A great beginning/basics course in cooking, highly recommended for newlyweds, graduates, or newly kicked-out-of-the-nest for whatever reason... If you just needed to know how to make mashed potatoes or fry an egg the right way without having to open a box or watch a 20-minute episode of Alton Brown's Good Eats refer to this book instead.

So this is probably the best cookbook I've ever read. I randomly found it in my apartment: there are a bunch of old cookbooks in a bookshelf in my kitchen that were probably owned by past tenants, and I picked this one mostly because the spine was not white and fraying.

My first thought upon reading some of the intro was, “This guy is so pretentious!” Take for example his opinion on apples: “Apples with names you don’t recognize are almost always tastier than mass-produced varieties y More...

I read every page, every word, every recipe. Wonderful. Simple but informative (did you know that butter foams for a minute after it hits the saucepan because it's releasing water?) and funny, esp. when he says things like "If you use a light weight pan (tsk, tsk)" and "You can serve these with the shells on but don't let me hear about it." An excellent read for novice and experienced cooks. And, no, you don't have to read every word to get a lot out of this cookbook.

Good easy to read instructions...makes everything possible!

I really enjoyed this book. It was well written, informative, and easy to understand. It's perfect for a beginner in the world of cooking!

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