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Well, if you're interested in learning more, Cooking for Dummies isn't too bad as a starting place. Any one of the kitchen compendia so often given as gifts to brides is probably a good bet too: Better Homes & Gardens Cookbook, Fanny Farmer Cookbook, Joy of Cooking, etc. These usually explain individual techniques, selection of ingredients, and so forth, as well as giving actual recipes. A used copy from the 50s or 60s might be more instructive than a shiny new one from the bookstore, though. I've noticed that more and more of these classics are shifting into the boxed mix and canned ingredients format, probably due to popular demand and expectation.