You might want to post this on the Cooking Forum, you'll get lots of suggestions.

My son, now 28, started cooking a few years ago and has turned into a good cook. He started by watching America's Test Kitchen (and got me hooked), and thought "I can do that." And, he can.

You and I have all the same cookbooks !! I got my DD tha Cook's Illustrated 1000 recipe cookbook a couple years ago as a started cookbook. I have one too. It is a wonderful resource and tells "why" . I have only disagreed on one thing so far that I tried and that was the Eggplant Parmagian...so I think it is a good starter. You can get it on Amazon at a great price. Hope you have a wonderful Christmas ! c

My first and still one of my favorite cookbooks was the original Moosewood Cookbook (and the Moosewood Broccoli Forest Cookbook.) Dd is 20 and is in her first apt at college. I'm getting these for her for Christmas. I also wanted to get her a more comprehensive book so I'm enjoying seeing the suggestions here.

I Have over 500 cookbooks - some of them collector items. I love cookbooks and I have made at least one recipe from all of them LOL. For beginners I highly recommend America's Test Kitchen Family Kitchen and Better Homes and Garden New Cookbook. Both of these have lots of simple, easy to prepare, tried and true recipes.

My other current favorite is Ina Garten's Back to Basics. Simply delicious recipes. The pot roast in there is OUTSTANDING.

A subscription to the Cooksillustrated.com website might also be a nice idea - you can view all the back issues as well as the current issue. It's a wonderful read especially if you are into the science of cooking

I also recommend the Pioneer Woman Cooks blog. Here recipes, sometimes from cookbooks, sometimes not, are very detailed with photos showing each step so you can see what you are aiming for. Her Marlboro Man's sandwich is a favorite around our house.

Here is a link that might be useful: Pioneer Woman's Marlboro Man Sandwich

I think it is helpful for beginner cookers to have pictures of what they will cook. For this, I love the Barefoot Contessa Cookbooks. I also love the cookbooks by Bill Granger (a Sydney Australia chef whose recipes feature fresh food cooked simply). I have all of the Barefoot Contessa books and of the Bill's I have Bill's Food and Bill's Open Kitchen. You can get these used super cheap on Amazon.

Here is a link that might be useful: Bill's Food

Joy of Cooking, 1973 edition, saved my life when I went to college. The "Know Your Ingredients" section in particular helped me, as a broke student with a limited pantry, figure out which substitutions work and which don't. Unfortunately, that section has disappeared from the latest edition. I would supplement that with a photo-heavy book (the Look to Cook books by Anne Willan are good) and, perhaps, a fun book featuring a particular food/cuisine he likes (e.g., garlic, vegetarian, Italian, desserts). If he's of an engineering bent he'll be fascinated by Harold McGee, On Food and Cooking (2d ed. 2004) -- not a cookbook with recipes, but instead explains the science behind food.

My kids, who are in their 20's, enjoy Ina Garten's "Barefoot Contessa" cookbooks. In addition to basic recipes, she has lots that can be used for entertaining. There are inspiring pictures and her directions are clear for beginning cooks.

My SIL always makes her potato salad to bring to BBQ's, DD brings her pumpkin mousse dessert to her in-laws' Thanksgiving to rave reviews. My son usually makes her roasted vegetable and orzo salad when he's asked to bring a dish to a pot luck. Point is, once people taste these dishes they are almost always requested again.

Few of her recipes require exotic, hard to find ingredients, which I think is a plus to younger folks ( & all of us these days....) on limited budgets.

To teach the basics, my hands-down favorite is Julia Childs The Way to Cook. It has recipes but more importantly teaches you cooking techniques and information about ingredients.

For the basics I think Betty Crocker is still fantastic. I have a ratty old paperback and I refer to it all the time when cooking meat and the tips are still great. I bought the new version for a friend who really hasn't got a clue and he refers to it all the time - the recipes, which I rarely use in mine (except for the cakes) seem much better.

