I'm relatively new to cooking myself and have both the BH&G and America's Test Kitchen "New Best Recipes" cookbook. If I have a question of how to do something or why it works a certain way, I go to the ATK book first. If I'm looking for something simple on a weekday evening, I go to the BH&G cookbook. Both are great, but I really like to look at pictures for inspiration so sometimes the ATK book just doesn't do it for me. I will say I'm a geek, so I really do like having all the extra info ATK provides... :) I just got Ina Garten's Back to Basics cookbook and it has beautiful pictures for inspiration as well as tips for knowing you've done it right. When I was making the apple tart last week, I was freaking out that it was burning. Then I reread the recipe instructions and she specifically says to not worry if the sugar slips off the tart and burns a bit. I calmed down, finished the baking and had a great dessert. Understanding the why's and hows and being reminded to not panic can be very important to novices like myself. Bri

As usual, I find Rachelellen's post full of wisdom. It gives me some of the guidance I want. Cooking the same cuisine (not the same dishes) for one week straight would be no hardship at all for me. When I returned from a one week trip to Italy I cooked nothing but northern Italian food for at least three weeks. There was nothing monotonous about it. That experience has faded. I need another trip to Italy for a refresher course. I don't see the need to limit the experiment to a single cookbook, although that could be an effective way to do it, given the right book. Books I would recommend are: Japanese Cooking: A Simple Art by Shizuo Tsuji The Key to Chinese Cooking by Irene Kuo Classic Indian Cooking by Julie Sahni The Cuisines of Mexico by Diana Kennedy These books are similar in approach and format although about different cuisines and by different authors. They provide a solid foundation for cooking each cuisine. Again, I say that switching to another ethnic cuisine for an extended period of time is a fine idea. Those for whom that is their native cuisine eat it daily year after year don't they? Jim

Martha, I enjoyed reading your blog about your cookbook club. Sounds like y'all have great fun and super road trips! (Click on photo to see full recipe) I made this recipe the month that we had a brunch theme. It is from the Birmingham Junior League Tables of Content cookbook. If you need a meat to pair with it, try Millionaire Bacon. I first ate Millionaire Bacon at Fred's Coffee Shop in Sausalito, CA. It was divine. I use the recipe below from BaconToday.com, except I cut back on the cayenne and black pepper. I probably only use 1/2 teaspoon of each. And, 5 Tablespoons of brown sugar will only cover a bit over a 1/2 lb of bacon for me. Millionaire Bacon 1 pound of thick-cut bacon 5 tbsp packed brown sugar 1 tsp. Cayenne Pepper 1 tsp. Black Pepper Directions: Line a baking pan with foil. Combine all of your spices and sugar together into a bowl and mix thoroughly. If you want your bacon more coated in sweet and spicy flavor, add more ingredients to your liking. Apply liberally to each strip of bacon by taking each strip and hand rubbing them. Bake until crisp for 20- 30 minutes (depending upon your crispy liking). Please let your bacon cool a little after you’ve made this recipe. NOTE from bbstx: Keep a close eye on the bacon after about the 15 minute mark. The ends will burn. I sometimes cover the ends with strips of foil to prevent burning. Do not attempt to drain this bacon on paper towels. You will end up picking little pieces of paper off the very sticky bacon - or, if you're like me, you'll get frustrated and just eat the little giblets of paper!

Thank you all for the varied responses. I'd rather not single anyone out for their responses. I can't write my whole life story here, however taking all the comments in context, I want to clarify a few things. My son has been a blessing having moved in when I'm facing a very difficult life situation regarding my husband. Due to Covid, visitation is so difficult at hospitals and rehab places. I'm frankly depressed over what has happened with my husband of 50 yrs, and very lonely and scared he won't come home again. My husband is a physician and always worked long hours and was rarely home until very late when our kids were growing up. I basically raised my daughter and son alone. Their father would come home, many nights after they were in bed. Medicine was his life and his patients were very important to him. I accepted that from the very beginning. My husband never cooked or had any interest in it. He was happy opening a can of tuna and having that. He could scramble eggs, that's it. Our son is very much like him. A very hard worker and very kind. He is very much like his father. He has a very concrete type of thinking, unlike my daughter who is creative (a writer), MSW, great cook, gardens, etc. My son is so opposite. However, he is very kind and loves working with people and helping them get on their feet again (just like he's facing. He helps me in so many ways since moving in and I realize he's facing his own problems. I thought learning the basics of cooking might be something he should learn to help him not depend on always getting take-out or frozen dinners. Yes, he knows how to microwave, make sandwiches, frozen pizza's, etc. He doesn't know how to cook at all. I thought recipes which were easy to understand without having prior knowledge of various techniques would be a good way to start him cooking. I'm sorry if I made it sound like he's a burden to me, not at all. I just see it as a way to make him more comfortable about tackling cooking a simple meal. He seems to enjoy the time we work together on simple things. But, I also realize (didn't before this) that he's uncomfortable about chopping, breading, mixing eggs, simple things. I don't cook 3 meals a day at all. I don't for myself, certainly not for him. He buys his own cereal or whatever he wants, he does his own shopping. He likes to buy ham or turkey and makes his own sandwiches. My question was not about a son who was taking advantage of me. Just a simple question about a cookbook. Not sure how people thought somehow, my son was taking advantage of me. He's not in any way. He's been so helpful in other ways and company for me during a very difficult time. Now you all know more about my life than I really wanted to explain. I was asking for a simple cookbook for a adult who I thought could benefit from making a few simple dishes for himself when he moves out. That's it. Thanks for the names of cookbooks. I will look them up and order a few. Jane