I’m looking for a cookbook that covers the basics. Kind of a bachelor cookbook that’s past the “this is how you make cereal” stage. Something that covers how to buy produce, how to cook meat, that sort of thing. Any suggestions?
It’s not for me of course. Really.
Hal
PS: I don’t post from work, so if you feel neglected when I don’t reply, please don’t take it personally.
IMO, the Better Homes & Gardens cookbook is something everyone should buy when they move out on their own for the first time. It has tons of basic stuff like how to cook cuts of meat/chicken/fish, how to prepare fresh vegetables, tons of simple recipes and just general advice on how to cook.
I highly recommend it. Good luck. 
You might try the “Monday to Friday Cookbook” by Michele Urvater. There are plenty of good recipes and loads of helpful hints. There are also sections on meal planning and stocking a pantry. I have found it very useful.
“Joy of Cooking” is also quite good with the basics, and has some pretty good fancy recipes if you want to try them.
I’ll second that, RealityChuck. “Joy of Cooking” delivers the basics behind the basics. What ingredients do, how to mix them, how to use common equipment. Recipes that go from basic to comples. And on page 515 there’s complete instructions on how to skin a squirrel. How can you not love that.
I strongly reccomend How to Cook Everything.
It is the only cookbook I’ve found that is extensive (recipes for unusual ingredients, background information on foods, etc) without going into the obscure and needlessly fussy. "Joy of Cooking is great, but a lot of it’s recipes are the sort of time and ingredient heavy preparations that are most often found in peoples’ grandmothers’ houses. I’d never cook Christmas Dinner without “Joy of Cooking”, but I rarely cook anything else with it. "How to Cook Everything"s recipes are more straightforward, and they are consistently excellent.
Really I can’t reccomend it enough. It’s a good solid basic cookbook with recipes well suited to modern tastes and lifestyles.
How to Cook Everything
I echo everything that even sven said. It has replaced Joy of Cooking as my basic everyday cookbook. Every single recipe I’ve made from it has been good.
The author, Mark Bittman, writes “The Minimalist” column for the New York Times. His recipes tend to be simple and straightforward.
We gave it to my sister-in-law for Hanukkah. She’s such a bad cook that she can’t even make tea. But she managed to prepare a very tasty dinner for us the other day. She says that it’s just the thing she needs, what with the info on ingredients and cooking topics, etc.
Another book worth looking into, and it’s a book I’ve recommended time and time again, is The Best Recipe published by the same people who put out Cook’s Magazine. It has a good mix of everyday recipes and a few fancier things, along with not only the how-to-do-this but why one way can be better than another. There are several recipes that I use all the time now, that came from that book.
Thank you. How to Cook Everything sounds perfect for my sister.
Hal