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The wedding starter

Three books for a first kitchen together: one that teaches you how to cook, one for every Tuesday night, and one for the first time you have people over.

1. Salt, Fat, Acid, HeatSamin Nosrat

   Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat

   Samin Nosrat · 2017

   The one that teaches you both to cook without a recipe. Read a chapter, cook a dinner.

   Cook from it: Persian rice with tahdig, Focaccia (our write-up, saves to your recipes)

   Cook in its spirit: Simplest Good Vinaigrette (and the Only Formula You Need), Crisp-Skinned Roast Chicken with Pan Jus (Chef's own recipes, not the book's)

   No. 4 on The 100 Greatest Cookbooks

   Buy on Bookshop$40 list
2. Essentials of Classic Italian CookingMarcella Hazan

   Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking

   Marcella Hazan · 1992

   Tuesday nights for the next fifty years. Make the tomato sauce with butter and onion first.

   Cook from it: Tomato sauce with onion and butter, Lasagne alla bolognese (our write-up, saves to your recipes)

   Cook in its spirit: Tomato Sauce with Butter and Onion, Bolognese-Style Meat Sauce (Chef's own recipes, not the book's)

   No. 3 on The 100 Greatest Cookbooks

   Buy on Bookshop$35 list
3. The Barefoot Contessa CookbookIna Garten

   The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook

   Ina Garten · 1999

   For the first time you have people over. Most of it is made ahead, and nothing goes wrong.

   Cook from it: Perfect roast chicken (our write-up, saves to your recipes)

   Cook in its spirit: Perfect Roast Chicken with Lemon and Herbs, Coconut Cake with Coconut Buttercream (Chef's own recipes, not the book's)

   No. 19 on The 100 Greatest Cookbooks

   Buy on Bookshop$35 list

Publishers' list prices on October 25, 2026, read from each edition's listing. Bookshop.org often sells a little under list; the total at checkout is what counts. Bookshop.org sells one book per link, so each book has its own Buy button. Chef Amazing earns a small commission when you buy.

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