.95). More diet fun from the “Looneyspoons Sisters.”

Last Week: 6

Weeks on List: 7

Rankings are based on a Times poll of national and independent cookbook sellers.