Coming up with a Yuletide gift for the home cook should be as easy as, well, apple pie.

After all, placing holiday wrapping and a bow on a brand new cookbook is bound to please the cook in the family.

As always, there are lots of them to choose from. It seems publishers just wait for the year-end holidays to send a wealth of new cookbooks to retail outlets across the land. And some — penned by hotshot chefs from Europe and other global destinations — are even imported just in time for Yuletide gift giving.

This year is no exception. Wish we had space to talk about them all. We pawed through the stack on the conference table and here are some we thought worthy of your attention:

A creative chef

To the diehard home cook, chef Michael Richard is a godsend. He’s not only innovative and eager to please, he’s a chef who’s willing to share.

A four-time nominated James Beard Foundation “Chef of the Year,” Richard began his culinary career at the age of 14, apprenticing in a restaurant-run patisserie in Champagne, France. In 1974, he moved to New York to open a branch of Paris’s noted patisserie, Lenotre.

After establishing several successful bakeries and the popular restaurants Citrus and Citronelle in Los Angeles, he settled in Washington, D.C., to open Michel Richard Citronelle. And just this week, he opened his second restaurant in the nation’s capital, Central.

Ask Richard what could possibly be new about old standbys like potatoes, carrots, or even chicken and he’ll promptly reply: “Everything ... there is always something new.”

For example, he dices and dresses tomatoes so they look and taste almost like perfect steak tartare. He purees and cooks scallops so they resemble fluffy scrambled eggs. For a change of pace that saves time and retains flavor, he substitutes miso and vegetable waters for traditional beef and chicken stock.

It’s this process of discovery that makes chef Richard happy — which is why he calls his new cookbook “Happy in the Kitchen” (Artisan, $45).

In it, Richard — a regular at Napa Valley charity and wine functions — shares 150 of his inspired recipes, which include dozens of step-by-step photos. It’s his innovative techniques that make him a chef’s chef. His dishes garner accolades from a wealth of culinary superstars. In the book’s foreward, the French Laundry’s Thomas Keller asks: “Why didn’t I think of that?”

This is a cookbook for those who enjoy spending time in the kitchen. It includes the chef’s treasure trove of tools and ideas — like plastic wrap to form sausages and create logs of everything from tuna to raspberry tuiles, or a Japanese mandoline which he uses to transform potatoes into risotto and carrots into crunchy chips.

Why not substitute onions for pasta in a clever Low Carb-o-nara? Richard does, as well as serving up a pork tenderloin that is really tender. His Figgy Piggy with Sweet Spiced Port Sauce uses a method that is all the rage in restaurants coast to coast — sous vide, homestyle. And for a really simple and surprising dessert, make up a batch of his microwave-assisted Chocolate Grapes.

A coffee table-sized book, it has 225 gorgeous photos by Deborah Jones, along with dozens of engaging essays in addition to Richard’s recipes — recipes that are so appealing you’ll want to prepare many of these dishes for family and friends.

 Comes in threes

As managing chef and partner of San Francisco’s Restaurant Michael Mina in the Westin St. Francis, Michael Mina has dazzled diners with his “trio” concept of combining flavors to create memorable main and side dish combinations that have earned him “Chef of the Year” accolades from both Bon Appetit and San Francisco Magazine.

With the help of food writer and producer Jo Ann Cianciulli, chef Mina reveals the secrets to his innovative trio concept in “Michael Mina: The Cookbook” (Bulfinch Press, $50), weaving the complex taste and quality of four-star cuisine with the beauty of simple ingredients and the practicality of home cooking.

Mina’s cookbook is not for the novice. While recipes call for simple, fresh ingredients, preparations and cooking styles are a notch above the everyday kitchen.

Beginning with a main ingredient master recipe, Mina accessorizes with a choice of three flavor variations and side dishes created especially to enhance that main recipe. Similar to the way a coordinating color palette enhances a freshly painted room, the trio concept resonates to a different sort of palate. For example, a Butter-Poached Kobe Beef Rib Eye with Pinot Noir Reduction can be served with a Horseradish/Onion flavor variation (Horseradish Mashed Potatoes, Roasted Cipollini Onions, Horseradish Cream, Buttermilk Onion Rings); a Tarragon/Asparagus variation (Salt-Baked Yukon Potatoes, Grilled Asparagus, Classic Béarnaise); or a Garlic/Spinach variation (Potato Cakes, Sautéed Garlic Spinach, Foie Gras Emulsion). From one recipe comes a variety of flavor choices.

