Cook Most Everything - by Andrew Schloss with Ken bookman. I have maybe fifty cookbooks, and this one gets used the most. It has fifty chapters consisting of fifty recipes each. The format is tight, so several recipes fit on the page. This book has consistently put the sparkle back into what would otherwise be mundane cooking and inspired me to try new sauces, new combinations, and new techniques, without demanding hours spent dealing with fussy preparations.
Most recipes are standard American fare, but with hints of an Asian influence.
Moosewood Cookbook - by Mollie Katzen. However, the lasagna recipe is awesome, as is the poppy seed cake. Further, the recipes for hummous and tabouli are old favorites that, having grown up in Ithaca, I can't imagine making any other way. You can also buy this book in paperback . The Way to Cook - by Julia Child.