My friend's daughter(15 years old)  wants to start putting her own cookbook collection together.  The daughter is just starting to expand her cooking experience and would like to cook from a recipe instead of out of a box all of the time.   Can anyone suggest a good beginner cook book for her that I can either get here at PBS or the local book store???

I think that Rachael Ray's recipes are pretty easy to follow.  You might want to check out one of her books.  I personally like 30 Minute Meals 2 the best out of all of hers.

the classics: Joy of Cooking, Fannie Farmer.... or any of the well-known collections - Better Homes and Gardens, Pillsbury, Betty Crocker.  Maybe find one with step-by-step pictures - I think Good Housekeeping has one called Step-by-Step something. Taste of Home collections are good also.    I like Rachael also.

Thanks for the suggestions.....I have made a list of the ones you suggest and will see what I can find here and at my local book store.

another one:

if she's into science and "nerdy stuff", Cook's Illustrated is really good at explaining things. They test upwards of 40 roasted chicken recipes and tell you why they picked a certain ingredient and why a different one didn't work. They have a magazine you can get at most grocery/bookstores to try it out first. But I love their cookbooks.

Is she interested in specific foods.... there are a TON of specialty cookbooks out there. mexican, french, italian, vegetables, cookies, breakfast.... maybe a book that highlights the foods grandma and grandpa (or greats) grew up with. My family came from the Netherlands and I love finding anything dutch-oriented.

I'll go over my list and see if I can find anything else.

Oh - and check out any local thrift stores. Cookbooks are quite cheap at most of them. at least by me, they are. That way, she can get her fingers wet first without spending too much!!!  and have her clear a spot off a bookshelf. at least a whole shelf. Then next year, she can get a new bookcase just for her cookbooks. they tend to multiply rapidly once you start collecting. believe me.

I started collecting recipes and cookbooks when I was still a kid..still like getting them! I think Rachael Ray's are good choices. There are a lot of good ones out now though. I'm trying to eat healthier so I have a lot of weight watchers adn light and tasty and cooking light type stuff along with rachael ray's.  one guy I find irritating to watch(haven't seen his books though) but I find I learn a lot from is Alton Brown! His show is very informative and gives lots of info. Taste of Home has good recipes too if you're not trying to be healthy LOL!

This woud be a good opportunity for her family to work on making a family cookbook for her.  It would be a great low cost Christmas idea for the family to call around to grandparents, aunts, uncles, extended family and friends and ask them to send family specialities or just favorite recipes from their recipe boxes.  I know this doesn't really address your initial query, but if she's interested in amassing a cookbook collection at 15, then she's probably serious about cooking.  A famiily collection is a great way to keep older recipes in circulation and is a really neat way of keeping the lines of communication open between the generations.  My grandmother didn't really know how to relate to me as a teen, but cooking gave us a common ground.  Just a thought.

Sandy