I agree with Zelmar that Moosewood is fantastic, I used mine so much it has fallen apart, great introduction to spices and grains he may be less familiar with but the recipes are simple and quick. Also it has a great info section.

I second the subscription to Cooking Illustrated. They go through examples of different cooking techniques so much better than any cook book I have seen. Since I am addicted to cook books, I have looked at a lot.

If he's interested in baking, the Fannie Farmer Baking Book has some good explanations of various techniques (making pie crust, making homemade bread, etc.), as well as some good basic recipes. I couldn't believe how good my first apple pie was, which I made following the illustrated step-by-step instructions in that book.

For general cooking, I agree with some of the other recommendations here...the Good Housekeeping book is good for basic stuff, The Joy of Cooking is good for many levels of cooking, and Cook's Illustrated/ATK website is also great.
And it's always fun to learn about new things...I have just been snooping around on the Pioneer Woman website, and will check out Bill Granger as well.

I also agree that Julia Childs' "The Way to Cook" is the best cookbook for a beginner. The reason is that the book is designed around techniques, not recipes, so it's easy to extrapolate onto different ingredients.

For example, she shows how to make a roux. Then, knowing that technique, it's very easy to make a gravy, bechamel sauce, cream of anything soup, cream puffs, etc.

I am a member of a cooking club, and way too many of the women (mostly in their 30's) need to have a recipe in front of them in order to make anything. They really have no clue as to how to put a meal together unless someone is telling them how to do it step-by-step.

The Cook's Illustrated books are also excellent.

I absolutely LOVE "How to Cook Without a Book, Recipes and Tehcniques Every Cook Should Know by Heart" by Pam Anderson. She is the former executive editor of Cook's Illustrated and contributes frequently to Fine Cooking. It covers everything from stocking the fridge, freezer, and pantry, to desserts. Her variations on pan sauces for meat, fish, and poultry are outstanding.

If your son ever gets into cooking in a big way, then he might enjoy "Cookwise" by Shirley Corriher and "On Food and Cooking" by Harold McGee. Although the McGee book is definitely not for beginners, both books do a wonderful job of explaining food science--and for some guys, thinking of the kitchen as a chemistry lab might might help them enjoy cooking all the more.

I like "Joy of Cooking and do subscribe to "Cooks Illustrated". But for one book that teaches serious basic cooking knowledge & techniques and has a bunch of swell recipes (that I even cook at home), I recommend "On Cooking" by Labensky which I chose as the primary basic text for the culinary school I taught at. I would point out that while I am a fan, my students were not keen on Julia Child when I assigned Mastering French cooking as the text for our classical French cuisine class. They found it hard to read and didn't like how the recipes were laid out.

Here is a link that might be useful: Used deals for

There is one book I found that gave us a whole new perspective on cooking and eating....it's called 'The Greens Cookbook' and it's a collection of recipes from the restaurant (Greens) in San Francisco.

I find it's as useful a reference as the Joy of Cooking.

i would think a cookbook on food he enjoys most would be a real winner, but if it's variety you're after i would highly recommend a subscription to cook's illustrated magazine. all the recipes are easy to follow. i would call many of the recipes within better than basic, though very easily explained and illustrated ...thus the "illustrated" in the title! they publish a binded edition at years end of every issue that is also fantastic. you cannot go wrong! good luck and it sounds like you have a lovely son. please tell me my six year old ds will someday grow up to be a little less of a PIA.

Here is a link that might be useful: cook's illustrated

I too agree with Joy of Cooking, Cook's Illustrated 1000 recipies book. You can get the Cook's Illustrated book on sale at Amazon.com. Does your son want to be a chef or a pastry person? Usually one goes one way or the other. If he wants to learn about pastry--would suggest the Julia Child books but also Nick Malgieri's books on desserts. Also, I like the basics in Sherry Yard's book on pastry and desserts. It is an excellent reference and how-to book.

