Los Angeles Times Cookbook Hotlist

1. “The Cake Mix Doctor” by Anne Byrn (Workman, $14.95). How to turn a box cake into something special.

Last Week: 2

Weeks on List: 36

2. “Kitchen Confidential” by Anthony Bourdain (Bloomsbury Publishing, $24.95). Life in the culinary trenches.

Last Week: 3

Weeks on List: 23

3. “The Martha Stewart Living Cookbook” (Clarkson Potter, $35). More than 1,000 recipes collected from the magazine.

Last Week: 1 Weeks on List: 3 4. “Mexico One Plate at a Time” by Rick Bayless (Scribner, $35). The companion piece to the master instructor’s PBS series.

Last Week: 4 Weeks on List: 2 5. “50 Chowders” by Jasper White (Scribner, $30). One-pot meals from one of New England’s great cooks.

Last Week: 7 Weeks on List: 4 6. “How To Cook Everything” by Mark Bittman (MacMillan, $25). A fresh approach to the cooking encyclopedia, with more than 1,500 recipes.

Last Week: 9 Weeks on List: 99 7. “The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook” by Ina Garten (Clarkson Potter, $32.50). Recipes from the specialty food store of the same name in the Hamptons.

Last Week: --

Weeks on List: 53 8. “How To Cook Without a Book” by Pam Anderson (Bantam Doubleday Dell, $25). Outlines for dishes every cook should know.

Last Week: 5 Weeks on List: 13 9. “The Best Recipe” by the editors of Cook’s Illustrated magazine (Boston Common Press, $29.95). “Ultimate” examples of favorite dishes.

Last Week: 8 Weeks on List: 27 10. “The Low-Carb Cookbook” by Fran McCullough (Hyperion, $23.95). Recipes for the diet that’s all the rage.

Last Week: 6 Weeks on List: 43 *

Rankings are based on a Times poll of national and independent cookbook sellers.