My younger sister is going to be starting university next fall and my mom was suggesting that a cookbook would be a useful gift. She bake cookies with my mom from time to time but beyond that I think the limit of her cooking experience would be making Kraft Dinner and the like. She’s not a huge fan of red meat, but she’s not threatening to become a vegetarian like she was when she was younger. She does like chicken and seafood, although she won’t be anywhere near the coast so seafood probably won’t be a cheap option for a student. She likes pasta but not tomato-based sauces. She definitely likes her vegetables.
Given all that, does anyone have any suggestions for a good cookbook? Given how close it is to Christmas, it’ll have to be something I can find in a bookstore.
Is she going to be living in a dorm, and if so, will she have access to full kitchen facilities? Or will she be stuck making whatever can be accomplished in a hot pot? A Crock-Pot? A microwave?
How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman was the book I was given for exactly this purpose and now I love to cook. He teaches lots of basic techniques and covers lots of territory which is very helpful.
I came in here to say How to Cook Everything too. I bought the vegetarian version the first semester I went off meal plan. He has very good instructions on making basics and many of the recipes have a list of variations following, so once you learn how to make one thing, it’s easy to mix it up.
This is a good beginner cookbook for students. The recipes are all quite simple but are very tasty and easy to make fancier as one gets more comfortable in the kitchen.
I second Hong Kong Phooey’s suggestion - get her a copy of Help My Apartment Has a Kitchen!.
It’s one of my favourite basic cookbooks… it’s a comprehensive collection of quick, simple recipes written in clear beginner terms. It assumes that the reader is probably your typical student: little to no cooking experience, strapped for cash (and time), and with limited access to hard-to-find luxury ingredients.
It’s not to say that Joy and How To Cook Everything aren’t good cookbooks - they are, but they’re not written specifically with a student’s lifestyle in mind.
Even though it’s been many moons since I was in college, I own and use The Healthy College Cookbook for quick and inexpensive meals that kids and young people – and even old folks like me – like.
Serves One- A lot of cookbooks give great recipes for 4 people or someone with a large fridge, but this is great for people living alone or with one other person and not unlimited time or food storage.
For cheapness and simplicity, I would suggest the “Four Ingredient Cookbook”, if you can find one. Every recipe consists of things like canned cream of chicken soup, noodles, etc in other words things you can get at the “el cheapo” grocery store.
What would also be very useful though would be a full kitchen set - saucepans, frying pan, casserole dish, baking tray, utensils, chopping board etc - something she can use through her college years and which would probably be too much for her to buy by herself. It’s crappy trying to make a nice meal for a friend with one small saucepan and a raggedy old frying pan! I’m sure she would really appreciate something like that, and you can buy her one of those bright plastic storage boxes to move it all in. Or a set of herbs and spices would be nice too, or a few decent plates and bowls. I would have loved any of those at college or when moving into a new place - even if you’re on a very tight budget it’s so good being able to cook for yourself and friends with proper tools!
I have saucepan envy now…
ETA: The kitchen set is also good I think because people can buy bits and pieces of it, so shouldn’t be too expensive for any one person.
It’s rather dated, but I still swear by my dog-eared, bechinalt-stained copy of The Impoverished Students’ Book Of Cookery Drinkery And Housekeepery. Not only useful for recipes, but contains tips on setting up one’s first apartment (hint: one can never have too many attractive old bedspreads).
When I moved to Germany, I asked my mother to send me a copy for Christmas.
She bought it…scanned through it…and bought a copy for herself, my brothers and almost everyone in the family.
I left that copy in Germany with my SO’s brother, and he is constantly reading it for recipes and emailing me for the occasional translation (his English is good, but not great).
Upswing…the basics, plus lots more.
Buy the hardbound version only, NOT the paperback version…it has the absolute best recipe ever for Moussaka…a pain in the ass to make, but wow!
Joy of Cooking has recipes ranging from how to make a hamburger (duh) to how to prepare a bear…yes, a bear…my guess is that Sarah Palin probably uses the book on holidays, but that shouldn’t stop you from buying it!
The Joy of Cooking is the one cookbook I bought when I went away to grad school. It tells you the basics, and why you do things that way. I still have my didintegrating copy. Of course, I alter all the recipes, but you have to start somewhere.
