"David Harmon" wrote in message >I have a gift card for a bookstore. I'm
going to buy a cookbook.
>
> What I'm looking for is standard basic information for standard basic
> cooking of standard fare. The kind of thing where if I know the name of
> it, I can find how to do it. Not the kind where I would find recipes
> somebody invented in order to fill up a cookbook, and which I would
> never cook.
>
> I already have "Joy of Cooking" which is pretty good, except too often
> they say in effect "there is a standard way to do this but our way is
> spiffier." I want the standard way.
>
> My current candidate is Bittman's "How to Cook Everything."
> Any comments or suggestions?

If you're looking for something very basic, but informative I'd recommend
one of Betty Crocker's cookbooks.

http://tinyurl.com/6wg9yg

or

Better Homes & Gardens New Cookbooks

http://tinyurl.com/9p2y92