Hack Your Cupboard: Make Great Food with What You’ve Got

This debut from food bloggers Wiegand and Delgadillo serves as a terrific introduction to cooking basics for newbies, whether they’re setting up shop in a dorm room for the first time (yes, ramen is covered, in half a dozen recipes) or moving into their first apartment. The authors thoughtfully walk readers through the process of creating meals, including how to read recipes, how to stock one’s kitchen with staples, and some basic knife skills. Recipes for classics such as grilled cheese, lemon pound cake, cheesy spinach dip, and herbed rice pilaf dominate, and the book is studded with tips on matters such as cracking eggs (break them into a separate bowl before adding to the dish in order to take out shell pieces), seasoning to taste, and proper food storage. Readers of all ages would do well to heed the authors’ advice on getting the most out of precooked rotisserie chickens, smart shopping, and upping one’s pizza game with premade ingredients. Insightful, creative, and entertaining, this volume makes for a perfect gift for those who don’t know a colander from a cauliflower. (Oct.)