The Essential Kitchen: Basic Tools, Recipes, and Tips for Equipping a Classic Kitchen

I don't know how appropriate the title is (or how "essential" many of these items are) but I had a lot of fun reading through this book--which I did in one seating, and read almost the entire contents--quite a rare feat for what is essentially a kitchen gadget guide/cookbook I would think! Now I find myself coveting pricey mandolins and Indian woks. And no longer a complete kitchen gadget neophyte, I'm able to identify the most obscure tools at, say, the well-stocked shelves of haughty culinary kitchen shops like Sur La Table. The design of this book is intriguing as well--I like how some pages unfold to reveal a double-sized page...and if you're one to appreciate lustrous thick paper and engaging text layout (you know who you are, DK/Eyewitness guidebook fans), this book will probably catch your fancy. The content is interesting as well, it is sort of like reading "Cook's" magazine. The only drawback to the book is that although there are some recipes included, they don't seem to have any theme to them, and furthermore, there isn't an index...so while you're casually browsing the book, you might happen upon a potential recipe, but then when you try to go back and find it later, you have to flip through each and every page to find it again! Overall though, a fun book to go back to as a reference and inspiration.