Aida Mollenkamp's Keys to the Kitchen The Essential Reference for Becoming a More Accomplished, Adventurous Cook

Food Network and Cooking Channel star Aida Mollenkamp lays an invaluable foundation for cooks inHow to Be in the Kitchen. This comprehensive manual collects more than 300 innovative, contemporary recipes as well as color photographs, plenty of informative illustrations, a substantial technique primer, and helpful how-to information on subjects as wide-ranging as rust removal, throwing a cocktail party, and knife skills. For members of the tech-savvy new generation who can't cook but want to, this essential reference guide makes an ideal starting place and for those already at ease in the kitchen it's full of "who knew" moments for expanding their repertoire of great recipes.

Aida Mollenkamp is the host of Ask Aida on the Food Network and FoodCrafters for the Cooking Channel. She graduated from Le Cordon Bleu Paris, was food editor at Chow.com, and lives in San Francisco.

Alex Farnum is a San Francisco–based food and lifestyle photographer whose previous work for Chronicle Books includes Chicken and Egg and Cake Simple.