Now You're Cooking: Everything a Beginner Needs to Know to Start Cooking Today

This book has been wonderful! As a 29 year-old bachelor I have never learned to cook and lived for years on pre-made foods. As I'm settling down now with my love, I decided I had to learn to cook. But in the past I found cookbooks and friends who tried to show me to cook very frustrating because rather than truly teaching, they assume that you know a lot of things and haphazardly tell yuo what to do on a certain recipe. I wanted to learn to cook in a methodical well thought out way from the bottom up. This book was the solution! It starts with descriptions of essential cooking preperation techniques and what ingredients and tools you should have in your kitchen. It goes through very simple recipes and gradually builds to harder recipes. Each recipe explains the fine points of how to prepare it. In other words, it really "teaches" you to cook rather than "telling" you how to prepare a recipe. And it does it well! I only found two small downsides. As I went through the book, sometimes I craved a few fancier and stronger flavored recipes, but the recipes were all very enjoyable and designed at an appropriate level of difficulty. It also would be nice if they had pictures to illustrate and inspire. Over the last six months, I have gradually gone through 80% of the recipes. I'm excited becasue some of the best recipes are still to come, and now I'm looking forward to what cookbooks I'll start studying next! This book was what I needed to help me go from a non-cooking bachelor to a cook for life. I hope it will help you too.

This is the best cookbook I have ever owned. It was one of the first cookbooks I bought, and my experience with it (rave reviews) convinced me cooking was not hard and I could master this art and really go to town for guests. I have just emerged exhausted and humiliated after exploring the high end, fancy, haute-cuisine cookbooks in an attempt to impress, and after disastrous attempts at bistro cuisine, realize that its back to the basics with Elaine for me- her recipes are delicious, foolproof, and because I grew up refusing to learn how to cook, a true lifesaver.

I've been cooking for almost 20 years (in university, I lived with two guys who couldn't boil water without detailed instructions, so I did all the cooking), and I've successfully pulled off small-scale dinner parties (up to 8 people). So I know which end of a melon-baller to use.I still found this book helpful - it demystified some things, and gave me a few new ideas - and a few more rave reviews at Easter dinner!The only thing this book lacks (and it's probably too big a topic to cover) would be a brief examination of some of the more popular spices, what flavours they impart, and what foods they go best in/with.VERY strongly recommended!!!

I picked this book out of the bargain books bin and it has been the BEST cookbook I've every used. It explains things well, but the recipes show you that you CAN have simple food that tastes outstanding. I will buy every book this woman writes!

I loved this book. I had been cooking for years, but this book offered a lot of practical advice and great recipes. For beginners, you delve right into preparing delicious meals right from the start. I intend to buy this book for my daughter.