“Molto Italiano : 327 Simple Italian Recipes to Cook at Home,” Mario Batali
(Ecco, 512 pages, $34.95)

Mario Batali is the chef that most men who cook would like to be: seemingly an affable, laid-back, physically unimpressive guy who’s become a rock star in the world of food; steeped in knowledge of European cuisine and culture, but indisputably American; bold and adventurous in his flavors and ingredients, but rarely whimsical or clever. In this book, he makes his culinary feats seem attainable to home chefs, using mostly readily attainable ingredients (only a few recipes call for wild boar) and relatively simple preparations. The book contains more than 50 pasta recipes, from baked ziti to goatcheese-and-scallion ravioli to ricotta gnocchi with sausage and fennel. Even the most kitchen-fearing father can master dishes such as grilled shrimp skewers, grilled mozzarella sandwiches, or a simple veal scaloppini with mushrooms, Marsala, and thyme; more experienced cooks can try the osso buco with toasted pine-nut gremolata, homemade sausage with peppers, or homemade cannoli.

“Wine Country USA : Touring, Tasting, and Buying at America’s Regional Wineries,” Matthew DeBord
(Rizzoli, 216 pages, $35)

For fathers who pair their Sauvignon Blanc with freedom fries, there’s “Wine Country USA,” a guide to the best reds and whites in the red, white, and blue.The familiar ground in Long Island and Northern California is well covered, but Mr. DeBord also includes recommendations for vineyards in Cleveland, Charlottesville, and Austin. He finds good grapes in even the most declasse regions: The Midwest, for instance, makes great sparkling wines because it shares an inhospitable climate with Champagne in France. The book includes 10 “Tasting Trails” for planning short trips with visits to several wineries, a pursuit that has only become more manly since “Sideways” depicted winetasting as an exercise in male bonding. For those who only want to travel to the nearest wine store, there are also illustrations of the labels on the best American bottles.

“Get Saucy,” Grace Parisi
(Harvard Common Press, 436 pages, $17.95)

Most fathers can manage to grill a steak – or at least a hamburger – but some are reluctant to reach for the weathered copy of “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” on the kitchen shelf to look up an accompanying bearnaise sauce or beurre blanc – and forget about a hollandaise, veloute, demiglace, or bechamel. “Get Saucy” demystifies these classic sauces and provides easy recipes that use them – spinach and ricotta lasagna with bechamel, “the ultimate roast beef sandwich” with Roquefort-shallot compound butter. But classic French sauces only make up three of the book’s 17 chapters; in addition, there are dozens of appealing pasta sauces, moles, pestos (there are 40 variations offered), salsas, easy pan sauces and gravies, stir-fry sauces, marinades and brines, barbecue sauces, curries, Indian raitas, dipping sauces, vinaigrettes, chutneys, mayonnaises, relishes, and dessert sauces. Helpful sidebars such as “13 pasta sauces that freeze well,” “how to fix a broken hollandaise,” “tips for freezing pesto,” and “keeping your gravy lump free” enhance this encyclopedic and user-friendly book.

“Wine Tours in the South of France,” Florence Hernandez
(Flammarion, 160 pages, $35)

With its large size and lush color photographs on almost every page, this guide probably serves best as a coffee-table book, not a nitty-gritty travel planner. Its five regional tours are unfailingly chic, with recommendations for vineyards run by retired fashion designers or housed in picturesque crumbling abbeys. It’s an elegant wish list for connoisseurs who haven’t yet taken that year in Provence – or want to remember it through rose-colored glasses.

“Get Grilling”
(Food Network/Meredith Corporation, 288 pages, $24.95)

Put together by the staff of the Food Network’s test kitchens, this is as much a summer-entertaining book as a grilling guide. Menus and serving suggestions are provided throughout the book for get-togethers such as pool parties, tapas parties, “A Day in Provence”-themed picnics, outdoor dinner parties, Mediterranean buffets, and beach cookouts. A surprising number of recipes are provided for non-grilled accompaniments, from salads to hors d’oeuvres to dips to drinks. The book explains the basics of grilling clearly and helpfully, however, with discussions of equipment, temperature, direct and indirect heat, preparations and grilling times for different vegetables, and the buying and preparation of chicken, shellfish, and cuts of meat. Recipes range from simple burgers, steaks, and spareribs to more adventurous options such as butterflied turkey with Yucatan rub, rotisserie duck with chipotle-tamarind BBQ sauce, and seafood paella.