Get 'Anyone Can Cook' by Better Homes and Gardens. It's a knock-it-out-of-the-park book that's terrific for beginners...lots of step-by-step photos and at the bottom of every recipe is a section called 'Ask Mom', which directs the reader to the answers to questions like 'What's a garlic clove?' and 'How do I mince garlic?' You can get it on Amazon for $20.

Here is a link that might be useful: Amazon

I read this post with great interest, as I too am a great collector of cookbooks. Everything's already been said about Cooks Illustrated - I love it all: the magazine, the cookbooks, the web site. A couple that I also really like that haven't been mentioned yet are "How to Cook Everything" by Mark Bittman (love his Minimalist column every Wednesady in the NYT), and "The New Basics" by Julee Rosso and Sheila Lukins. My copy of that book is held together by an elastic band! What's especially great about The New Basics, aside from the fact that it has recipes covering virtually everything, is that it has referenced all of the great classic cookbooks, including Julia Child, etc., so it's almost like a compendium of those books.

One last one to mention - "The Cook's Canon - 101 Recipes Everyone Should Know", by Raymond Sokolov. The title says it all!

Eliz

Oops. The link I posted was for the paperback. It's temporarily out of stock. The attached link is for the loose-leaf, ring-bound book, which is the better option anyway. Still under $20.

Here is a link that might be useful: amazon

OMG, I've just gotten back to the post and am overwhelmed; what fabulous, thoughtful responses. Thank you! Now I have even more to think about.

kateskouros: I would give anything to have a day back with my son and his sister and brother even on their most PIA little kiddo day :) enjoy it! Really, it will be over in the blink of an eye, just like all the old ladies tell you. I never believed them until I turned into one! I don't have a six year old handy--go give yours a hug and a kiss for me.

Since no one else has mentioned it, unless I missed it, my favorite for those starting out is The Southern Living Cookbook - simple directions; excellent pictures and I've never had anything turn out bad from it. Lots of good, basic recipes in it. I've given it as a wedding gift multiple times with most appreciative feedback from the new users.

I'll chime in to add to the chorus in support of Joy of Cooking, and second Eliz's recommendation of The New Basics. Both are absolute staples. I love Moosewood but find it's not the easiest to navigate. Mark Bittman's column is fantastic, and everyone I know who has How to Cook Everything swears on it; I just had to declare a moratorium on cookbook purchases so it hasn't made it home with me. In addition to Cook's Illustrated, I find Everyday Food to be really accessible without being pedestrian, and subscriptions are only $12!

Here is a link that might be useful: Everyday Food

I would like to second the recommendation of "The New Basics". It is an excellent well-rounded cookbook that includes more than just basics. I also recommend the Joy of Cooking because it is the basics.

I love Cooks Illustrated, a subscription to the website would be a great gift, as well as the magazine. The problem is, I've found all the recipes we use a lot are from the earliest editions. (I still have them all AND the hard-bound copies. I use The New Best Recipe by them a lot and have given it to several cooking impaired friends.

Beth

Here is a link that might be useful: Cooks Illustrated The Best Recipe

I had the original Best Recipe cookbook and loved it. I really enjoyed how they described the process of getting to what they considered the best recipe.

These days, though, I get pretty much all my recipes / ideas online. It's cheaper, portable and takes up a lot less space.

While I'm no longer a vegetarian, I absolutely adore 101 cookbooks. It's all about natural foods and healthier cooking.

Here is a link that might be useful: Here's a link to her list of best cookbooks

I will join the chorus singing the praises of Cook's Illustrated "The New Best Recipe". This cookbook has been my bible for the last few years. Previous to that I used Betty Crocker and Joy of Cooking. I still use them both but I always check The New Best Recipe first. My analytical brain can really relate to how they develop their recipes.

i second everyday food....and i always love getting something in the mail monthly. if you are interested in a cookbook, i really like martha stewarts "good food fast". very basic, easy and delicious.....

I learned a lot from Julia's 'How to...', but my choice for a one and only would be Joy of cooking.

'Joy' wins for its really massive collection of recipies, and great advice on choosing and handling foodstuffs-- information we didn't all learn at our mothers knee...