Kitchen Confidence by Kelsey Nixon

The angle: Confidence is the secret ingredient

Recipes for right now: Skillet Sausage Hash with Eggs, Cilantro Lime Slaw, Meatball Parmesan Heroes, Asian Chicken Noodle Soup, Lemon-Scented Chicken Thighs, Steak and Pepper Stir-Fry, Bacon & Blue Cheese Twice-Baked Potatoes

Who would enjoy this book? Folks cooking on their own for the first time, anyone who could use a shot of Vitamin Confidence in the kitchen

• Who wrote it: Kelsey Nixon

• Who published it: Clarkson Potter

• Number of recipes: Around 100

• Other highlights: This cookbook is not the encyclopedia of recipes and techniques that you’ll find in books like Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything or Aida Mollencamp’s Keys to the Kitchen, but Kelsey Nixon takes a different, and arguably more accessible, approach.

The cookbook is framed around a collection of essential recipes (weeknight meals, classic birthday cake, breakfast dishes, and the like), and Kelsey inserts cooking lessons as needed among these recipes. Rather than flipping to an earlier section to learn how to stir fry, it’s right there next to the recipe for Steak and Pepper Stir-Fry. Other recipes might have profiles on tools used or a particular seasoning technique. I like this learn-as-you go integration — it feels very natural and un-intimidating.

For new cooks just learning their way around the kitchen, I feel that this book would serve as both study guide and resource for new recipes.

Find the book at your local library, independent bookstore, or Amazon: Kitchen Confidence by Kelsey Nixon

• Visit the author’s website: Kelsey Nixon

Apartment Therapy Media makes every effort to test and review products fairly and transparently. The views expressed in this review are the personal views of the reviewer and this particular product review was not sponsored or paid for in any way by the manufacturer or an agent working on their behalf. However, the manufacturer did give us the product for testing and review purposes.