The recipes you reach for in every project — the logging setup you paste into each FastAPI app, the fetch hook, the server-action form, pagination, retry/backoff, env config. Not syntax to memorise; patterns to reuse. Each one has the code, when you'd use it, and the gotcha.
How this differs from the lessons & the interview bank
The lessons teach you concepts. The interview bank drills you for the room. This cookbook is for the desk — the muscle-memory patterns you'll copy into real work for years. Keep it open in a tab. When you solve something cleanly, add it here.
How to use it
Don't read it front-to-back. Skim once so you know what's in here, then come back and Ctrl-F when you hit the problem in real code. Every recipe says when to use it — that judgement is the actual skill. Most patterns are wired into DocChat, so you've already got a place to apply them.
Why this compounds
A junior re-solves the same small problems on every project. A strong dev has a kit — patterns they trust, reach for instantly, and can explain. That's what this is. Six months from now this page is worth more than any single lesson, because it's the stuff you actually do all day.