Cookbooks to Get You Started, February 2012

This is an absolutely GORGEOUS book (read: lots of pictures) with recipes that are simple and that come out looking  very refined (hence all the pictures) --- and tasting great as well. Yeah, I didn't know Beef Pies could be "simple" either. My favorite part? Each chapter has a section called "short cuts" that tell you how to increase the flavor and reduce the amount of time it takes to cook with your ingredients. Also a number of the recipes have variations so you can cater them to your own tastes!