Is the most updated New Basics no longer a thing? Early on I got more actual mileage out of that than Joy of Cooking for a while. @Mel_Hill I looked up at the cookbook shelf and that pic looks pretty familiar.
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One of my best and most-referenced early cookbooks was The Joy of Cooking. In fact, it and my Cookās Illustrated cookbooks still get the most use in my house.
Funny I was just going to suggest their suite of books!
One my shelves looks eerily like Mel Hills.
Although mine are more spattered with oils and other messy stuff.
Now that is the sign of a good cookbook. 
we have some red spots on the ceiling of the kitchen (from a red sauce accident) and the Mrs. tells the kids its from The Great Ravioli Massacre
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I was going to make a similar comment. Two books on Melās shelf are perfect for beginnersā¦ New Basics (Silver Palate authors) and Joy of Cooking. Between the two of them, there is a recipe for just about anything anyone starting out might want to try.
Not a cookbook, but Gordon Ramsey has a youtube series called ā100 Recipes to stake your life onā that Iād recommend to any newer cook. He spends a lot of time on things like knife skills, searching for quality ingredients, how to dice an onion, etc. Its a great watch - he acts like more of a teacher and less like Hells Kitchen crazy man too, so I found it helpful.
As an alternative to cookbooks, you could look into a āmasterclassā subscription for a few months too as opposed to a cookbook if your niece is more of a visual learner than a book learner.
If youāre sticking with books through, Better Homes & Gardens is always a staple. Ina Garten āCook like a Proā is another good one - sheās compiled some very un-intimidating recipes.
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Joy of Cooking was my first ā¦ well actually Betty Crockerās Cookbook for Boys and Girls was my [Vintage Betty Crocker's Cook Book for Boys and Girls 1957 First Editon | eBay]
I shifted to Fannie Farmer because it has my favorite Chicken Paprikash which I know by heart now ā¦ These omnibus basics cookbooks just are ideal for finding all those essentials even though they may not inspire.
I do find the Beard and Claiborne cookbooks remain brilliant companions.
Looking at Melās ā Silver Palate! Moosewood!
Agree on the MasterClass. I learned so much from the Thomas Keller masterclass.
Iāve been through a lot of culinary training, mostly at the Ritz Escoffier school in Paris. The most important things I learned were:
- How to use a knife, especially for vegetables
- How to debone a fowl
- How to prepare meat, especially lamb, beef or game meats
- Techniques with fish (deboning, scaling, prepping for cooking)
- Plating a dish
Once you get the fundamentals, the rest is creativity. One of my most proud dishes was a beautiful and delicious seared vegan scallop. Happy to share the technique via DM 
I like the idea of a subscription vs books, and there are so many great YT channels and itās easy to follow along/pause as needed etc. Having that audio/video IMO makes things so much easier.
What in the world is a vegan scallop?
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I added a pic to the post. A wonderful alternative to a real scallop for vegans.
Given the lack of vegetarian/vegan dishes at events, I like to prepare vegan dishes that are as appealing as non-vegan for those that are meat/fish averse. In this case it was a dinner party with a vegan friend.
The āscallopā is the stem of a king mushroom that is marinated for a few hours on either side then scored and sauteed. The result has the consistency of a scallop with amazing flavor minus the seafood taste.
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Thomas Kellerās 3-part Masterclass series alone is worth the price of annual subscription. In my opinion an incredible series for everyone from beginners to advanced cooks. The classes also include companion recipes / written materials. We subscribed for two years just to watch this series. Unfortunately, none of the other classes were up to this same standard and we eventually let the subscription lapse.
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One of a handful of Joy of Cooking recipes I still use is the āflour pasteā pie dough recipe. Itās the only one Iāve found that consistently works well in my very dry climate. Another is the basic pancake recipe. 
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āBasicsā depends on oneās point of view. āBasicsā in, e.g., Indian, Mexican, Japanese, or Thai cooking (to mention a few other great culinary traditions) are quite different and I would say at least as important to learn if you enjoy a wider range of foods.
Lots of great suggestions. When my older son moved out of his dorm & went on his own 2nd year, I bought him Bittmanās āhow to cook everythingā and āSalt, Fat, Acid, Heatā Also gave him my 35 year old copy of āThe New Basicsā which i never reference now.
As for Kenji - Iām a huge fan and he has changed how I cook many many things, but the Food Lab book isnāt nearly as useful as the Serious Eats website, so apart from supporting him via book $, Iād just stick with the online version.
Is this the series? When you search for it on Youtube about a bazillion Gordon Ramsey videos pop up.
Thatās the one. Thereās not a playlist necessarily, but once you watch one the YouTube algorithm should do the rest of the work for you.
Thanks. Something I can watch during lunch from my desk.