You will have to learn to think for yourself if you're going to read this book. There, I said it. This book is not for someone who is looking for another collection of recipes. This is a book that will teach you how to look at food, decide what you want to do with it, and then do it. This is the book that you start with when learning, or re-learning, how to cook. This is the book that will lay the groundwork to enable you to create whatever you want.
The First-timer's Cookbook and Bakebook is all about the basics. It's for every person who wants to learn how to cook, from the newlywed bride--or groom--to the homemaker or career guy or gal, and every college kid out on their own for the first time who has ever said to themselves, "I wish I could cook." Although this is the ultimate beginner's crash course on the basic principles of cooking, you long-timer's might learn a thing or two as well. This is the book I wish I'd had when I started. Now, after working in and running professional kitchens for the last twenty years and training a lot of cooks, it's the book that I constantly use. It's also the one that I can refer people to read when they're either getting started or looking to learn a few new tricks.
Is this going to make you ready for your own Food Network show? Maybe not right away, but it will be a start. After reading this and practicing the concepts and principles (practice is crucial), you should be able to cook just about anything you can buy in the grocery store.
So, how am I going to show you how to cook? Simply put, I'm going to show you how to use your most powerful asset when it comes to cooking, or anything really--your mind. Because after all, you know what you like, so let me just show you how to train your brain so you know how to get it.