9 tried-and-true cookbooks that make perfect holiday gifts

If you’re the type of cook with well-thumbed cookbooks filled with your most-used recipes — or know someone who is — you understand how essential they are.

And while the hottest, newest cookbooks make great holiday gifts, there’s something particularly meaningful in giving one that has stood the test of time and proven itself a thoroughly useful resource for weeknight meals, family dinners and all the other ways we connect through food.

So we at the Chicago Tribune have pulled together a list of our top tried-and-trues — the desert island cookbooks, if you will. Give them to a loved one who might be new to cooking or an old pro who could use