Theory and science

There will probably come a point when you want to stop just blindingly following recipes and instead want to understand why something works so you can start forging your own path. If you're here, that point is probably now.

Some recipe sources like America's Test Kitchen and Serious Eats do a good job of accompanying their recipes with articles about how they were developed. Reading those is a great start to understanding what makes a dish successful and how to start tinkering around on your own. If you want to dive deeper, here are some sources that don't necessarily offer recipes, but that will educate you on the theory and science of good food:

Books

 * The Food Lab
 * Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat
 * The Flavor Bible
 * On Food and Cooking