1001 Essential Recipes: Classic Recipes and Essential Techniques for Every Occasion

This cookbook has been a wonderful addition to my cooking library. Originally a European book, some US readers might find a few things confusing, and some of the ingredients a bit hard to find, but with a little looking beyond the normal grocery store was able to find things a-ok. The pictures are beautiful and helpful, displaying not only the dishes for the recipes (though sadly not -all- have photographs), but also showing helpful directions on how to prepare the dishes and handle the food. It also includes some interesting side notes to make you familiar with what some of the ingredients are, what they are used for, how they are made, etc. I highly suggest this to anyone who wants to go beyond the normal and put a bit of extra into their cooking but are not familiar with dealing with things in the kitchen. Does wonders to make one feel more comfortable.