Easy Recipes

One of the most common questions that I receive from people who are starting to cook (or people looking for a gift for someone who is starting to get into cooking) is “What cookbook do you recommend for someone who is just starting cooking on their own?”

Well, here is a cookbook that I wish I had when I was just starting out with cooking: The New Best Recipe.

I am a “step-by-step” kind of person, especially when it comes to cooking. When I am trying a new recipe, I like to know exactly how to do make something. This cookbook does exactly that - it shows you the step-by-step approach to everything, even the things that are really basic.

The book also has step-by-step diagrams to illustrate different cooking techniques. From dicing vegetables to cutting potatoes to sorting beans to beating egg whites - there is a diagram for doing pretty much anything.

Another thing that I really like about this cookbook is that they experimented with many different versions of the same recipe. For example, if they need to find the best batter recipe, they would try a few different versions, with breadcrumbs, with flour, then with breadcrumbs and flour and discuss which one is best and why. This way you don’t really need to experiment - you will know which one is best.

Now, I like to experiment when I cook and to try different versions of recipes on my own. But their discussion of their cooking experiments helps me minimize the number of mistakes I make in the kitchen. If they tried something and failed, I learn from their mistakes and don’t repeat the failed experiments.

One thing you won’t find in this book, though, are colorful pictures of the food. All the drawings/pictures are black and white. But this is a fabulous cookbook for both new and seasoned cooked and I strongly recommend that you get it if you don’t own it yet: