# Best book for Amateur.



## zjkendall

I'm a college male. Looking to get more cooking experience. I try to eat healthyish and stay away from much prepackaged foods. But I eat too simple and too redundantly. Chicken, rice, frozen veggies, cous cous, pasta, tacos. 
So anyways I'm looking for an easy, basic, cookbook with plenty of recipes that don't take a long time to work on.

My mom just checked one out from the library called Rocco's Real Life Recipes:Fast Flavor For Everyday> It's actually just what I want. But I'm an elitist and must check to see if there are any other (maybe better) suggestions. AND I'm not sure if I can get it from my university library when I get off Christmas break.

Suggestions?


----------



## missyjean

I know how you feel about being an elitest.

I did a search on Barnes and Nobel and the book you like got good reviews.

Rocco's Real Life Recipes, Rocco DiSpirito, Book - Barnes & Noble


----------



## petalsandcoco

There is another good cookbook for learning basic techniques and methods entitled :

"How To Cook Everything" by Mark Bittman. If you scroll up this page you will see a link saying *JUMP to Amazon *, Amazon carries Rocco's books and so many other interesting cookbooks for those getting an intro to cooking....

a thought.


----------



## phatch

Joy of Cooking is better I think. I thought the Bittman book was awful. And pretty much the rest of his too.


----------



## pete

I fully agree with "Joy of Cooking." It is a great book with a huge variety of recipes. An important book in any collection, especially a small one for a beginning cook. It's hard to recommend any other books as we don't know what you like. There are great cookbooks for simple foods within every cuisine. What interests you?


----------



## zjkendall

Yeah I saw a lot of references to the Joy of Cooking in the Essential book thread.
I don't really have particular favorites or interests =0
I was really picky when I was young but now I can go for anything and dig trying new things. And if I don't like something I just eat it and intellectualize myself to try and acquire the taste.


----------



## deltadoc

Joy of Cooking is hard to beat for almost anything you'd ever want to cook. Try to find a 1960's edition in a used book store. I think its better than the current revised edition.

doc


----------



## missyjean

In addition to Joy, Better Homes and Garden's red and white checked book is a book anyone can use. It, too, has been in kitchens for generations

Amazon.com: Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book (Better Homes & Gardens Plaid) (9780696224034): Better Homes & Gardens: Books


----------



## petemccracken

"Ratio", by Michaek Ruhlman, for me, gives you the foundation for whatever you want to cook.


----------



## ryan.brosseau1

I'll cast a vote for "How to cook everything" by Mark Bittman, it's a great beginner book with some great recipes, easy language to understand and clear directions. You won't win Iron Chef with any of the recipes but it will get you started in the right direction.


----------



## missyjean

How about "Will Cook For Sex"?

Amazon.com: Will Cook for Sex: A Guy's Guide to Cooking (9781932173512): Rocky Fino: Books


----------



## lolamb10

i'm also a student, and i understand the desire for less redundancy (i used to...er sometimes still...eat a lot of bean and cheese burritos at home...). i like a book by dave lieberman called "young and hungry" (link here). it has quick, easy recipes (i think he developed a lot of these as a student himself), plus they're super tasty (loved, in particular, his mussels in white wine and tomato sauce!). even easy for novice cooks like myself. highly recommended!


----------



## kristopher

My favorite is still my textbook On Cooking Its a great book despite its high price tag it is worth it.


----------



## missyjean

How are the recipes in that book?


----------



## ed buchanan

Joy of cooking and Fannie Farmer Cookbook , No fads, gimmicks or craziness just good old basic down home cooking whick everyone should start with. Both have been revised over the years.


----------



## ferryman

ZJ:

Although I do not agree with her prep techniques, look for any of Rachael Ray's cookbooks; she is the "30-minute cook" on the Food Network.  Shop for locally-grown or organic ingredients and you should be OK: good food in a blink of the eye.

W.


----------



## mamadelbosque

I love Mark Bittman - I have How to Cook Everything, How to Cook Everything Vegetarian and Best Recipes int he world - all are wondeful! If I could only have one it'd probably be the basic HTCE, though vegetarian is a close second, for sure! I picked up Joy of Cooking a while back at the goodwill.. honestly, its OK, but I much, much prefer bittman... his recipes are just, IMO, much more accesible and interesting. Joy of Cooking reminds me too much of the kind of food that my dad and husbands family make, which I mostly don't much care for. :shrug

I've also just picked up Bon Appetit's cookbooks over the past few months and I have to say I'm in LOVE! I got myself the basic for xmas, and just bought fast easy fresh for my birthday for myself  Its turning into my new favorite cookbook - I've made 4 things in the past week and everythings been great so far. And there all (thus far at least!) both very fast and very easy and very good!


