Cookbooks for newlyweds?

Question

I'm getting married soon and I really don't know a whole lot about cooking. I did find a Better Homes and Gardens Red Checked Newlywed Edition cookbook. Thankfully it has no red checks! It looked good, with information on setting up your first kitchen and color pics explaining different utensils, but I was wondering if the recipes were any good. Has anyone recently bought/ received/ used this or similar cookbooks? It's $30 so I would really like to know before I spent that much $. Please and thank you!

Answer 1

The Better Homes & Garden Cookbook (I have the regular one, not the newlywed edition) was the cookbook my mother used when I was growing up, and the first cookbook I ever purchased. I think for a novice cook, I prefer it to "Joy of Cooking" or the "Fannie Farmer Cookbook." I notice, BTW, that Amazon Marketplace has it for under $12. I'd go that route before spending $30 on it.

If your goal is to learn how to cook, though, not just to buy a cookbook with a lot of good recipes, then the one book I'd say is *indispensible* is "The Best Recipe," by the Editors of Cook's Illustrated.

Cook's Illustrated is known for testing recipes with a focus on foolproof technique. They will bake 40 chocolate cakes using 40 different recipes and methods until they find one that has the best combination of flavor, texture, and, as best they can, healthfulness. Don't get me wrong, this isn't Cooking Light, but they will try to cut down on sugar and saturated fat without compromising the quality of the food.

Twenty-two chapters cover appetizers to desserts. Even simple tasks, such as blanching vegetables or peeling an egg, are explained and illustrated in detail. More involved techniques include brining poultry and roasting a turkey. I roasted my first turkey using the Cooks Illustrated method and it turned out brilliantly.

The greatest thing about this book is that it will explain the WHY behind the recipes, so you will understand, as you continue to cook from it, what the baking powder does for the texture of the cake, or how a cookie gets to be crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside, for example. They also recommend equipment and ingredients that they've tested (the best paring knife, the best chocolate chips, the best bakeware), kind of like Consumer Reports.

I'd also recommend that you try Mark Bittman's "The Minimalist Cooks At Home: Recipes That Give You More Flavor from Fewer Ingredients in Less Time." It's a wonderful introduction to simple gourmet cooking and designed for the home cook and kitchen.

Both of these cookbooks have been out for a while, and should be readily available used on Ebay or Amazon Marketplace for well under their list prices. They're also both popular enough that you could probably go to your local library or bookstore and find them on the shelves (and the Better Homes & Gardens one, as well), so you could look at the recipes and see which seems to suit you best.

There's also "Healthy Cooking for Two (or Just You): Low-Fat Recipes with Half the Fuss and Double the Taste" by Frances Price, which is a very nice everyday cookbook that's nice for those days when you don't want to have leftovers.

Answer 2

Better Homes & Gardens is the best cookbook for a new cook, or for someone new to cooking for more than one person. I've given it as a wedding present many times. I use the one I was given (over 20 years ago) frequently. The recipes are not hard, and they can be made by anyone that can read, and can follow directions, and isn't afraid to look up a technique or meaning of a word. The helps inside the covers and in the index are great. If money really is an issue - try a used bookstore or a website (Amazon.com) to get it cheaper. Or, see if you can borrow it from your local library just to try a couple of recipes first.

Answer 3

I have used my Better Homes cookbook so much that the pages are falling out, and covered in all sorts of spatters from ingredients. I like it better than my Joy of Cooking for simple things. It gives you a good base to work from, and you can expand on most of the recipes to suit your own taste. I use The Joy of Cooking for reference (great info in the back) and when I want to try something more unusual.
When I left my parents' house, I could bake up a storm but didn't even know how to make a casserole! Now, my friends love it when I decide to throw a dinner party!

Answer 4

Good Housekeeping Illustrated Cookbook, Betty Crocker, and Joy of Cooking.

But since you're a newlywed, try "Cooking in the Nude" series by Debbie and Steve Cornwell, Howell Press. A friend got us the "Quickies" cookbook and it really does have fast, good recipes. Plus it cost under $10.

Sample some of these recipes:
"A Saucy Affair", "Fetish-ini", "Vealing Lusty", and "Voulez-Vous Vinaigrette".

Seriously, it's a very cute cookbook with good recipes. Great for newlyweds, bridal shower or, in our case, anniversary gift.

Answer 5

The Joy of Cooking is a great cookbook. I really like one I got a couple years ago called Best Recipes from the backs of boxes, bottles, cans and jars.

Here are a few websites that might give you some ideas on setting up a kitchen and cooking for two.

www.dvo.com/cooking-for-two.html

www.chron.com/content/chronicle/food/98/06/03/micro.html

www.hintsandthings.com/kitchen/kitchen.htm \

Good luck and Congrats!!

Answer 6

To be honest, I'm not too sure about that book. I am a Pampered Chef consultant, and I do know that we have some fabulous cookbooks. There is a brand new one coming out on Sept. 1 that is actually called "Cooking for Two & More", which is great for couples/smaller households.

Also, the Pampered Chef has a great wedding registry that you can do on-line that can earn you registry rewards. Rarely will you find a store (Target, Bed Bath & Beyond, etc.) that will give you free stuff for doing a registry with them. Just thought I'd let you know about it in case you're interested in setting one up.

For more info, visit www.pamperedchef.biz/ candiceskitchen

Answer 7

Some great cookbooks to have are a Betty Crocker cookbook, Rachael Ray cookbooks (all of her dishes are 30 minutes or less), and Giada DeLaurentiis cookbooks. These websites also have a ton of great easy recipes:

www.foodtv.com

www.kraftfoods.com

Answer 8

Cookbooks are expensive anyways. but you can't go wrong with them, there will always be things in there you can use.
Also i have a disc i found at Wal-mart called One Million Recipes. and so far its pretty good. most of the recipes are quite simple and there is fancy stuff in there for when you have company. Good Luck

Answer 9

I have the Betty Crocker notebook style cookbook and it is still my go to cookbook after all these years. Even with my extensive cookbook collection and the internet. My pancake recipe is from there, my pecan pie recipe is from there, my pie dough recipe, my banana bread, my beef stroganoff.......I could go on.

Answer 10

What you can do instead of sticking to the cook books and spending alot of money you can search in google for any recipes you want and save lots of money and get alot more millions of recipes.