This coffee table-sized book has the same visual presence as the meals Mina creates. Not only does this full-color cookbook burst with images of both raw ingredients and final meal presentations, it also includes a Trio Visual Reference, illustrating how all the different trio combinations will look on the plate.

Simple country fare

In recipes and reminiscences equally delicious, Edna Lewis celebrated the uniquely American country cooking she grew up with some 50 years ago in a small Virginia Piedmont farming community that had been settled by freed slaves.

She put those recipes in a cookbook that became a bestseller.

Lewis died this past February at the age of 89. So a commemorative edition of “The Taste of Country Cooking” (Alfred A. Knopf, $22.95) has been published, with a new preface from her editor, Judith Jones, and a foreword by Alice Waters.

Lewis’ cookbook addressed the first tastes of spring — wild mushrooms, garden strawberries, field greens and salads — as well as the feasts of summer — pan-fried chicken, spicy baked tomatoes, corn pudding and fresh blackberry cobbler. The harvest of fall talked of baked country ham with roasted newly dug sweet potatoes, and warm apple pie after a day of corn shucking. The hearty fare of winter is also there as cold months are warmed by stews, soups and baked beans cooked in a hearth oven.

In this book, the reader comes to understand the values that formed this remarkable woman — her love of nature, the pleasure of living with the seasons, the sense of community, the satisfactory feeling that hard work was always rewarded by her mother’s good food.

Eye-opening delights

For more than 23 years, Margaret Fox served up some of northern California’s tastiest breakfasts and brunches at Cafe Beaujolais, her landmark restaurant on the fog-layered Mendocino Coast.

Presently the culinary director of the Harvest Market in Fort Bragg, Fox has written a new cookbook that’s a fun read, with easy recipes for quite tasty dishes designed to help start the day.

Dispelling the mystiques of cooking is one of Fox’s favorite pastimes and it shows in an overhauled version of the earlier “Morning Food” from her days as chef/owner of Cafe Beaujolais.

Now, with John Bear, Fox has published this update, “Morning Food: Breakfasts, Brunches and More For Savoring the Best Part of the Day” (Ten Speed Press, $19.95).

Nothing can make a person drool as effectively as her Dutch apple and bacon pancakes or her Stinson Beach blueberry muffins. Fox wants folks to pull this down off the shelf at least once a week and thumb through it, smiling. She wants them to get the pages smudged with oatmeal and made translucent with buttery fingers.

All tarted up

In New York City, renowned for its restaurants and cross-cultural foods, locals are reverential about the bakeshop and cafe, Once Upon a Tart. For more than a decade, New Yorkers — along with savvy tourists — have been lining up at the store mornings and afternoons, waiting patiently for its signature dishes, including the conversation-stopping tarts.

In “Once Upon a Tart” (Alfred A. Knopf, $22.50), the shop’s co-owners, Jerome Audureau and Frank Mentesana, share more than 200 of their favorite recipes — tarts savory and sweet, plus salads, soups, sandwiches, scones, cookies, tea cakes and more.

Even the most sumptuous treats, like the Black Plum and Honey Tart and Carrot Cake Muffins with Lemon Cream Cheese Icing, are fairly easy to prepare, thanks to the authors’ ingenious baking tips and expert guidance.

“We believe that deep down, everyone is a cook,” says Mentesana. “And that a little butter in your life is a good thing,” adds Audureau.

White trash or...

White trash is white hot! From “My Name Is Earl” to NASCAR, pop culture is abuzz with keepin’ it real, redneck style.

Now, on the heels of Ernie Mickler’s pop culture classic, “White Trash Cooking,” there’s even a guide to entertaining the white trash way.