----------



## username854

Need to read this!


----------



## phatch

You usually love what you started with. I started with Jeff Smith's books and love them. I came to Bittman after I'd been cooking other more detailed dishes (like Smith's) and found them dumbed down and simplified too much to have their best flavor. Yes, he'll walk you through the recipe but he doesn't provide enough information for you to build on it in my opinion. You need to go elsewhere to really learn how, why and what.


----------



## cstanford

Mark Bittman's book should be re-titled "How to Cook Everything and Make It Bland" 

Elitist?  You're my kind of guy, therefore try these:

Get LaVarenne Pratique by Anne Willan and the LaVarenne Cooking Course by the same author.  You'll learn solid technique in these books, though she doesn't walk you through how to make tacos or best Dagwood sandwich on the planet.


----------



## kyheirloomer

I have to disagree. Not with the Bittman comments---to me he's a legend in his own mind, but that's the extent of it.

The Anne Willan books, IMO, are too advanced for a rank beginner.  You're right about their quality, but they're more useful to the professional or advanced amateur.

Ideal would be to have someone like Ms Willan next to you, mentoring every step. But, alas, this is a thread about books.


----------



## amazingrace

missyjean said:


> In addition to Joy, _*Better Homes and Garden's red and white checked book *_is a book anyone can use. It, too, has been in kitchens for generations
> 
> Amazon.com: Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book (Better Homes & Gardens Plaid) (9780696224034): Better Homes & Gardens: Books


Absolutely a wonderful book for basics, in particular because it has photo tutorials and easy to understand language. I was a new bride when I got my first one, and could barely boil water. This book was truly a lifesaver. That will be 47 years this coming December. I finally wore it out, and replaced it a couple of years ago with the Blue & Pink Special Edition. Same wonderful information, plus now the recipes include nutritional values.

Edit 07/21/10. I just discovered that not all the recipes are the same in the newer version. Today I decided to make peach cobbler. The original recipe has been replaced by an upscale version "Polenta-Pecan Cobbler". While this looks like it would be tasty, it's not the recipe I wanted to use. Fortunately, the internet abounds with suitable recipes. Nevertheless, I cannot conceal my disappointment. /img/vbsmilies/smilies/mad.gif


----------



## phedrus

I learned to cook while raising my five brothers and sisters no time or money for anything special. I finaly bought my first cook book when I joined the Air Force at 18. The first and best cook book I ever had was the Double Day, 2 volume cook book. It has alot of information and great tips, that were easy for a new cook to understand. I now own and use over 500 cook books and this is still my favorite./img/vbsmilies/smilies/chef.gif


----------



## kyheirloomer

Welcome to Cheftalk, Phedrus. Why not go up to the Welcome forum and tell us a little about yourself?

Grace: Unfortunately there's a lot of that goes on. Rather than thinking in terms of having a whole new market, the publishers think they have to revise the stand-by books, to make them "newer, greater, better." When all it does, in reality, is tick people off.


----------



## amazingrace

I know I still have the old book around here someplace,  but I don't remember where I put it.  Medicine brain.  sigh.


----------



## phatch

Jaques Pepin books Fast Food My Way is pretty simple and user friendly. The only real complexity is some rarer ingredients here and there. Some recipes are better with a food processor or such but there are alternatives.


----------



## homemadecook

Joy of Cooking is one of the best books I ever read! /img/vbsmilies/smilies/smile.gif


----------



## pplepiew

If you're not vegetarian I highly recommend Hugh Fearnly-Wittingstall's River Cottage: Meat book. It's more of a thesis on all things meat than a cookbook, although it had good recipes too, but it also teaches the theory of meat cooking as well as what to do with your leftovers. Great book to improve your skills.


----------



## missyjean

amazingrace said:


> Absolutely a wonderful book for basics, in particular because it has photo tutorials and easy to understand language. I was a new bride when I got my first one, and could barely boil water. This book was truly a lifesaver. That will be 47 years this coming December. I finally wore it out, and replaced it a couple of years ago with the Blue & Pink Special Edition. Same wonderful information, plus now the recipes include nutritional values.
> 
> Edit 07/21/10. I just discovered that not all the recipes are the same in the newer version. Today I decided to make peach cobbler. The original recipe has been replaced by an upscale version "Polenta-Pecan Cobbler". While this looks like it would be tasty, it's not the recipe I wanted to use. Fortunately, the internet abounds with suitable recipes. Nevertheless, I cannot conceal my disappointment. /img/vbsmilies/smilies/mad.gif


I know! I felt the same way


----------



## homecook61

"All About Braising:  The Art of Uncomplicated Cooking" by Molly Stevens is my current favorite cookbook. 

