Thomas Keller, Jeff Cerciello, Susie Heller, Michael Ruhlman - Bouchon

Pros: Keller made me feel excited about chicken as Forest Gump was about shrimp!
Cons: Book is heavy. Some recipes require lots of time to prepare.

Before I was a hardcore foodie, I was afraid of chicken. Don't get me wrong. I had no problems eating chicken as long as others prepared it. But if you asked me to bake a chicken, I'd run out of the kitchen screaming bloody murder just because the task ...

Pros: Great simple recipes (desserts, soups, main dishes, sides etc)
Cons: Book is very large and gets in the way in my small kitchen.

This is probably the most used cookbook in my house. It has all the basics (pastry creams, sauces, ice creams/sorbets, numerous confits, rillettes, stocks etc)and uses them all to create perfect bistro food in the home setting. His simple roast chicken is easy and superb, as is his tricks to make beef burgundy sublime. His classic bavette a la bordelaise (steak with carmelized shallots is simple and delicious).

It's a beautiful book and an excellent companion to his much more involved book--The French Laundry cookbook. I own both, but rarely use the Laundry because of how involved the recipes are.