A cookbook I recommend

Those who know me, know that I'm a totally mediocre cook, something I think goes along with my lack of any artistic skills. What saves my life in the kitchen, and ensures that my family periodically eats well, is a cookbook I stumbled across at Costco called America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook, a name that is really off-putting. Don't let yourself be put off, though. It's one of the best cookbooks . . . no, strike that. It is the best cookbook I've ever seen.

The book's shtick is that, back at the America's Test Kitchen headquarters, the staff experiments with every recipe 20, 30 or 40 times, trying various ways to cook it, until the results are foolproof. For example, they'll try a recipe with whole milk, low fat milk, fat free milk, condensed milk and powdered milk, over and over, until they determine which ingredient yields the best results every time.

For someone like me, with absolutely no natural instincts when it comes to cooking, and very little acquired skill, this book is the way to go. I've had it for almost a year now and cook out of it probably 3-5 nights a week (with the other nights being a hodge podge of left overs, high quality frozen food, and cold cereal, depending on their needs and my fatigue). It's gotten to the point where the kids have almost forgotten what a lousy cook I used to be!

So, if you're in the market for a truly excellent cookbook, let me recommend this one. You'll love some of the recipes, like others, and learn a heck of a lot about reliable, delicious food preparation.