Simple cookery book recommendations for husband learning to cook one weekly meal

[Diversion]

My DH cannot cook! He can bung things in the oven so frozen stuff but cannot cook from scratch although he can manage an omelette. I have cooked for our whole family, six of us and now just the two of us and my Dad twice a week since forever. DH is due to reduce his working hours shortly and I have requested that on his day off whilst I am at work, that he cooks our tea/dinner/evening meal. Please can anyone recommend a simple cookery book which uses basic ingredients, nothing fancy which will give step by step instructions and encourage him to taste and add seasonings etc. I don't require a fancy meal, just something simple and homemade which has flavour and is not overcooked/soggy/burnt. Just to add he is a wonderful husband and amazing Dad who has lots of talents in other areas just not cooking 😀Just one meal a week cooked for me would be an amazing treat. I do keep a very well stocked pantry and freezer so he would not need to even shop for ingredients really.

Look at the Roasting Tin books by Rukmini Iyer. A bit of chopping and prep then bung it in the oven.

Another vote for Delia Smith’s complete illustrated cookery course. It’s an excellent all rounder including tips on food hygiene.

Love Grubby - we have been using them for years now - much better than Hello Fresh - we barely bother choosing our meals as whatever is sent is amazing. OP Grubby is vegan - so all the meals use lots of flavours - meals are very interesting using lots of veg protein in Middle Eastern, Thai, Mexican, Japanese type meals - I count up the plant points per meal (for gut health recommend 30 different plants per week) and always reach 10 per meal.

We are a family of 5 - I only ever buy the 2 person box and just throw in some extras of the main ingredient (eg tin of chickpeas, aubergine, Tofu).

If he's so accomplished with such a multitude of skills then he should be able to work out how to cook for himself.

This. And he should also be thinking about the role model he has provided for his children.

Ignore them , they are just mean and nasty and just on here to criticise., they havent even had the curtasy to read all your posts.

This is the website I use most
its clear instructions, use the slider to adjust how many you cook for and click cook mode to keep the screen on
there’s also a video clip on every recipe of the steps
https://www.dontgobaconmyheart.co.uk/category/recipes/

Quick one pot pasta
https://www.dontgobaconmyheart.co.uk/one-pot-spicy-sausage-tortellini/

I would go with Jamie's ministry of food I think.

Jamie Oliver Ministry of Food, or Nigel Slater Appetite.

PS reasons:
Jamie Ministry of Food - all the recipes work (not the case for all Jamie books!!) and are exactly the kind of simple family home cooking your DH might prefer to make.

Nigel Appetite - they are recipes but more general and flexible, more around "what do you feel like eating tonight". So instead of an explicit recipe there is a recipe but lots of suggested variations to build a new cook's confidence of throwing stuff in, using what you've got, chopping and changing, etc.
Some extracts: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2000/oct/22/houseandgarden.foodanddrink

On YouTube I get inspiration from the channel “Struggle Meals” for basic skills and inventive recipes.
Moving up the skill level I like “Chef Jean-Pierre”. He’s a hoot and really demystifies restaurant dishes.
“Baking on a budget” is a lovely guy who does simple things like crumbles and scones.

I remember farming family meals being heavy on the baking - why not if you have fresh ingredients on hand? Roast chicken never gets old and a tray of veg can be varied each week. Or cook exactly what he wants to eat- cook’s privilege.

I’m saving my charity shop (£2) copy of Jamie’s Ministry of Food to give to DD. Hairy Bikers might appeal as they’re strong on baking too.

Gusto might help, everything is pre weighed and step by step instructions with pictures so there's no excuse for ballsing up

He’s not motivated to. Otherwise he would find his own website/app/book. I’m sure he can do pan fried salmon, new potatoes and broccoli but he can’t be bothered.

What about student cookbooks as these are usually written with simple step by step instructions?

Might be worth borrowing cook books from library so he can figure out which ones he finds easier to follow. Some books are more complicated than others.

When I first moved out of home (a very long time ago now) my Mum gave me the Good Housekeeping Step by Step cookbook and it was incredibly useful with photos showing how to do things. There are plenty of copies available on secondhand book websites.

This thread is so annoying! I find it bad enough when people ask for ideas for their DC when they’re off to Uni, because an 18 year old should already have the basics of cooking. But to ask for a grown man who must be approaching his 60s is absolutely crazy!

OP, leave him to it and see what he comes up with.

My DD is doing a recipe from her 3 cookbooks a week. Instagram she posts on there as well

Good Food 500 triple tested recipies: Amazon.co.uk: 9781849900881: Books

Bought for me when I first left home and has been used regularly ever since. Never difficult, always few, easy to find ingredients, huge range, tested and reviewed so you know they will work. Or any of the good food recipies really, or even the app for more options, and some videos on how to do stuff.

The Roasting Tin cookbooks by Rukmini Iyer. Just bung everything in a roasting tin and put it in the oven, could not be easier.

Recipe Tin Eats - website and books. I have cooked loads from here and everything has been so tasty and delicious. Easy to make as well. There are videos for each recipe as well.

I follow Recipe Tin Eats on FB and have made loads of her recipes. They always work.

Agree with BBC website, I also find the Pinch of Nom books pretty straightforward

Miguel Barclay cookbooks have simple meals with only a few ingredients. The instructions are not super detailed though, so you kind of have to try it and see.

Lots of people have already said Rukmini Iyer for her roasting tin books and that’s a good shout.

Third (or more) vote for RecipeTinEats.

If you want an actual book then Nigel Slater Appetite mentioned above is a good shout. I had this book when learning to cook and it’s very helpful.

They’re not being dicks. They’re making a pretty striking comparison.

I could never cook very well. I hate cooking. But imagine if my DH had to ask an online forum for recommendations of ‘learn to cook’ books for me to help me. How pathetic would that be?

The best way to learn is to just crack on. How hard is a bit of spag bol or knocking up a nice salad really? It’s not.