Classic Cookbooks Joy of Cooking by Irma Rombauer and Marion Rombauer Becker: A total classic—you can think of this cookbook as an encyclopedia of cooking. It’s been around for decades and is perfect as a basic, all-purpose cooking guide. It includes just about every category you can imagine, from appetizers to salads to shellfish, meat, and game...even the desserts are broken down into categories such as bread and coffee cakes, pies and pastries, and cookies and bars. Start with a simple Caesar salad, add a side of summer squash casserole, serve up your main course of turned roast chicken, and finish off with chocolate pots de creme. Yum! Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child: This cookbook is another that has stood the test of time. Many of the recipes are notoriously fussy, but it also contains some great basic recipes, such as the perfect roast chicken, that you will want to add to your repertoire. Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan: The bible of Italian cooking, this cookbook includes a simple four-ingredient red sauce that you can use on the regular. It also includes helpful tips on the right tools and equipment to buy, as well as going in depth into the differences between cooking in different regions of Italy. Cooking for Vegetarians Plenty: Vibrant Vegetable Recipes from London's Ottolenghi by Yotam Ottolenghi: This cookbook is filled with so many innovative ideas for cooking veggies at home. It’s organized by main ingredient, each chapter focusing on a different vegetable, so it’s easy to discover new ways to prepare your favorite veggie (and you might just discover a new vegetable you love!). Cookbooks That Teach More Than Just Recipes The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science by J. Kenji López-Alt: If you want to perfect your techniques in the kitchen and learn the science behind why some techniques and recipes work, this is the cookbook for you. This book is a beast, with over 900 pages of photos, recipes, advice, and in-depth explanations of every type of meal and cooking style (breakfasts, soups & stews, salad, frying, etc.). The Taste of Country Cooking by Edna Lewis: This cookbook contains many scrumptious classic Southern recipes, such as biscuits and pancakes, while helping to preserve parts of Southern U.S. and African American culture that have almost vanished. Lewis grew up in a small Virginia Piedmont farming community that had been settled by freed slaves, and she uses her unique knowledge and perspective to great effect, sharing delicious recipes right alongside gorgeous stories from her past.