The best gift books for food, wine, and cocktail lovers this year have a distinctly international flare – from a Texas Gulf Coast restaurant to a Japanese farm, and from the diverse regions of the Indian subcontinent to Jewish holiday kitchens. There are wines from the Southern Hemisphere and cocktails with literary provenance, plus plenty of battle-tested recipes for busy home cooks and delectable desserts from a beloved Phil­a­delphia bakery. Contributing Food writers MM Pack, Melanie Haupt, Kate Thornberry, Mick Vann, Wes Marshall, Amy Kritzer, Jessi Cape, and Gracie Salem have spot-on suggestions, both here and online, that will make your cookbook shopping easy this year.

This article appears in December 7 • 2012.

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