Ask the Birdies: Cookbooks for the Beginner

I can't cook! And by "can't" I mean my skill level peaks at pasta and baked chicken. I'm moving out on my own and need a cookbook(s) that shows me the basics on how to use certain foods, what to keep stocked, what cooking terms mean and has recipes using inexpensive ingredients. Thanks!  -Marianna

 

We know just the books for you! 

Check-out How To Boil Water by Food Network Kitchens ($16.47).  The book is for the very beginner cook (like you!) and provides easy-to-follow recipes, as well as hints, tricks and tips to help you figure your way around the kitchen.

Another beginner cookbook, The Absolute Beginner's Cookbook: or, How Long Do I Cook a 3-Minute Egg? by Jackie Eddy ($9.99), is an affordable find with fail-proof recipes and a breezy read.  A good book to have in your arsenal. Plus, it includes a one-step lasagna recipe  that doesn't require you to boil the noodles before making..yay!

A foodie highly recommended A New Way To Cook by Sally Schneider ($16.47).  The book is jam packed with 600 recipes, but more importantly, she gives you guidelines on how to cook healthy, satisfying meals without the use of a recipe.  Schneider also provides introductory information at the start of each chapter that teaches you, say, how to buy and soak beans. Provides colored photos and tutorials to encourage cooking freedom.

We also suggest the 1995 Julia Child award-winning book, Now You're Cooking: Everything a Beginner Needs to Know to Start Cooking Today by Elaine Corn (buy it used or new, as low as $5.86). This book teaches you the very basics, including how to boil water, or the purpose of a colander.  Provides 120 recipes for the novice.

Lastly, we found  Help! My Apartment Has a Kitchen Cookbook by Kevin Mills and Nancy Mills ($10.85). The authors are a son and mother team.  Kevin Mills moved into his own apartment and didn't know a darn thing about cooking.  So mom came over and taught him.  Together, they put all her tutorials and fool-proof recipes into one cookbook.  We love that each recipe is rated from "easy" to a few "not so easy."  Recipes also include "Mom's tips" and "Mom's warnings."  One caveat, Kevin's girlfriend is a vegetarian, so more than half the recipes are vegetarian.  A cute (but helpful!) book.

Good luck - and invite us to dinner one day, eh?

 

**Readers - feel free to add to your own answers!**

Comments

[Marianna]

Hi,
Just wanted to thank you for the suggestions! I have purchased two of the books and am eagerly awaiting their arrival..as I'm sure my two male roommates are as well! (While shopping for apartment goods when I suggested the need for pots and pans, one actually replied with "for what?!")At least I know they won't be too critical of my first attempts!