Best Food Items | November 2012

I consider James Beard to be one of the seminal cooking authorities of all time, but that doesn't mean I have room for his 21 (yes, 21!) different books. Luckily, the James Beard Estate and longtime Beard editor John Ferrone just came out with The Essential James Beard Cookbook ($35), a compendium of his best recipes from impeccable roast turkey to the chef's famous cream biscuits.

— Susannah Chen, editor