Betty Crocker Cooking Basics, Second Edition is the only cookbook you need to help you begin cooking with confidence, even if you barely know how to boil water. Fully updated to include 112 simple and tasty favorites like guacamole, meatloaf, and strawberry shortcake, the second edition of this comprehensive cooking guide even includes how-to photos for every recipe, advice on kitchen equipment, a reference to cooking terms, food storage tips, and cooking times and nutrition information. With game plans for special events like Thanksgiving Dinner, you will never go hungry!

Impressive and a must-have for beginning cooks. I picked this up in a second hand shop and even though it was published 15 yrs ago (1998), the information is universal and timeless.

My 11 yr old is branching out beyond baking (she is my Red Velvet Cake and Pie Queen). While this cookbook is not geared toward children, my daughter easily navigated the skills and techniques, tips, recommended tools, and of course we are plowing through the perfect "staple" recipes which are quite good (Betty C in the house!). Ill be teaching my teenage boys from this as well.

The sections are indexed by grilling, pasta, salads, treats, main dishes, etc...and also includes sections on metric conversion, basic equipment and gadgets, how to measure wet/dry ingredients, purchasing knives, food safety/storage, substitutions, and even a section on three "get-together" meals (e.g. Thanksgiving dinner)...just to name some highlights.

A huge plus is that I dont crack the spine to keep this open. The hardback with spiral binding makes for easy hands-free reading. Traditional book binding in a cookbook should be banned.

I highly recommend this for first time cooks, or for someone seeking more confidence in the kitchen. ( )