(Part 2) Best products from r/cookbooks

If you are looking for basic cooking information the Joy of Cooking is obligatory.

A couple things I've learned along the way is first to start slow and work through cookbooks. It's easy to keep buying book after book but they are just decoration if you don't know them well. Secondly, be wary of books with lots of pretty pictures! In my experience they are full of single-purpose recipes that don't teach you the true nature or source as you spoke of above.

As far as source recipes I'd second everything mentioned so far but if you are looking to blow people away with Italian and Mexican dishes (my particular favorite styles)... look no further than:

The Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking - Marcella Hazan - Possibly my favorite author of cookbooks of all time. This is definitely the one to start with in my opinion.

The Art of Mexican Cooking - Diana Kennedy - If you are looking for real mexican food this book is a great place to start.

Bonus Book... not a cookbook but a great way to learn about cooking

I have an excellent veggie one - Gil Marks' Olive Trees and Honey - It has recipes from lots of different Jewish settlements around the world, so maybe not a traditional Jewish cookbook - but an excellent overview of world culture.

It has a truly excellent, and easy to adapt yogurt based pastry. I would guess, judging by this one, his other books are worth checking out too...

Just found your post, hope I'm not late to the party here.

I just picked up "Patti's Mexican Table", and am loving it. It was part of Amazon's editors picks of "best cookbooks for 2013" list.

I really like her focus on in-season and fresh ingredients, along with simplified cooking techniques. I think I've made 7 or so things in this book, and all of them have come out great - especially the salsa recipes.

I have a number of cookbooks (99% of which were hand-me-downs from random family members) that I don't really use because I prefer the internet, but the two physical books I've gotten the most use out of are these:

How to Cook Everything
-Especially if you're just starting out this book is excellent. It doesn't list tons of complicated recipes sprinkled with cooking jargon. It holds your hand through the simplest versions of many, many recipes and then tells you why you're doing what youer' doing.

The Flavor Bible
-Because while it's better to have experience to be able to just know which flavors work well together, this is just easier. The book has some explanatory stuff in the front, but most of the book is basically a huge index of different ingredients and all of the other things that go well with them. Especially if you're a broke student, spices are going to be the big thing that keeps you from eating bland-ass ramen all of the time (though this book doesn't just cover spices).

Well if his only restrictions are no red meat or alcohol, he's got a lot of options! But if he can only eat chicken, fish and vegetables, then he's going to be a lot more restricted.

I'd look into paleo, or Whole30 (paleo, but also no dairy, grains, sugars or alcohol) diets and just ignore recipes with red meat - a friend on chemo has had a lot of reduction in chemo symptoms that she attributes to Whole30, recommended by her oncologist.

I like the blog Nom Nom Paleo and she has a cookbook too. Here's her list of Whole30 recipes to give you an idea of what that's like:
http://nomnompaleo.com/post/42057515329/the-round-up-30-days-of-whole30-recipes

And here's the recipe index, you can see you can avoid the ones with red meat, or alternatively just focus on the ones made with chicken and fish: http://nomnompaleo.com/recipeindex

In general, though, if he has some basic techniques under his belt he'll be able to make lots of meals that meet the restrictions his doctor has recommended - my favourites for that are:

How to cook without a book

How to cook everything

Appetite

All the very best to your dad and hope he gets well soon!

I love cookbooks and read them on the regular - they are truly superior to recipe blogs and (hopefully) have been recipe tested and perfected. From my reading yesterday, I forgot how much I love Small Victories - it has a lot of variety, gives you options to make her recipes your own, and is just a comforting read matched only by how comforting the food is. I've made several recipes and am obsessed with Julia Turshen's writing style. I also thoroughly enjoy Alison Roman, her palette is definitely a little different, but accessible. She has turned me onto not being afraid to roast a whole fish, making my own zatar, and adding nutritional yeast to popcorn.

Also, gotta give a recommendation to the NYT Cooking app and its recipes. It's a yearly subscription, but I appreciate searching for recipes and knowing that they have already been tested and can read reviews from other cooks on their take on the finished meal.

Plenty (or any of the Ottolenghi) books sounds like a good fit based on her previous dishes. It's vegetable focused, healthy, not too complicated, and will definitely make her a better cook by introducing new techniques.

