Cookbooks for bgeinners, help please!?

I'm attempting to do more "real" cooking (basically, not just stuff out of jars) and I was wondering if anyone knows of any cookbooks for beginners. Ones with what cookware you and maybe a few basic tips on how to do basic things, like chopping onions and stuff like that, would be really helpful. Thank you!

Anything by Delia Smith all her recipes work well and are explained in detail. Pots and pans are up to you buy the best you can afford. Good cooks knives are a bonus again get the best you can afford.The main secret about chopping anything is to use a sharp knife as you have less chance of cutting yourself (blunt knives slip a sharp knife is controlled). Avoid anything bye Gordon Ramsey or Hestinthall they are to complex.

I started cooking with the Betty Crocker cookbook. Excellent recipes and teaches the basics.Good luck!

Joy of cooking is the absolute best!You'll find wonderful recipes and many many helpful tips.Each recipes is explained step by step.You will find instructions and many cooking tips.If you have only one cooking book, Joy of Cooking should be it!Enjoy!

I use www.cooks.com when I am looking for recipes. Just browse through the recipes till you find the one which fits you or the style of cooking you wish to use. There are many recipes for the same thing - choose the one you like best. Also use word home made in front of what you are looking for and see what happens.

Hi Zero, For tried and tested recipes the woman's institute cook books are hard to beat for a beginner. It really depends on the style of food you like. Here are a couple of sites you can also try for recipes and tips on chopping and cooking terms etc. I would suggest that you maybe start with casseroles or stew type dishes to begin with just until you get a rough idea what you are doing. We'll make a Chef of you yet. I hope this helps,all the best. RabHttp://www.bbc.co.uk/foodhttp://www.rampantscotland.com/recipes/blrecipe_index.htm

Ummm. Do you really need to be told how to chop an onion? If you really want that sort of detail, 'cooking for dummies' has that sort of information in it. Its a decent read, but it's sort of useless as a cookbook that you'll really use daily. But it does go over the traditional ways to cook meat, why, etc. It also goes over pantry, tools, etc. But I never grab the book when I want to cook something.I am a single guy that cooked very little and the book that I used most and really got me interested in cooking is called "I hate to cook book" by Peg Bracken. In fact mine is falling apart. The recipes are fairly simple, but the main thing is that it doesn't tell you how to boil water or chop an onion. Most of the time, it doesn't even tell you the size pan to use, but honestly you don't need that information too often. Removing all that clutter really helped me feel like 'I could do that' and I tried it. Honestly, this cook book is targeted to getting your meals on the table so it may be too simple for what you need. Its recipes use canned tomatoes, etc. and most meals don't use much prep time. But it did get me over the hurdle of microwave dinners to actually cooking on the stove - and any recipe I copy, I rewrite in the format of the book. I think the book is worth its weight in gold just to show you the format it uses for recipes - removing the clutter so you can cook.I probably own about 15 cookbooks and the second one I use most often (for daily use) is 'The what to fix for dinner cookbook' by Heidi Rabel. It is not as simply written as the other and it's recipes are a bit more complicated usually, but it lists recipes that I will actually cook. In fact, this book can leave you with a pile of pots to clean sometimes, but I use it. This one uses alot of fresh ingredients and there are quite a few hints in it. This one also shows you how to use leftovers - in fact a good deal of it is how to use the leftovers to make tomorrows dinner - since I'm single, maybe that's why I like this one. Neither of these are super complicated and you will outgrow Bracken's cookbook, but have a look at each if you can find them.

Delia Smith.If you get her Complete Cookery Course then it tells you everything you need to know. There are sections on what utensils are necessary, how to tell if an egg is still fresh before you crack it, how yeast works, the best cuts of meat for roasting, stewing, casseroling. You name it, it's in there.There's a reason why, in the UK, cooking a good meal is called "Doing a Delia" - she really is unbeatable. Every recipe works out perfectly, looks good and tastes wonderful. She's not too poncy about it either, unlike a lot of the celebrity chefs. Everything is clearly explained and made simple.Nope, you can't beat Delia for teaching you how to cook

Check out http://feastonthecheap.net for recipes and tips. They have a video on how to chop an onion, how to make a basic pie crust and they often tell you exactly what kind of cookware you need for the recipe. Plus they tell you how much each recipe costs (tho it may vary depending on where you live).

My first one that I learned from (and still keep learning from) is the Better Homes & Gardens one with the red and white plaid cover. It's more than recipes, there are tons of techniques, substitutions, nutritional information, descriptions, everything. I call it my Kitchen Bible.