I hate cookbooks where you follow the recipe exactly and the outcome is bland or just not worth eating for whatever reason.  If I'm going to spend time cooking, I want something that tastes delicious!  This cookbook does that for me.  I'm guessing you want recipes that turn out great, too. 

Now, braising is a slow cooking technique - hours in the oven or (if you have to) a crock pot.  But the prep time doesn't necessarily take a long time (depends on the recipe.)  And most of the recipes freeze well so if you cook once, you probably get at least a couple of meals for your efforts.  And while it's in the oven, you can go back to studying. 

All the ingredients are ones you can find in your local grocery stores, nothing too exotic, and the recipes make meals that will make you very popular if you have your friends over for dinner.  Best of all, if you are a novice cook like me, you will find the recipes easy to do and forgiving of small errors.  (Onions not quite perfectly cut in even chunks?  Cooked it half an hour too long?  No problem, still comes out delicious.)  

Admittedly, this is not an all-purpose cookbook, but I love this cookbook so much I have given it to friends and family members.  I've never done that with any other cookbook.  I think you will be very pleased with this cookbook if you get it.


----------



## Guest

Culinary Institutes Professional Chef was my first book and I still reference it all the time.


----------



## eatefficiently

My favorite is Jane Brody's Good Food Book.  You learn how to eat nutritious meals, which by-the-way are also cheaper.  Lots of uncomplicated recipes, great research and an enjoyable read


----------



## dorine

I've loved the _Wise Encyclopedia of Cookery_ for the past 35 years. An advantage is that it not only has recipes; it also has many definitions of cooking terms and cooking items. Food items are arranged alphabetically, and you can turn to an item and find more than one recipe using it. It includes interesting historical data about recipes as well.


----------



## savingtaste

I've had good experiences with my Bittman book, so I'd recommend it. My mom gave me The Better Homes and Gardens cookbook a few years ago, and I find myself reaching for it pretty often. I use it more for baking, but there's lots of quick/easy recipes.

-Becky

www.savingtaste.com


----------



## kyheirloomer

Savingtaste, could you go into more details about why you liked the Bittman book?

There are several of us here (me included) who find Mark Bittman's writing the next best thing to worthless. So an opposite viewpoint would be nice to hear.


----------



## missyjean

I love this book. The recipes are unique and delicious. You do need to pay attention to details..there is a lot of hands-on time but the out-come is well worth it



HomeCook61 said:


> "All About Braising: The Art of Uncomplicated Cooking" by Molly Stevens is my current favorite cookbook.
> 
> I hate cookbooks where you follow the recipe exactly and the outcome is bland or just not worth eating for whatever reason. If I'm going to spend time cooking, I want something that tastes delicious! This cookbook does that for me. I'm guessing you want recipes that turn out great, too.
> 
> Now, braising is a slow cooking technique - hours in the oven or (if you have to) a crock pot. But the prep time doesn't necessarily take a long time (depends on the recipe.) And most of the recipes freeze well so if you cook once, you probably get at least a couple of meals for your efforts. And while it's in the oven, you can go back to studying.
> 
> All the ingredients are ones you can find in your local grocery stores, nothing too exotic, and the recipes make meals that will make you very popular if you have your friends over for dinner. Best of all, if you are a novice cook like me, you will find the recipes easy to do and forgiving of small errors. (Onions not quite perfectly cut in even chunks? Cooked it half an hour too long? No problem, still comes out delicious.)
> 
> Admittedly, this is not an all-purpose cookbook, but I love this cookbook so much I have given it to friends and family members. I've never done that with any other cookbook. I think you will be very pleased with this cookbook if you get it.


----------



## chrisbelgium

A student? I would very strongly suggest anything from Australian foodwriter *Donna Hay*. But, in the right order; The instant Cook, Modern Classics... etc. Always an eclectic mix of French, Italian and Asian recipes,... made easy and without the nonsense.


----------



## homemadecook

I have read some recipes of "All About Braising: The Art of Uncomplicated Cooking" by Molly Stevens" but, have not tried any of them.

As for Bittman cookbook, I haven't seen any recipe but love to read it. The book by Molly Stevens really acquire some of your time but,

is really worth it as what others said. I guess, if some amateur will try some recipes. I won't take a long time to master it. /img/vbsmilies/smilies//smile.gif)


----------

