What cookbook do you recommend for a VERY new cook?
There are a few ‘bibles’ of cookbooks out there. Betty Crocker (1961-1980), Joy of Cooking (1975 or earlier), Fannie Farmer (1965), Vintage Better Homes and Gardens (the 1960’s).
ALL of these were basic, comfort food cookbooks that shows you how to do things and great recipes. Nothing from a box. And you could use these cookbooks for the rest of your life (as our mothers and grandmothers still do!)
Buy them at a used bookstore (or eBay or garage sales) and try and find one of the cookbooks listed—–you should have at least ONE of these in your kitchen!! But get as many of them as you can (when you can get them for a good deal) because if you learn to enjoy cooking, you go from one cookbook to another.
If you’re using the internet, allreicpes.com (2nd link) is great because you can see how others judged a recipe and look for recipes when you only have certain ingredients on hand. A good site to look through!
For a newer, how to book–Mark Bittman’s HOW TO COOK EVERYTHING…a great book to have as a back-up reference. (See 1st Link) Bittman shows you how to prepare great food for all occasions using simple techniques, fresh ingredients, and basic kitchen equipment. Just as important, How to Cook Everything takes a relaxed, straightforward approach to cooking, so you can enjoy yourself in the kitchen and still achieve outstanding results.
Better Homes and Gardens
OR
Betty Crocker
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I would recommend "How to Cook Without a Book by Pam Anderson". After reading this book and learning the basic techniques, you will not need this book anymore. Amazon.com has very good reviews on this book too.
Hope this helps!
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These days, many think they’re learning by watching TV. But it doesn’t really work. TV chefs have crews of little elves offstage peeling the garlic and chopping the parsley. That’s nice for the chef, but it gives an unrealistically short — and tidy — picture of what really goes on in a kitchen. If you want to learn to feed yourself, you’re better off with a book. Take a breath, wash your hands, and open one of these all-purpose guides to the world of home cooking (from basic to more complex, with a wonderful baking book thrown in for good measure). — Irene Sax
I would recommend Betty Crocker’s Cookbook (10th Edition)
Everything You Need to Know to Cook Today.
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Try any cook book by Alton Brown
He’s simple, has great ideas and recipes, and he presents it in a easy to understand manor
Good luck!
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The Kitchen Survival Guide
by Lora Brody
This one is for the true beginner, the person who has never cooked at all; who doesn’t know how to clean a kitchen sponge or whether ketchup should be stored in the fridge. Brody wrote it when her son went to college and decided to live off campus and cook for himself. She wrote down everything she thought he needed to know, and now we are the lucky recipients of her knowledge and Tender Loving Care. If you already know your way around, her tone may seem a bit condescending ("The fork goes on top of the napkin"), but her recipes, while easy, are delicious. 130 recipes at $22.00
My Favorite was always
Betty Crocker’s Cookbook (10th Edition)
Everything You Need to Know to Cook Today
There is no Betty Crocker, but don’t try to convince the generations of Americans who learned to cook following her clearly written recipes, explanations of techniques, and hundreds of photos and drawings showing how to cream butter and sugar or tell if a risotto is done. Fiction or not, Betty stays smartly up to date (this edition is new in 2005), providing us with recipes for your mother’s sloppy Joes and tuna casserole as well as for pizza, chicken satay, and beef burritos. around 1000 recipes at $29.95
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Fanny Farmer Cook book.
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The Ultimate Southern Living Cookbook. It has great basic recipes, fancy items and menus already prepared.
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http://www.oxmoorhouse.com/product.asp?SID=A88D7A926A7B465783CD919E02CBE0D150E66D6C609FC41E&sku=543926
http://www.oxmoorhouse.com/product.asp?SID=A88D7A926A7B465783CD919E02CBE0D150E66D6C609FC41E&sku=509018
I am just that!! I love my Better Homes and Gardens (75th Anniversary Edition). It has everything you ever wanted to know about cooking and the recipes are simple with ingredient lists that are easy to shop for, and you know what all of the ingredients are!!
I love it because the recipes are very adaptable so after you make them you can make adjustments to fit your tastes…a great skill to learn for new cooks like us!!
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experience
I love allrecipes.com
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http://www.allrecipes.com
betty crocker for sure!
best site is allrecipes.com. use it for sure!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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If you are totally brand new to cooking, the Betty Crocker cookbook and the Better Homes and Gardens cookbooks are great. They have lots of good, simple recipes, plus they have charts that tell you substitutions, oven temperatures and cooking times for meats, and also meal planning charts.
They’re both really good starter cookbooks.
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Anything by Rachel Ray. Not only are they quick, and easy but they are really good.
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I really learned to prepare meals using the Fannie Farmer cookbook. I was initially disappointed when I first received it because there are no color pictures just drawings etc. But it tells you how to steam broccoli, boil pasta, set the table etc. It has really delicious recipes for all tastes some fancy some simple. The drawings make it easy to understand what they want you to do. Mine is now 17 years old and it is my old tried and true. When in doubt I search it out! (I must own 50 cookbooks, 100 cooking magazines, and check out new cookbooks all the time from the library)
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I actually avoid cook books because they can be very hard to understand.
When you’re at the grocery store, go to the butcher counter or the produce aisle and grab the free recipes the market offers.
I’ve also taken the recipes from the labels of the Campbell’s soup or similar soup mixes (ie Lipton, etc.) and those recipes are simple, cheap and tasty too!!
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Julia Child’s THE WAY TO COOK – You need a cookbook of techniques, not recipes – this is the one for you
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Cooking for Dummies. I am not joking! My husband gave me a copy (he still does all the cooking though).
I’d sift through the books and see which ones have recipes that you beleive are the easiest for you. If you have no idea what the words on a recipe book mean, DON’T BUY IT!
I like the books by Rachel Ray. Her recipes are pretty staighfoward…and the meals take less than 30 minutes to be done! So the recipes are pretty easy!
References :
There are a few ‘bibles’ of cookbooks out there. Betty Crocker (1961-1980), Joy of Cooking (1975 or earlier), Fannie Farmer (1965), Vintage Better Homes and Gardens (the 1960’s).
ALL of these were basic, comfort food cookbooks that shows you how to do things and great recipes. Nothing from a box. And you could use these cookbooks for the rest of your life (as our mothers and grandmothers still do!)
Buy them at a used bookstore (or eBay or garage sales) and try and find one of the cookbooks listed—–you should have at least ONE of these in your kitchen!! But get as many of them as you can (when you can get them for a good deal) because if you learn to enjoy cooking, you go from one cookbook to another.
If you’re using the internet, allreicpes.com (2nd link) is great because you can see how others judged a recipe and look for recipes when you only have certain ingredients on hand. A good site to look through!
For a newer, how to book–Mark Bittman’s HOW TO COOK EVERYTHING…a great book to have as a back-up reference. (See 1st Link) Bittman shows you how to prepare great food for all occasions using simple techniques, fresh ingredients, and basic kitchen equipment. Just as important, How to Cook Everything takes a relaxed, straightforward approach to cooking, so you can enjoy yourself in the kitchen and still achieve outstanding results.
References :
http://www.howtocookeverything.tv/htce/Books/list.html
http://search.allrecipes.com/recipe/default.aspx
Absolutely – a cookbook by Paula Deen from the Food Network show. They sell them at Sam’s Club or Walmart. They are awesome, easy recipes that make use of common ingredients that most people have in their kitchens and pantries.
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