I agree with Gladys, on the first two cookbooks:-)!!

I happily own both and they are very good, if not excellent resources. The other two that Gladys mentioned, I do not have. There are two others that I like and was given when DH and I got married, 32 years ago, and which I still use. They are well loved and show their years of use:-) or :-(!! I think that both have been updated and I'm not sure that I'm so happy about that (the newer versions). Anyway, the other two are Joy of Cooking by Irma S. Rombauer and Marion Rombauer Becker, my copy of which has a copyright date of January, 1967, and good ol' Betty Crocker's Cookbook which was published in 1971. It's a hardcover cookbook with a red cover. (This may sound foolish, but I wish they would rerelease this version since mine needs to be rebound or else I need a new copy.) These two cookbooks are probably what helped me with the basics "way back when." Additionally, there have been people that have helped and influenced me along the way - my own mother who refused to make a cake (or pie) from mixes, my mil (mother-in-law), who showed me (I asked her to help, me being a damn Yankee,) how to cook some of the things DH grew up loving (he was born in Louisiana, his mom a Texan, his dad from Louisiana), Bessie, the cajun cook at Spring Bayou in Louisiana (the cook for friend's of DH's parents), and my dear next door neighbor when we lived in Virginia who was very into Julia Child, and, last but not least, people we have met as graduate students and in DH's job as a college professor from this country and all over the world. Places we have lived, have also influenced me and, certainly how I look at fresh produce, cooking etc. We have moved in a circle, if you will, around the U.S. We have lived in Texas, Oregon, Washington, DC, and Massachusetts, and have had sabbiticals in California and, not in the U.S., Paris. It has all made for a very interesting life and hobby. I do not consider myself a "gourmet" cook. I like to cook, but within reason, and I'm still learning, so the journey continues:-) Good luck, Diane with your basic cookbook choices and keep an open mind about food and recipes and share and collect those you like:-)