Good cookbook for my DD (23), new to cooking? Ideas please

[Flyagaric]

Any suggestions for a good cookery book for my DD, 23, who is new to cooking (i.e. making things from scratch rather than whatever is on offer at the supermarket).

Something modern but that doesn't use fancy ingredients? But has good simple every day recipes?

She is on a limited budget as regards buying in fancy ingredients and has rather limited store cupboard ingredients at her house, and would probably appreciate a book that teaches some of the basics such as bolognese sauce, roast potatoes, how to roast a chicken etc and quick simple healthy things that she can knock together after work.

I might put her together a store cupboard basics kit to go with the book.

Thanks in advance

The new version of the Good Housekeeping cookbook is very nice - has a good range of more fancy recipes alongside the very basic (omelettes, pasta & sauce etc). I got it through my work's discount book club & it was £10, probably won't be too far from that on Amazon or elsewhere.

Nosh for Students is good, I did the pancetta and broad bean risotto tonight. All the recipes are even measured in cups rather than weights so you don't need scales.

Anything by Alton Brown.

Delia smith, nigella lawson, Lorraine paschal, Jamie Oliver, James Martin...anything by these chefs

I love them all and find them very easy to follow their recipes.

I'd go for Delia's Complete or Jamie's ministry of food.

I have an ancient Marguerite Patten that has the sort of recipes you describe - I think my mum was given it as a young bride in the late 60s! It still comes in handy...Jamie Oliver's 'Ministry of Food' is along the same lines.

Alternatively...there's always google! Whatever you want to make, there'll be a free recipe online.

Jamie is good.

TBH though, I google recipes these days. BBC good food has loads of good ones. She could do this for meals she doesn't need 'inspiration' for (spaghetti Bol, roasts, simple cakes, chilli etc) then use the book for more complex, show-off food.

Student cookbooks are good for budgets. I still cook a variant of chilli from mine (with loads of pulses in the bulk it out)

Got to be Delia's Complete Cookery Course.

Good Housekeeping, as it takes you through all the basics. Each section starts by talking about all the different types/cuts and how to cook them

Or Delias How to Cook.

Either of those will take her right from the start to cooking whatever she feels like.

Nigel slater's 30 minute book - cant remember exact title. Loved this book when I was her age.

My most useful cookbook is the hardback notebook that my mum started for my before I went to university. It has her recipes for our favourite family meals (bolognaise, White sauce, soup, birthday cake etc) and I still add to it. It's a work in progress but so useful!

Could you do something similar for your DD?

I also have my grandmother, great grandmother and great great grandmothers recipe notebooks (some are in pieces) but it's a great bit of family history and I still make my GGGMs Christmas pudding!

Subscription to good food magazine

Another vote for Delia's complete cookery course. Not exciting, but covers all the basics really well. It's my most used book. Once she's got the basics sorted, then she can branch out with specialist ones, depending on what she enjoys most.

Another one for Jamie's Ministry of Food. Delia and GH are good for recipes you want to look up, ie if you want to how to make scones but Jamie's is better if you want inspiration on what to cook for tea. It depends what she needs it for.

Any of the above plus Mary Berry's Complete Cookbook. My DD swears by it.

NancyBlackett what a lovely piece of family history. I have a few recipes written down by my aunties and MIL I love to see their handwriting.

Nigel Express... Quick, tasty meals. I have used it again and again.

Definitely the Good Housekeeping book. As TheSkiingGardener says, it's more than just a cookbook; it's also a complete kitchen reference book. It tells you how to prepare food, teaches you about cooking and baking techniques complete with illustrations, and talks you through cuts of meat and what various ingredients do. It covers everything from simple meals using one or two ingredients, through to roast dinners, through to stuff you could serve when friends come round etc - it even has a recipe for Xmas cake.

Jamie's ministry of food. Good, basic, cheap dinners, whilst teaching basics of cooking too.

I also use the good housekeeping book! But might add some of the other suggestions to my wish list! Love a recipe book!

Oh gosh, sorry not to have come back to this thread before - I forgot about it!

Anyway many thanks for all the suggestions above. I'm going to check them all out.

The Delia hardback Complete How To Cook. It assumes you know nothing. For example, you can make any type of omelette once you've looked up that section. Or almost any normal meal. I say hardback because it'll stay open on the counter while she cooks, whilst intermittently consulting it.

Another vote for Nigel Slater 30 minutes, student final year, first flat cooking summed up for me!

Another recommendation for the Delia Complete How to Cook.

Another vote for Delia How to Cook. She assumes you have no bloody clue, so great for absolute beginners And it's mostly very straightforward food.

Nigel Slater is great too, but his instructions may be a bit vague for first-time cooks. My DH has given up on him, he doesn't do ingredients lists like 'between 2 & 6 anchovies'.

I agree with Delia's how to cook, it shows you the basics, and she might be able to get the DVDs that go with it rather cheaply so she can see the techniques they are talking about. (Or they might be on iplayer, worth checking)

Also Jamie's 30 minute meals. Now, they can't be done in 30 minutes really, but if you miss out the puddings, just do the main courses, then allow more like 45 minutes, they are relatively simple (no time for 'complexity' when you've only allowed 30 minutes). They are also complete meals, not just the main dish, so you get details of how to do sides/vegs etc that go.

I also recommend you get her some cheap measuring cups, (sainburys ones were only a couple of quid) if she goes for online recipes US ones that talk about "a cup of X" don't mean to use any cup in her kitchen, it's a set unit - if the recipe only talks in cups it's fine to use any cup, but it can cause problems for baking if you start adding other measurments like "2 eggs" or "3 mashed bananas" etc as the ratios are so important.