Best book for Amateur.

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 :p 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! 

Need to read this!

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.

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. 

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.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 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

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.  
 

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.

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.

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

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.

Joy of Cooking is one of the best books I ever read! 

Quote:

Originally Posted by amazingrace 

 

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.  
 

I know! I felt the same way

"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.