Recommend a good recipe book

[Red Squirrel]

I'm moving out in about a week. I know hardly nothing about cooking, and I don't want to be eating frozen dinners all the time. I'm looking for easy to do single person meals that are healthy. Anyone know of a good cook book that has such recipes?

I've been eating horrible and I decided now is a good time to change that. When I eat home I usually eat a frozen dinner, or whatever my mom makes (about the only thing healthy I get) or I'm going out eating fast food.

I'll probably get ideas for meals when I go do my first batch of groceries as well.

 

[Newbian]

This might help.

 

[Jeff7]

This - I bought it, and it does sound like they tried a bunch of stuff in order to reduce prep times while maintaining flavor.

That said, most of the recipes I've tried from it really don't agree with me; my tastes seem to be quite limited, and I don't like wasting food. For example, I found their version of beef lo mein to be absolutely awful, but I think it tasted the way they intended. I just happened to find every aspect of it disgusting, and the apartment stank like clam sauce and sesame oil for a day or so afterward.


Incidentally, want to buy a book?
If your tastes are more......normal, then it might suit you very well.

 

[nageov3t]

Cooks Illustrated > *

this is my most frequently used cookbook... haven't had a single recipe from there go wrong:

http://www.amazon.com/New-Best...&qid=1252260377&sr=8-1

occasionally I'll back it up with The Joy of Cooking.

 

[effowe]

I don't have a book to recommend, but I pretty much exclusively use the All Recipes website for my meals. You can search whatever you want to cook, and then sort them by rating. There are user reviews which can give you tips, and it's all completely free. Check it out.

 

[datalink7]

The Joy Of Cooking

 

[shortylickens]

I win the thread.

Wait, fuck that.

NOW I win.

 

[jlee]

Originally posted by: datalink7
The Joy Of Cooking

:thumbsup:

 

[Red Squirrel]

Originally posted by: shortylickens
I win the thread.

Wait, fuck that.

NOW I win.

Not quite the healthy style, but I like it. Both. Combined. Bacon and chocolate!

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

I'd go with the New Best Recipe.

Cooking isn't just about putting ingredients together, but understanding the underlying process of getting tasty bits to the plate. This book goes through an explanation of why things were done, not just what. In that way you will be eventually be able to cook based on principles and less than on a list of things to put in a pot.

 

[xSauronx]

Originally posted by: JLee

Originally posted by: datalink7
The Joy Of Cooking

:thumbsup:

this.

if you dont know the basics and need to learn, buy this AND a copy of Im Just Here for the Food by Alton Brown. He does an excellent job of explaining cooking processes and techniques, and the joy of cooking has a great deal of information about cooking as well.

do yourself a favor, and learn to cook. try cooking one new dish and one new side a week, find out how to do things, see what flavors you like (and learn to adjust a little, or you'll be missing out)

I started to learn when i was about 21 and IJHFTF and some of the better food network programs really helped.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

Originally posted by: xSauronx

Originally posted by: JLee

Originally posted by: datalink7
The Joy Of Cooking

:thumbsup:

this.

if you dont know the basics and need to learn, buy this AND a copy of Im Just Here for the Food by Alton Brown. He does an excellent job of explaining cooking processes and techniques, and the joy of cooking has a great deal of information about cooking as well.

do yourself a favor, and learn to cook. try cooking one new dish and one new side a week, find out how to do things, see what flavors you like (and learn to adjust a little, or you'll be missing out)

I started to learn when i was about 21 and IJHFTF and some of the better food network programs really helped.

I've got the original from 40 years ago or so. Do they still have possum and raccoon recipes?

 

[Pliablemoose]

I second allrecipes, the rating system is nice and they have good suggestions for modifying recipes.

And buy a crock pot

 

[effowe]

Originally posted by: Pliablemoose
I second allrecipes, the rating system is nice and they have good suggestions for modifying recipes.

And buy a crock pot

I second the crock pot as well. I was able to pick up a nice 5qt. model at the local thrift store for six bucks. There is a whole "slow cooker" section on allrecipes to get you started, easy and delicious.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

Originally posted by: Pliablemoose
I second allrecipes, the rating system is nice and they have good suggestions for modifying recipes.

