5 tools to start cooking with 1. Tongs. Preferably locking tongs. They should be long enough to keep your hand away from spattering skillets, but short enough that they're easy to maneuver. Try the OXO 12-inch, stainless steel locking tongs ($12.99). 2. A set of cake pans. You can do a lot of things in a cake pan if you don't have a full set of cookware. 3. An enameled, cast-iron Dutch oven. They're heavy, they last a lifetime and when you make your first pot roast, you may find yourself addicted to cooking for life. Try the Lodge enameled cast-iron, 6-quart Dutch oven ($60). 4. A fine-mesh bowl sieve. They're more useful than colanders with big holes, and they double as flour sifters (easier to clean than a sifter, too). Try OXO Good Grips Double Rod Strainer ($22). 5. A really sharp zester: Try the one from Microplane, which costs $13 to $15. They're easier and faster than getting out a big box grater. Food writer Brooke Parkhurst uses hers to grate garlic: "It will melt into a dish when you grate it. You get the essence without crunching into bits." -- Charlotte Observer

5 do's for beginning cooks 1. Decide how you will organize recipes. Do it before you have a big, messy pile of torn-out recipes you will never use. How you organize isn't as important as having some kind of a system. 2. Clean as you go. It saves a lot of time, and cooking is more fun if you don't have a disaster to clean up when you're done. 3. Learn from a veteran. Find a really good cook who will let you hang out, watch closely and ask a lot of questions. 4. First, read. Read recipes all the way through before you start -- no matter how big a hurry you are in. 5. Pick a shape for containers. Choose one shape of resealable containers -- square or rectangle -- and stick with it. If you stay with one shape, the containers can be nested for efficient storage. Forget round ones. They waste space. -- Charlotte Observer

5 don'ts for cooking 1. Don't buy a set of knives. You will waste money on specialty knives you won't ever use. Spend the money on the best 8-inch chef's knife, 4-inch paring knife and 12-inch serrated-edge knife you can afford. We like Messermeister- and Henckel-brand knives. Those three knives will cost $130 to $150. 2. Save on olive oil. Don't waste expensive extra-virgin olive oil for frying. It can't take high heat. Use cheaper vegetable oil and save the good olive oil for vinaigrette. 3. Go big. Don't be afraid to get a big skillet or roasting pan. You can cook something small in a big pan, but you can't cook something big in a small pan. A Lodge 12-inch pre-seasoned cast-iron skillet will last a lifetime for $25. 4. Adapt! Don't be afraid to change recipes. It uses beef and you like chicken? It calls for tarragon but you have thyme? Don't worry, try it. 5. Think efficiency. Don't waste time wiping mushrooms one by one. They won't absorb that much water if you rinse them and drain them well, no matter what the recipe says. -- Charlotte Observer

5 great cookbooks 1. "How to Cook Everything" -- by Mark Bittman (Wiley, 2008). It lives up to the title, and it's available as an iPhone app, too. 2. "The Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook" -- (Wiley, 2010). Everybody needs a go-to cookbook with simple recipes and lots of step-by-step photos. The cookbook with the red-plaid cover has earned its place in kitchens for generations. 3. "The Classic Italian Cookbook" -- by Marcella Hazan (Ballantine, 1989). It's simple and useful (the blender pesto is a must), and Italian is the one cuisine that every person you know probably likes. 4. "The King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion" -- (Countryman Press, 2003). A go-to baking book. "When you first get into cooking, you really enjoy desserts," says food writer Brooke Parkhurst. "You have something really impressive that you can make early on." 5. Fine Cooking magazine. -- A magazine subscription instead of a book can give new cooks a chance to find out what they like. This one is simple, elegant and always reliable, with a lot of how-to information every month. -- Charlotte Observer