Sharon Tyler Herbst: The New Food Lover's Companion
Wondering what a coulis is? Or how about what chiffonade means? Perhaps you've heard of a Roulade but aren't quite sure what it is. For all your culinary questions and more - this book is a great resource.
The Silver Spoon
I'd liken it to the Italian version of Joy of Cooking.
Comprehensive jumping off point for a huge variety of Italian dishes.
Editors of Cook's Illustrated Magazine: The New Best Recipe: All-New Edition with 1,000 Recipes
If you like to know why certain ingredients were picked for certain recipes, you'll like this cookbook. There is a detailed description of how each recipe was tested before being added to the mix.
All the recipes are culled from the Cook's Illustrated magazines.