The book is gorgeous—and heavy: It demands a sturdy coffee table. “It’s seven and one half pounds,” says Grant Achatz of Alinea (Ten Speed Press; $50). “And the recipes are not hard. I challenge anyone to find a recipe in that book that is more complicated than your basic scratch chocolate cake.” Judging by the stunning photographs of incredibly complex dishes, that’s hard to believe. But if you run into trouble, go to alineamosaic.com and explain your problem; Achatz promises to help you solve it. BTW, if you choose to riff on a recipe, Achatz is OK with that, too.

Photography: Blackbox Studios, Inc.