Anthony Bourdain's Les Halles Cookbook
The copy of this book pictured is unique - at my request, the author drew a tracing of his hand, adding fingernails and a thumb ring to the drawing, before he autographed it. That was six years ago, when his book Kitchen Confidential still seemed fresh and new, and before Anthony Bourdain started showing up everywhere on television.
Fortunately, his subsequent overexposure doesn't detract from his cookbook. Like the original Les Halles in Paris, Brasserie Les Halles in New York - where Bourdain was chef - serves hearty portions of meaty, heavy dishes, and he gives recipes for many of them in the book.
You won't want to consult the book if you're looking for something fresh and modern, or trying to cook diet food (even the salads have large quantities of protein in them). And don't let impressionable children read it, either - Bourdain uses a lot of words that aren't usually heard in polite company.
You can consult this book for classic French dishes: tartiflette (potato with a large amount of Reblochon cheese), petit sale aux lentilles (lentils with salted pork belly), choucroute garnie (sauerkraut and lots of meat), chicken basquaise and desserts such as clafoutis and creme brulee.
