"A good party is not about the food," says Ina Garten, "it's about the people." That may be true, but her Barefoot Contessa Parties! will ensure that your next party is a fabulous one, regardless of your guest list. Garten, author of The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook and a monthly column in Martha Stewart Living, has been catering since 1978. So who better to put together a collection of entertaining theme parties? She's included everything from drinks and hors d'oeuvres to dessert and coffee, as well as notes about what "surprises," atmospheres, venues, and table decorations lend themselves to each. Because she likes to attend her own parties (and who doesn't?), almost every recipe is make-ahead and remarkably uncomplicated. -- Amazon.com

Lauren Bacall gets cranky when Barefoot Contessa, an East Hampton specialty food store/institution for more than 20 years, is sold out of Indonesian Ginger Chicken. She can now thank her lucky stars that exuberant owner Ina Garten has written The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook and included this recipe. Ms. Bacall is sure to be pleased to discover how easy it is to achieve such fantastic flavor. Simplicity is something of a bottom line at Barefoot Contessa. "Food is not about impressing people," Ina Garten says. "It's about making them feel comfortable." -- Amazon.com

Want to eat healthful, delicious food without self-deprivation? Sally Schneider's A New Way to Cook shows you how. Schneider's approach is global: not only does she provide 600 recipes for a wide range of truly satisfying, good-for-you dishes, she offers a blueprint for better eating and cooking, no matter the recipe. Her mantra? No need to give up flavorful fats and the pleasures of salt and sugar, which are intrinsically necessary to a satisfying diet, she maintains. No food is excluded in her plan. Applying moderation, portion streamlining, and a number of unusual techniques--for example, you get all the flavor and satisfying mouthfeel of fat without excessive calories if you emulsify it first with water or other liquids--she offers her better way. Those of us caught between the need to eat sensibly and the reasonable desire to derive maximum enjoyment from food, impulses often at odds, will welcome her cookbook. -- Amazon.com

Like Julia Child, Jacques Pépin offers readers delectable French-based recipes while teaching vital, confidence-building techniques. Jacques Pépin Celebrates is another winning signature venture that offers 200 recipes with terrific color-photo-illustrated techniques. Containing largely updated recipes from Pépin's out-of-print Art of Cooking, and the companion to his eponymous public television series, the book provides formulas for a wide range of celebratory as well as everyday dining occasions. This is not a resource for last-minute cooking, but one that rewards cooks not only with great food, but with the tools they need to expand their repertoires gloriously. -- Amazon.com

Former fashion designer Carolyne Roehm is renowned for combining a keen appreciation of beauty with practical know-how. Now, with this gorgeously illustrated guide, readers can go behind the scenes of her memorable parties, learn her entertaining secrets, and visit the glamorous homes where she has dazzled her prominent guests. -- Amazon.com