Five Books for Father's Day

Barnes and Noble suggests that you give your backyard grillin' ol' dad a new cookbook for Father's Day this year. It's not a bad idea if dad is into cookbooks, but if he's like most of us guys, he won't follow the directions! I know I rarely do. Recipes are for inspiration, not copying.

Here's the five they are recommending...

First up is Smoke and Spice. BUY THIS BOOK. It's great and is one of the books that inspired me to begin cooking real barbecue.

How to Grill. Another great book and one of the first grilling books that I took seriously.

Let the Flames Begin. What can I say about this classic by Chris Schlesinger, John Willoughby, William Meppem and John Burgoyne? This book is so good that it was reissued in 2002.

Mario Batali's Italian Grill. Sorry folks. I don't have this one yet, so I can't comment.

And finally, Boy Meets Grill. I think this is Bobby Flay's first cookbook and it's pretty good. It's a bit dated now, but still a good read. This one is probably the weakest of their recommendations. I'd go with any of the others, or one of Bobby's newer books before buying this.