And buy a crock pot

His first acquisitions need to be three or four good pans and three good knives.

With those you can do anything. Crock pot is about #27 on my list. Handy, but not a first consideration.

 

[Pliablemoose]

Originally posted by: Hayabusa Rider

Originally posted by: Pliablemoose
I second allrecipes, the rating system is nice and they have good suggestions for modifying recipes.

And buy a crock pot

His first acquisitions need to be three or four good pans and three good knives.

With those you can do anything. Crock pot is about #27 on my list. Handy, but not a first consideration.

How can he be a single bachelor eating overcooked food without a crock pot?



:laugh:

 

[xSauronx]

Originally posted by: Hayabusa Rider

Originally posted by: xSauronx

Originally posted by: JLee

Originally posted by: datalink7
The Joy Of Cooking

:thumbsup:

this.

if you dont know the basics and need to learn, buy this AND a copy of Im Just Here for the Food by Alton Brown. He does an excellent job of explaining cooking processes and techniques, and the joy of cooking has a great deal of information about cooking as well.

do yourself a favor, and learn to cook. try cooking one new dish and one new side a week, find out how to do things, see what flavors you like (and learn to adjust a little, or you'll be missing out)

I started to learn when i was about 21 and IJHFTF and some of the better food network programs really helped.

I've got the original from 40 years ago or so. Do they still have possum and raccoon recipes?

not sure, i havent looked through my copy thoroughly....its rather large

 

[xSauronx]

Originally posted by: Hayabusa Rider

Originally posted by: Pliablemoose
I second allrecipes, the rating system is nice and they have good suggestions for modifying recipes.

And buy a crock pot

His first acquisitions need to be three or four good pans and three good knives.

With those you can do anything. Crock pot is about #27 on my list. Handy, but not a first consideration.

oh yes, good knives are a must, along with a decent non stick pan, a cast iron skillet, and a couple of other things. i have some forged sabatier knives that i expect to last me a lifetime. hell, id love a nice dutch oven, and a crock pot is cheap enough to get early on, but it doesnt take much to use one.

 

[nageov3t]

Originally posted by: Hayabusa Rider

Originally posted by: Pliablemoose
I second allrecipes, the rating system is nice and they have good suggestions for modifying recipes.

And buy a crock pot

His first acquisitions need to be three or four good pans and three good knives.

With those you can do anything. Crock pot is about #27 on my list. Handy, but not a first consideration.

if you can't do it with a good chef knife, it's not worth doing

 

[FoBoT]

http://amzn.com/071485736X

 

[GagHalfrunt]

Originally posted by: Pliablemoose
I second allrecipes, the rating system is nice and they have good suggestions for modifying recipes.

And buy a crock pot

I'm also a fan of allrecipes.com. The rating system is what separates them from other recipe sites. If you see something that's 4+ stars with 100+ ratings you know it isn't a fluke. Every highly rated recipe I've tried from there has come out well and the user suggestions on how to modify recipes gives a lot of useful ideas.

As for the crock pot, it's not high on an aspiring chefs must have list. A good knife and cutting board is surely first and quality cookware is second. But the thing with crock pots is that they are good and they're so damn cheap that there's no reason not to own one. Watch the sales and pop $20 on a 5qt model without too many bells or whistles. It's something that will easily be worth the small investment.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Thanks for the tips everyone, I'll check some of those out and go from there. I'll check allrecipes.com as it really looks promissing, and no need to try to find any books online.

 

[Iron Woode]

Originally posted by: RedSquirrel
I'm moving out in about a week. I know hardly nothing about cooking, and I don't want to be eating frozen dinners all the time. I'm looking for easy to do single person meals that are healthy. Anyone know of a good cook book that has such recipes?

I've been eating horrible and I decided now is a good time to change that. When I eat home I usually eat a frozen dinner, or whatever my mom makes (about the only thing healthy I get) or I'm going out eating fast food.

I'll probably get ideas for meals when I go do my first batch of groceries as well.

I inherited some cookbooks from my parents.

The old ones have such awesome recipes.

Better Homes & Gardens makes some awesome cookbooks.

PS: http://www.recipezaar.com is great too.

 

[0roo0roo]

http://lifehacker.com/5353008/...up-mushroom-in-seconds