Julia Child's "The Way to Cook" is the best fundamental cook book I have seen. Teaches the same thing....general principals. If you can roast a pork shoulder, you can roast a leg of lamb....and if you can make a cream of asparagus soup you can make cream of anything else.
Linda C

I have it but don't really refer to it much. This was the first source that told me about making lasagna with wonton wrappers though.

I have it too and also don't use it much. It might be good for someone without much cooking experience to help them learn.

I've been asked where I learned to cook..I think it was sort of a self adventure lesson...and certainly resources have helped...
My mom cooked and baked as I grew up..But I certainly would deem myself far better in the kitchen then she is. LOL(although in the past year, she's gleaned from me!) But that's more because I love reading cook books, and magazines..not so much for the exact recipes, but for the "ideas" they give.

In the past year, I've been cooking and baking a bit differently then I ever have..Trying to use fresh ingredients..subbing even more than I used to. Staying away from most things packaged with preservatives and chemicals.
The idea of a basic white sauce will give you all kinds of directions to go.. It can give you a base for creamed soups, sauces and all kinds of things.

I think once you understand how to do certain things..the doors open even further. Sounds like this book does that..

Old Fannie Farmer books are my favorite fundamentals books. That one sounds cool, too. I'm going to keep my eyes peeled for it. I'm a much better baker than cook right now and I'd like to change that.

Thanks for posting!

~Amanda

I was wondering why I don't end up using this book a lot (aside from its name - if it did its job, you shouldn't need to to use it much :^) ) so I went back to read some more of it. This book isn't a general cooking fundamentals book. It is focused on techniques to get dinner on the table quickly with the ingredients at hand. I've put a link in to an Amazon review that did a good job of describing both the strengths and weaknesses.

I'll just add that one thing that is important to me in cooking doesn't get much attention in this book - spices. Most of the flavors in this book are kept very simple with a occasionally a herb or two being added.

Here is a link that might be useful: An accurate Amazon review of the book

It used to drive my ex-wife absolutely nuts that I would cook entire meals without once consulting either a recipe or a cookbook.

Ah-ha - cloud_swift - you did hit the nail on the head in terms of what was appealing to me about the book. Among lots of other responsibilities, I typically work at least 10 hour days - manage two homes including a place I go most weekends in the summer - and I simply run out of time to plan menus, identify recipes, make grocery lists, plus make meals. And in spite of being a very experienced cook I am for the most part a "by the book" cook so I don't have a large repertoire of meals I like that I could plan for off the top of my head.

I like to eat "perimeter" groceries - perishable vs. pantry stuff so I often shop on my way home from work without much planning. I have a very short list of things I would make for dinner that I know off the top of my head - mundane things in my opinion - that I could shop for on the fly. I'm sure it's hard for many people here to comprehend - not sure how many people like me gravitate to the cooking forum. I love to cook when I have time but I've just never gotten into weeknight "utility" cooking - probably has something to do with not having kids.

I've just started the book but it does make me look at weeknight cooking in a different way than I have in the past. Hopefully it will lead to something new and improved during the week....