Are you looking for a cookbook that has simple and easy recipes? Because this is all pretty vague since there are so many simple recipes. /r/recipes should be able to help you.

But, if you are looking for a cookbook filled with simplicity, then I highly suggest Jane Hornby's, "What To Cook & How To Cook It"

http://www.amazon.com/What-Cook-How-Jane-Hornby/dp/0714859583/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1343286723&sr=8-2&keywords=jane+hornby

It is a very well-organized cookbook (take a look at the preview images), that is separated into different categories such as: Breakfast, Lunch, Simple Suppers (easy-general cooking), Weekend Cooking (more difficult), Food To Share, Side Dishes, and of course, Dessert.

She also released her new cookbook in similar format just a few months ago. I received mine two days ago, and it looks amazing!

http://www.amazon.com/Fresh-Easy-What-Cook-How/dp/0714863602/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1343286723&sr=8-1&keywords=jane+hornby

I would suggest you check out these books at your local bookstore first before you buy them off of Amazon (assuming it's more expensive at the store). Let me know if you have any questions!

OK, first you should meet with Musa Dağdeviren. I suggest you to watch video in this page to have an idea of him and also Turkish cuisine; http://www.progettomediterranea.com/Mediterranean-Galley/recipe-musa-dagdeviren.html

I suggest his book: https://www.amazon.com/Turkish-Cookbook-Musa-Dagdeviren/dp/0714878154

Unfortunatelly, I don't know the books I read at school by the name but their appearance. If you can comment your e-mail(or pm, I'm noob at reddit), I can check at this monday and mail you the names of those. Musa Dağdeviren will do for a period of time to survive, he is very precious for Turkish Cuisine.

Thanks, have a good one.

How to Cook Everything Fast by Mark Bittman has side recommendations with either simple directions or what page to turn to to see how to make it. It’s also interesting because the recipes are color coded (black and blue) to show cooking and simultaneous preparation directions for each step. We use those so that each adult in the kitchen has their own set of directions to make it easier to cook together.

There’s another by the Food Network called Great Easy Meals and each recipe has nutrition facts as well as side suggestions with page numbers for where to find the recipe for the side. The desserts in the back are really good and straightforward to make too. I also like that every single recipe has a full color photo.

As an avid cook and collector of cookbooks, I have three recommendations -

1. Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat by Samin Nosrat
   
2. The Food Lab by J. Kenji Lopez Alt
   
3. The Flavor Bible
   
   The first two will teach you the essentials of cooking. How salt, fat, acid, and heat work together to make delicious food. J Kenji Lopez Alt has a popular serious eats blog and his book will teach you everything you need to know about cooking perfect meat, eggs, burgers, etc.
   
   Once you learn all of the basics from those books, use the Flavor Bible to be creative.

One of the most beautiful books / series is Patisserie at Home by Melanie Dupuis. There are a couple more like The Complete Guide to Baking: Bread, Brioche and Other Gourmet Treats, French Cooking at Home and The Ultimate Book of Party Food. They are simply stunning!

Nice Collection. Looks like you like to make staples like cheese & bread - maybe also consider a book on preserving/pickling - bread, cheese and chutney are great together. I have this one - https://www.amazon.co.uk/National-Trust-Country-Kitchen-Cupboard-x/dp/0715386085
My grandmother got it for me and spent time making a lot of stuff out of it with me.

For vegetarian/vegan cookbooks try The Southern Vegetarian and Vegan Soul Kitchen. Both amazing books with new inventive recipes. Having been raised on Moosewood and Enchanted Broccoli, it is really fun to explore new ideas and types of vegetarian cuisine.

[southern vegetarian] (http://www.amazon.com/Southern-Vegetarian-Cookbook-Down-Home-Recipes/dp/140160482X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1413780577&sr=1-1&keywords=southern+vegetarian)

[vegan soul kitchen] (http://www.amazon.com/Vegan-Soul-Kitchen-Creative-African-American/dp/0738212288)

I doubt you'll find something with a multitude of countries in one book, but you should be able to easily find something like this or this. Both of these found on the first page of google search results for (peruvian/nigerian cookbook)

Also check out your local library. Most libraries I go to have at least a few good ethnic cookbooks

On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen by Harold McGee