Best Cookbooks of 2013

It’s not often that a year of cookbooks can be summed up in a single word. But in 2013, “uneven” fits. With a few exceptions, small books outshone the big ones. Lots of niches were explored. Vegetarians were treated to a rich buffet. While some restaurant chefs kept home cooks in mind, others seemed more interested in chronicling their impossibly perfect plates. We chose the ones we think you’ll learn from and pepper with sticky notes. Here are the Top Ten in alphabetical order, plus favorites among individual categories. See the full list here. — Bonnie S. Benwick