Cookbook for young teen

[minipie]

DD age 13 has got quite into cooking and I’m looking for a good cookbook for her. It needs to be fairly simple - ideally with recipes that are done in under an hour and don’t need complicated skills or equipment ! We do have plenty of ingredients though and all the usual equipment.

She’s not hugely into sweet food so not a baking only cookbook. Savoury bakes would go down well though. And meals she can cook for herself (she eats most things).

Any ideas? I’m not sure what I’m looking for really!

(also posted in the Food section as not sure where is best…)

Sam Stern does a student cookbook that covers everything all the way to lasagne/roasts.

Or Jamie Oliver's ministry of food is decent.

I like the first A Girl Called Jack cookbook for teens/young adults. The recipes are tasty, but fairly simple and low on complicated ingredients (by dint of it being a budget cookbook), so great training for early adulthood/studentdom in a few years time.

A Girl Called Jack By Jack Monroe | World of Books GB

Thank you! I will have a look. A website was suggested on my other thread which means I’m also now wondering if she’d actually prefer websites/apps rather than books. (but harder to wrap for Christmas!!)

What about one where you write your own recipes in?

Delia Smith's complete cookery course.

Try the simply cook boxes. The recipes are simple and delicious

What to cook and how to cook it by Jane Hornby. It is beautiful with clear pictures and explains things very well
www.waterstones.com/book/what-to-cook-and-how-to-cook-it/jane-hornby/angela-moore/9780714859019?sv1=affiliate&sv_campaign_id=259955&awc=3787_1765314179_d16972ae1144f28f3ea91580600a859c&utm_source=259955&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_campaign=Genie+Shopping+CSS

I think Good Housekeeping Cookbooks are usually good at explaining basics - the GH Cookery Book and the Dairy Cookbook are the first cookbooks gifted through the generations in my family as they are excellent references for basics (sauces etc) and recipes. It doesn’t look like GH cookery book in print any more but their student cookbook ‘cooking on campus’ has good reviews. These books might not be cool enough for a young teen though… but if she gets really into cooking then I think they’re valuable!

Mary Berry Complete Cookbook and Delia Smith how to cook, also classics and good for basics.

Rick Steins Simple Suppers is nice and varied - like that one.

I also love recipetineats website - Nagi Maehashi makes video tutorials alongside her recipes. Her cookbooks ‘dinner’ and ‘tonight’ are excellent and have QR codes to scan to show tutorials. Highly recommend the books and website - lots of variety! I use it all the time.

Bored of Lunch and Poppy Cooks have some slow cooker and air fryer specific books (and websites) that have simple recipes too.

I really like the MOB books, the comfort food one is my favourite.

As for websites, I agree with @WanderingGiraffe, I have never found a bad recipe yet on recipe tin eats.

Jamie Oliver’s ‘Five ingredient’ cookery book

‘Nosh for students’

I agree. Inexpensive as well.

I genuinely found Nigellas cookbooks best, after Delia. The recipes all work, she gives you shortcuts (pork meatballs from skinned sausages for example), they all look impressive if you’re cooking for friends - they’re genuinely the cookbooks I’ve made most from. And they’re all easy.

I make her chocolate cake for Christmas, I did her meatball pasta yesterday, and I found out cinder toffee wasn’t scary so that’s going to be taken to parties this year!

Ha, I love RecipeTinEats and use it all the time. DD has made one or two things from there.

I also have St Delia somewhere and an ancient Good Housekeeping book! Not sure they will float DD’s boat though.

Thinking aloud… I don’t think a “learn to cook” Delia or “simple suppers” Jamie type book is what I’m after. She’s not going to be cooking that often, more an occasional weekend thing and I suspect it’s as likely to be a fancy smoothie, layered salad or cheese scones as a proper meal. I guess I’m after something a bit snacky and teenage??

On my other thread someone suggested Milly Ramsay and that looked the right sort of thing but I can’t quite bear to support the nepotism.

Jamie Oliver ‘5 ingredients’ book is a good place to start.

Former chef here....
It's an old school classic, Escofiers Ma Cuisine.
Most decent chefs hold a copy, has all the basic recipes you need to make almost anything from scratch