When Lora Brody, cookbook author, chocolate maven, and mother, sent her sons off into the world, she (and they) realized that they didn't have a clue as to how to feed themselves or their guests, if, heaven forbid, they should have any. The Kitchen Survival Guide is for anyone — newly graduated, newly married, newly single — who is venturing into the kitchen for the first time. With her on-target brand of humor, Lora Brody builds kitchen confidence with more than 130 basic recipes necessary to get through life, as well as hundreds of helpful hints Mom forgot to share:

On cleaning an oven — "Manual cleaning oven, unfortunately, does not mean that a guy named Manuel will come and clean your oven."

What's the difference between dicing and chopping, zest and pith, or au gratin and au lait?

Survival recipes include tuna fish salad, homemade chicken soup, brownies, and many more.

Setting up a kitchen and keeping it clean and safe, how to buy and store food, a glossary of basic cooking terms, and what to do in the event of a culinary disaster are all covered in this handy, easy-to-use cookbook and kitchen compendium.