The cookbooks we can't cook without

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Good mornings
Marion Cunningham’s “The Breakfast Book” (Knopf, $20) doesn’t go for flash, formality or even size. Instead, the humble volume is reminiscent of a friend you’d want to drop in for a weekend visit. The book encourages and comforts. Try blueberry-cranberry bread, warm from the oven. Or homemade granola. Or coffeecake. Even coddled eggs with a batch of Irish oatmeal muffins. The options expand to include breakfast cakes, custards and pies; meat and fish; beverages and even the accompaniments — such as rhubarb-ginger jam — that make breakfast special. Best of all, many of the items you can make will work well for afternoon snacks. Care for a slice of toasted chocolate-walnut butter bread with your coffee?

Seattle snacks
If you've ever wanted to reproduce hungered-for dishes from your favorite restaurant, and actually have them taste like what you’d get from the chef, add “Tom Douglas’ Seattle Kitchen” (Morrow Cookbooks, $30) to your must-buy list. You’ll get Pacific Northwest fusion cooking at its best. Don’t skip the chapters on shopping and ingredients; they’re the keys to authentic reproduction. Recipes from Douglas’ restaurants follow. The ever-popular coconut cream pie? Got it. Lobster and shiitake potstickers? Order up. Some of the recipes — like kazu zuke black cod — are complex or time-consuming, but are completely worth the effort. Douglas has managed to incorporate Seattle’s delicious culinary mix into his dishes. Work your way through his book and you’ll feel like a native by the time you’re done.

Soup's on
For me, the best part of Sheila Lukins' and Julee Rosso's The Silver Palate Good Times Cookbook (Workman Publishing, $15.95) can be summed up in three words: "Chicken Noodle Soup." I'd buy the book for this recipe alone. Or the four-cheese macaroni, or the chicken with figs. Even the biscuits — made with molasses and candied ginger — inspire. The book is a seasonal wonder of entertainment-worthy recipes that span multiple cultures. While I prefer cookbooks organized by category instead of theme — I never remember that duck curry is under the chapter "daffodil weekend" – I still rank this cookbook near the top of my list. For helpful sidebars, party tips and consistently great food, it can't be beat. —Joan Wolfe

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Joan Wolfe is an MSNBC.com custom-publishing producer.

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