Cook Book for my College-age Daughter

[vettechick99]

Allrecipes.com has put out several books that she would enjoy. They are easy but yummy recipes submitted by regular folks and voted on as the best of the best. I have an Under 30 Minute Best Recipes one. I use it all the time!

 

[ceiligh1]

THe cookbook I used most at school was "Going Solo in the Kitchen" by Jane Doerfer. IT was easy to follow and the recipes were very good. I also received the Joy of cooking but hardly ever use it even now.

 

[Laugh O. Grams]

I'd stick with "Joy of Cooking"...it's my go-to for everything and anything. However, I also recommend "How to Cook Everything" by Mark Bittman. It's also great...and easy to use for a novice cook.

 

[MomofKatie]

The 2 cookbooks that I find myself turning to the most are:

1- The Good Housekeeping Cookbook

and

2- How to Cook Everything by Mark Bitman

Both are great, all-around reference cookbooks- there are step-by-step techniques and recipes for everything from the most basic (how to pick different cuts of meat, how to make perfect fluffy rice) to more ambitious (souffles, from-scratch sauces, etc).

 

[luv2nascar]

The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook

I love this show. I don't have this cookbook yet but its on my list.
They test the recipes and give you the one that people loved in the test best. The take the guessing out fo the recipes.

 

[englishteacha]

I have the Betty Crocker "Big Red" cookbook, a used copy from the 1970s, and a checkered Better Homes and Gardens. Both are my "go to" books in the kitchen. They're paperbacks, though, and won't lie flat. When I go to used bookstores I always check for an old hardcover one that's already "broken in". My mom has used her Betty Crocker one for decades, and when I was a kid I duct taped the cover back on for her when it fell off. She used that book to cook for a family of 10, and my mom is the best cook I know. I also have an old, used copy of Betty Crocker's cooking for 1 and 2, and the BH&G equivalent. We have a used bookstore in town that is a treasure trove for such things! I also have Fix It and Forget It slow cooker cookbook that is great for crockpot cooking. I wish we'd been allowed a Crock Pot in the college dorm!

I also have How to Cook Everything, but I don't like it as well. If I were going to be stranded on an island with no restaurants and could only take one cookbook, it would be the Betty Crocker or BH&G. I'd have to draw names from a hat to choose between the two!

 

[phragmipedium]

I love cooking, but I end up getting most of my recipes online at places like allrecipes.com where I can read reviews of a recipe and know how to tweak it to make it just right. I have a big binder that I filled with plastic sheet protectors, and when I find a recipe I like I copy it into word, add my changes, and print it and put it in "my" cookbook - I also add newspaper and magazine recipe clippings, etc. I still like cookbooks, but that means I prefer ones that I can also just read for fun - that have more in them than just ingredients and directions.

If she's veggie, Passionate Vegetarian by Crescent Dragonwagon is fun. I also like Taste of Home cookbooks. Another awesome and super-informative cooking resource is Cook's Illustrated Magazine. I think they do cookbooks too, but the magazine itself is really great. Lots of information and perfected recipes - really great read for both new and experienced cooks. I'm not a big fan of the checkered BH&G cookbook, but I do have a fairly slim Betty Crocker "New Cookbook - Everything You Need To Know to Cook" that I got at a yardsale once that's a great resource too.

 

[chrisw127]

All the Ina Garten cookbooks are really good. The techniques required are very simple, although some recipes have a lot of steps. Her newest cookbook is very simple (fresh something or other--it's green and everywhere, you can't miss it).

I own over 100 cookbooks and my absolutel favorite is the Cook's Country cookbook. It's big and white with red lettering and again, since it's fairly new, you probably will see it in the bookstore. Nothing is complicated. This is a really good cookbook for someone wanting to learn basic techniques really well.

Rosie Birnbaum's All Butter, Sugar and Cream (that's not the exact title) is the best baking book ever, I think.

And I also like the big basic Southern Living cookbook. There is nothing complicated in there.

And, while not a cookbook, I'm addicted to http://smittenkitchen.com This is a young woman who blogs about cooking in NYC. She has a tiny kitchen but is an amazing cook. She publishes her recipes. Your daughter might find it interesting.

 

[kaseyC]

My two favorite and most used cookbooks is a red Betty Crocker Cookbook given to me by my mom from the 70s and a Betty Crocker Cooking Basics book. I have a ton of cookbooks but those two are my "go to" books for almost everything.

 

[LisaMommy]

Another vote for "Where's Mom Now that I Need Her?". This, too, is my "go to book" and the only real cookbook I use. After learning all the basics from it I now just have a big binder filled with recipes printed off the internet.

 

[Aliceacc]

Get her a subscription to Simple and Delicious

http://www.tasteofhome.com/Simple---Delicious-Magazine

It's published every other month. All the recipes are submitted by real people. They contain easy-to-find ingredients and don't require any advanced cooking techniques. Many contain 5 or fewer ingredients.

A friend got me a subscription about 10 years ago--and I'm SO NOT a cook. But I have quite a collection of delicious recipes that I can pull off after getting home from work

Or get her the Taste of Home Cookbook (same publisher, just a different magazine) on sale today:
http://www.shoptasteofhome.com/on/d...e/default/Product-Show?pid=38251&cgid=CBK BDR

 

[GypsySue]

I give a shout out to the Moosewood Cookbook. It's vegetarian and the recipes are nutritious and easy to follow and cheap--all of which I think are important when in college. This is the cook book that really got me into cooking (and I hated cooking!). I've made every recipe in it and none have been disappointing.

 

[mom2rb]

The first cookbook I used was called "Help My Apartment Has a Kitchen!". That is the only reason DH ate the first few years.

 

[EthansMom]

I'm going to agree with the recommendations for the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook... it's a great basic cookbook. I also have the BH&G BBQ cookbook, the BH&G Bread Machine Cookbook and one or two others. I've always found their recipes to be tasty, reasonably easy to make, and sensible on the ingredients list.

I've used several other cookbooks too. I've found that I prefer a cookbook that is easy to physically use (the 3 ring binder on the BH&G stays open nicely, whereas bound cookbooks tend to flip pages on me); I prefer a cookbook that doesn't use too many steps or elaborate preparation; and I prefer a cookbook that doesn't call for unusual ingredients. For a while, I had a subscription to Cooking Light. I loved the food, but their recipes often called for ingredients I don't usually have stocked in my house (and wouldn't use the leftover of before it went bad) and/or would have some involved preparations.

Just a warning... different versions (say the standard BH&G vs. the 40 Anniversary BH&G vs. the Breast Cancer BH&G) have some of the same recipes but also have some different recipes. My old standby was looking ragged and I got the 40th Anniversary BH&G. Thankfully, DH recommended that I compare the recipes before throwing out Old Faithful because some of my favorite recipes weren't in the 40th Anniversary edition. There were some wonderful new recipes, though, so I use both cookbooks.