Anyone Can Cook: Step-by-Step Recipes Just for You (See It, Do It, Nothing to It! Everything You Need to Know to Start Cooking Now)

This all-purpose, accessible book provides great information in a visual, easy-to-find-in-an-instant format. More than 550 recipes—appetizers through desserts—are illustrated by 1,000 helpful photographs that effectively demonstrate techniques in addition to showing finished dishes. The opening section covers everything from where to find ingredients in a grocery store to the method for cutting up a pineapple or to chop nuts. Recipes are all labeled with a skill level range from absolute basic to more inventive (but still simple); there’s a straightforward Guacamole a couple of pages away from Avocado-Feta Salsa; and basic French Toast right before Stuffed Croissant French Toast. The editors anticipate questions and either answer them on the page with the recipe (with the Herbed Leek Gratin, for example, is an explanation of “What’s a gratin?”) or direct them to the location in the book where a technique or ingredient is described, via an “Ask Mom” box on the bottom of each page. (A box on the Herbed Leek Gratin page points to answers for “What is a leek? How do I prepare leeks? How do I snip fresh herbs?”) It’s a great resource for beginner cooks. (Oct.)