“White Trash Gatherings” (Ten Speed Press, $19.95 spiral paper) features family recipes, party tips, craft ideas, folk remedies and tall tales from a West Virginia country gal named Kendra Bailey Morris. Chock full of homespun, crowd-pleasing recipes straight from southern kitchens, “White Trash Gatherings” has the perfect dish for every occasion, whether it’s potlucking, just havin’ ’em ovah or creating an event from scratch. Family recipes include Miss Oma’s Grape Jelly Meatballs, Bacon Grease Fried Apples, Drunken Weenies, Tater Tot Casserole and Snow Ice Cream.

With backwoods tales of squirrel huntin’ and rat shootin’, this paperback is filled with heartfelt stories and too-tall tales that have been passed around like a jug of sweet tea at the family dinner table. And because no party would be complete without some handcrafted frills, Kendra offers some decoratin’ ideas, like Pinto Bean Toilet Paper Roll Napkin Rings and Obscenely Large Fake Ice Cream Centerpieces.

Sticky rice and pho

The food of Vietnam — with its refreshing flavors, varied textures and vibrant colors — intrigues and charms. In what other cuisine do you find baguette sandwiches stuffed with banana leaf-scented cold cuts, garlicky liver pate, cucumber, pickled daikon and carrot, cilantro and chiles?

The country’s history and culture have always been shaped by a frontier spirit. Vietnamese cooks are forever innovating, discovering new flavors and ideas and then making them their own.

“Into the Vietnamese Kitchen” (Ten Speed Press, $35) is the first comprehensive full-color cookbook devoted to Vietnamese food in the English language.

When  Andrea Nguyen was airlifted out of Saigon with her family in 1975, one of the few belongings that her mother hurriedly packed for the trip was her small orange notebook of recipes. Now, three decades later, Nguyen has written her own collection of recipes, framed by stories of her family’s home kitchen and a wealth of information on the regional cuisines, essential ingredients and culinary traditions of the country.

Nguyen is a food writer and teacher based in Santa Cruz. She founded the Web site, www.vietworkkitchen.com, which is devoted to the food and culture of Vietnam. Her recipes include steamy pho noodle soups infused with the aromas of fresh herbs and lime, rich clay pot preparations of catfish, chicken and pork, plus classic banh mi sandwiches and an array of Vietnamese charcuterie.

Appalachian food

A pioneering entrepreneur, single mother Mildred Rowe opened a roadside cafe in Staunton, Va., which quickly became famous for its homestyle Southern Appalachian cooking.

Today, her charming  eatery serves half-a-million locals and visitors a year, making it the main reason for people to stop over in Staunton.

“Mrs. Rowe’s Restaurant Cookbook” (Ten Speed Press, $24.95) tells the story of this Shenandoah Valley institution and shares the best of Mrs. Rowe’s cherished recipes — timeless American comfort food like spoon bread, fried chicken and apple pie. Also included are recipes for chicken and dumplings, baked ham, pot roast, black-eyed peas and greens, sweet Silver Queen creamed corn, baked macaroni and cheese, fried green tomatoes and pecan pie.

Illustrated with vintage photographs, this homage celebrates the life of feisty Mrs. Rowe, who died in 2003 at the age of 89. The restaurant is still a family affair though — her son, Mike, runs the business while her grandson, Aaron, a trained chef, mans the stoves.

A diamond update

And finally, 2006 marks the 75th anniversary of “Joy of Cooking” (Scribner, $30), the venerable cooking reference for everything from chicken-fried steak and bread and butter pickles to Beef Wellington and lobster bisque. The newest edition boasts 4,500 recipes “for the way we cook now,” including 4,000 retested classic recipes, plus 500 new ones.

Many recipes that were dropped from previous editions have found their way back into the files, including Tomato Soup Cake and Spinach Dip in a Bread Bowl. For new cooks, this edition has also brought back the section on “Know Your Ingredients.”

A note from the late great Julia Child to current editor Ethan Becker, grandson of the original author, Irma Rombauer, thanks him for “putting the joy back in ‘Joy of Cooking,’” and a preface from Child calls “Joy” the “fundamental resource for American cooks.”

Whether you want to roast a suckling pig or bake a Boston Creme Pie or make your own catsup, this will be the book you turn to, again and again.