Single Subject

• Chocolate Epiphany: Exceptional Cookies, Cakes, and Confections for Everyone, by Francois Payard with Anne E. Mcbride (Crown, $35)

Baking

• The Gingerbread Architect: Recipes and Blueprints for Twelve Classic American Homes, by Susan Matheson and Lauren Chattman (Clarkson Potter, $22.50)
• Baked: New Frontiers in Baking, by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito (Stewart, Tabori & Chang, $29.95)

Everyday

• Cooking With Les Dames d'Escoffi er: At Home With the Women Who Shape the Way We Eat and Drink, edited by Marcella Rosene with Pat Mozersky (Sasquatch Books, $35); 18 of the recipes are from Washington area members.
• The Best Casserole Cookbook Ever, by Beatrice Ojakangas (Chronicle, $24.95)
• 1,000 Gluten-Free Recipes, by Carol Fenster (Wiley, $35)

Heavy Hitters

• A Day at El Bulli, by Ferran Adria, Albert Adria and Juli Soler (Phaedon, $49.95)
• Alinea, by Grant Achatz with Nick Kokonas, Mark McClusky, Michael Nagrant, Michael Ruhlman and Jeffrey Steingarten (Ten Speed Press, $50)
• The Complete Robuchon: French Home Cooking for the Way We Live Now, by Joel Robuchon (Knopf, $35)
• Under Pressure: Cooking Sous Vide, by Thomas Keller (Artisan, $75)

Ethnic-regional

• Turquoise: A Chef's Travels in Turkey, by Greg and Lucy Malouf (Chronicle, $50)
• Olives & Oranges: Recipes and Flavor Secrets From Italy, Spain, Cyprus & Beyond, by Sara Jenkins and Mindy Fox (Houghton Miffl in, $35)
• The Book of New Israeli Food: A Culinary Journey, by Janna Gur (Schocken Books, $35)
• Big Night In: More Than 100 Wonderful Recipes for Feeding Family and Friends Italian-Style, by Domenica Marchetti (Chronicle, $24.95)
• Bon Appetit, Y'all, by Virginia Willis (Ten Speed Press, $32.50)

'Tis the season when folks who like to give cookbooks might opt for hand-held PDAs (personal digital assistants) instead, as the small-screen gadgets seem to be a kitchen gift trend.

• Beard's Basics Work for Today