kiana Posted November 30, 2017 Share Posted November 30, 2017 Hi, I'm looking for a specific type of book -- a "learn to cook" book, ideally something that would do a "base recipe" and then a bunch of different ways to vary it. Think Fannie Farmer cookbook, Joy of Cooking, or more recently, Bittman's How to Cook Everything. This is for a friend who is living without his mother (with his significant other) for the first time and has never cooked independently. It should also be budget-friendly (not having most of the recipes involve steak, scallops, and asparagus). His significant other does like to eat more than typical "bachelor meals", and honestly, he wants to be able to cook nice things for the two of them. Twist (and reason I don't just get one of the above books): They eat dairy-free, soy-free, and low-gluten (ok for occasional treats, but moderate digestive intolerance means it shouldn't be included in daily meals), but not vegetarian and not grain-free (they like rice and potatoes). Most of the specifically dairy-free books I can find are also vegan, which is going to exclude a lot more than necessary (his last phone call was struggling to make a nice meat sauce w/o dairy or flour). Paleo is one option (it's pretty easy to add starch to meals), but a lot of the books I've run into either are using expensive ingredients to create what I would call "imitation foods" (almond flour to make baked goods, etc.) or presuppose a fair amount of cooking experience already. It would be nice to have it all in one book, but another option would be a shorter book on "how to substitute/modify" coupled with one of the books I first listed, so if anyone has a great recommendation there, I'd love to hear it. I know there are some people out there with restricted diets for various reasons and I'm hoping you've run into the perfect resource at some point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamanthaCarter Posted November 30, 2017 Share Posted November 30, 2017 Well Fed. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vonfirmath Posted November 30, 2017 Share Posted November 30, 2017 Look at one of the Best Recipe books from Cook's Illustrated -- along with recipes, there are extensive articles in there about WHY they chose the recipes they did, how different steps affect the end taste, etc. They could pair this with recipes they find elsewhere that fit their dietary needs to figure out how to modify within boundaries. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Marmalade Posted November 30, 2017 Share Posted November 30, 2017 You might still want to consider Bittman's book, as well as his How To Cook Everything Vegetarian. When he presents a recipe, he presents it with options that often times include variations to make a recipe dairy free or how to adjust for a vegan at the table or a meat-eater at the table (or any other number of options). So a recipe for risotto will offer up one basic recipe, and then five different variations on that one basic recipe. How To Cook Everything Vegetarian completely changed the way I cook and I'm not a vegetarian. It is crazy easy to take any of the recipes in the book and turn them into a side dish to accompany a chicken breast or a pork chop. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
almondbutterandjelly Posted November 30, 2017 Share Posted November 30, 2017 We use our Better Homes and Gardens cookbook A LOT. For dairy free (we have that too), we just use a different liquid and a safe margarine (Earth Balance soy free might work for him). I think a basic cookbook and a sheet of substitutes might work the best with their specific issues. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
displace Posted November 30, 2017 Share Posted November 30, 2017 Another vote for cooks illustrated. They explain things so well for a beginner. They have different books- paleo, veg, etc. they also have a paid website so maybe an online subscription would be better? Some of their foods are more exotic/expensive, but not the majority. You can browse books first or check out their website before committing. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiana Posted November 30, 2017 Author Share Posted November 30, 2017 (edited) You might still want to consider Bittman's book, as well as his How To Cook Everything Vegetarian. When he presents a recipe, he presents it with options that often times include variations to make a recipe dairy free or how to adjust for a vegan at the table or a meat-eater at the table (or any other number of options). So a recipe for risotto will offer up one basic recipe, and then five different variations on that one basic recipe. How To Cook Everything Vegetarian completely changed the way I cook and I'm not a vegetarian. It is crazy easy to take any of the recipes in the book and turn them into a side dish to accompany a chicken breast or a pork chop. Yeah, I think I'm going to go with this option. I do love Bittman's emphasis on improvisation/substitution. I'll probably save the Vegetarian option for a birthday present instead -- but thanks very much for the info on it, I hadn't really considered that. Edit: And thanks everyone else who commented, I don't want to drown him in books but I'm adding them to my "future ideas for ___" list on Amazon. I really enjoyed the Cooks Illustrated Baking book myself :) Edited November 30, 2017 by kiana Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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