Of course you cannot go wrong with Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything. Also, my new favorite set is the collections of Best American Recipes (1999 through 2006...the collections that Molly Stevens and Fran McCullough put together are incredible!!!!)

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I've worn out two editions of the Fannie Farmer Cookbook so far. My first copy I bought in the mid-1970s, and passed it on to a young friend (complete wtih rubber bands holding it together), when I upgraded to a new edition.

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There are many great ones out there but here are my favorites:

The Complete Guide to Asian Cooking (Solomon) - this is sort of hard to find but it is AMAZING for all kinds of Asian food.

Williams Sonoma Dessert - a short but really good guide to both basic and fancier desserts. It hasn't steered me wrong yet.

Good Housekeeping Illustrated Cookbook - My husband brought this one into the marriage and it is simply awesome.

The Fanny Farmer Cookbook - a classic and the one that I grew up with. The brownie and lasagna recipes in particular are very good - and it does a nice job explaining everything and making it simple.

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Think like a Chef by Tom Colicchio. Techniques let you do anything with any food.

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Marcella Hazan The Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking
http://www.amazon.com/Essentials-Classic-Italian-Cooking-Marcella/dp/039458404X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1240606228&sr=1-1

Brown - The Tassajara Bread Book
http://www.amazon.com/Tassajara-Bread-Book-Edward-Brown/dp/157062089X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1240606189&sr=1-1

At least one book by Julia Child (I love them all)

The Chef's Art: Secrets of Four-Star Cooking at Home
http://www.amazon.com/Chefs-Art-Secrets-Four-Star-Cooking/dp/0471836842

And a subscription to Cooks Illustrated

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When I was a young bride, I learned how to cook from a spiral-bound copy of the Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook. It's definitely not fancy and all-encompassing, but it has all of the basics that a person who is new to cooking and entertaining would need. I depended on it for the first holidays I hosted and various dinner parties we had the first couple years we were married. It's spiral bound and has tabs, which makes it very useful to a newbie whose last worry in the kitchen should be fiddling with a book that won't stay open. As I got more comfortable in the kitchen, I moved on from it, and now I can't remember the last time I opened it, but I think it really is a great one for someone with little to no exprience cooking.

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Thank you for not putting that Food Network lady and the late, great, Julia Child in the same sentence.

Great cookbooks aren't necessarily written by great names, but people who have to cook 365 days a year for their families and friends. Cookbooks written to document family favorites and church fundraisers are good basic books. Hit the thrift stores and give those books a glance, and a second chance.

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I agree with Better Homes and Gardens. It has everything basic, as well as techniques and sections on measurements/conversions, and substitutions. Also for always good and always simple recipes, many of which are geared toward easy entertaining, go with anything from the Company's Coming line. I just picked up Good Friends, Great Grilling today and already I am planning about 10 summer get together grill outs...

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I agree with both Mark Bittman's book and the Better Home and Gardens option. I would also suggest a cookbook focused on you really like such as grilling, baking, cookies, Italian, Asian, etc (I'd choose a soup or bread cookbook).
Another good source is parents and grandparents. Both my mom and grandma have hand written cookbooks and I have called grandma to get some of her recipes.

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These are what I buy for the youngsters in my life, when they are ready to leave the nest:

The Joy of Cooking

The Betty Crocker Cookbook

The Cake Bible

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The New Best Recipe by the Cook's Illustrated folks. It's got a tested, working, tasty recipe for almost everything you want to make.

The Best 30-Minute Recipe, also by the CI folks. Yeah, everyone hates that time limit and the compromises and everything, but dammit, sometimes you need to make something tasty in half an hour, and on those days, I turn to this one again and again and again. I've nearly broken the binding on it.

If you want to eat more vegetables or have a vegetarian in the house, Vegetables Every Day by Jack Bishop, senior editor of (you guessed it) Cook's Illustrated. His A Year in a Vegetarian Kitchen is very good, but it's entirely seasonal and doesn't have the flexibility of Vegetables Every Day.

In the same vein of actually cooking food in a reasonable time frame, I really like Everyday Food magazine, which put out a book full of recipes a few years ago that, sadly, I do not have.

For a fifth, I'd go with an odd one: Lorna Sass's Great Vegetarian Cooking Under Pressure. A pressure cooker and this book led me to enjoy risotto, beans, lentils, and a ton of other "long-cooking" dishes in much less time. Yeah, you can probably get better flavor from beans by soaking overnight and slowly simmering them, but that's just not gonna happen in my kitchen. Soaking for an hour in really hot water, changing the water and cooking 4-5 minutes under pressure can happen in my kitchen, and it gives me healthy foods I would never otherwise take the time to fix.

For baking, The King Arthur Baking Companion, with no disrespect intended to Baking Illustrated or Cookwise.

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I recently cleared off a good couple of feet of kitchen counter by giving away all of my cookbooks.

The one that remained?

The Joy of Cooking.

This book has gotten me through holiday baking, dinner parties, baked goods for the kids to take to the fair, and lazy Wednesday dinners.

The only others that got to stay were my cupcake and cake books which are really more decorating idea books than cook books.

Other than Joy, I'll second the Good Housekeeping Illustrated Cookbook.

When (heaven forbid) my mother passes on, I will punch my brother in the throat for her copy if he tries to get in the way. It was my grandmother's and is full of our family notes and recipes tucked in on cards.

With these two, there's not a thing you can't cook. And if it's not in there, well, google it. ;)

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Regarding Julia, you don't need to jump in to "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" to start. One of her later books, "Julia's Kitchen Wisdom" is a favorite that I give to friends who are kitchen novices. Many of the recipes have an explanation, the base recipe, and some variations so that you can stretch you culinary wings once you have the basics down. It is not an enormous, intimidating tome, but a great little book with the kindness, approachability, and humor that made Julia Child a household name.

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I gave my daughter and fiance Bittman's How to Cook Everything,but I am proud to say she still calls me to get instructions !!!

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The Joy of Cooking.
There are plenty of great recipes, but I use it mainly as a reference.
Basics on how to choose, prep and cook any vegi or cut of meat, plus plenty basic recipes for things like muffins that can be modified as you become more confident in the kitchen. Be sure to pick up the newer edition. The older one is a classic, but I can do without the information on how to skin and prepare squirrel!

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The one that I use the most is Colorado Collage. The other ones that I love are Joy of Cooking, Betty Crocker Cookbook, and Betty Crocker Cookie Cookbook.

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How about community cookbooks? I love having a few (both community and school fundraiser) from home, since they often have recipes that are easy, recall fond memories, and can't be found anywhere else.

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When I got married and first started cooking, I bought "The Joy of Cooking," simply for the techniques and ingredient info, and I still use it all the time, though rarely for actual recipes. I'd highly recommend it.

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My favorite is:

Now You're Cooking: Everything a Beginner Needs to Know to Start Cooking Today by Elaine Corn

The author does a terrific job of teaching the basics and in what order to do everything, but the recipes are so great you'll continue to use them well after you know your way around the kitchen.

The hamburger recipe is outstanding (they turn out so moist)!

I learned how to properly chop onions from this book among other things.

There's also a follow-up book:

Now You're Cooking for Company: Everything a Beginner Needs to Know to Have People Over

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An Australian cookbook which has become an institution - Stephanie Alexander's "A Cook's Companion". This is a brilliant book both for novice and experienced cook. Tells you the basics from how to boil and egg or roast a fillet of beef, to more complex recipes, all sorted by ingredient. A must have for any cook.

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