Try It, You Might Like It #9: Cookbooks

"Try it, you might like it" - it's what someone says when they present you with some food you've never had before or your mom wants you to try on some clothes she picked out for you.  I'm using it here on the blog as inspiration to choose books in genres I don't normally read; to branch out from my reading comfort zones; and to maybe find some new favorites!  I haven't done this feature in over a year (!), but one of my goals this year was to bring it back, so here we go!

Much to my mother's dismay, I am a pretty terrible cook.  She is a wonderful cook and baker, but no matter how many times she's tried to teach me, I've just never gotten the hang of cooking.  I have a few tried-and-true recipes, but luckily, I snagged a husband that is not only an awesome cook, but who actually enjoys the process.  However, there's still a part of me that longs to be a boss in the kitchen, so I picked up Chrissy Teigen's Cravings: Hungry for More to check out some recipes.

I picked Chrissy's cookbook because, well, it's Chrissy.  She's fun and funny, and I find it so refreshing that she's a model who doesn't hide the fact that she loves to eat.  This is her second cookbook and it promised quick recipes with fewer ingredients (ostensibly for busy parents, but also good for people who have little confidence in the kitchen!).

There are about 100 recipes in this book, and they run the gamut - breakfast dishes, salads, soups, dinners, Thai-inspired recipes, some desserts, even a section called "Potatoes & Their Friends"! I liked the large variety, but there were some I skipped over automatically (anything with fish, really, as my husband is allergic to shellfish and doesn't particularly like the types of fish he can eat).  Although the recipes occasionally called for cookware we don't own, I thought most of the methods were pretty do-able.  The ingredients weren't too outrageous, as well - a pet peeve of mine is recipes that call for expensive or hard-to-find ingredients, especially where you have to buy a ton just for a small amount in the recipe.  The blurb promised quick dishes, but I found that A LOT of them took more than 40 minutes, and there were some that would take a couple hours!  That's not practical for me.

I enjoyed reading Chrissy's little blurbs at the beginning of each recipe, either with her feelings towards the dish or some memory associated with it or the inspiration behind it, and I've definitely copied a couple recipes that I would love to try in the future.  I don't think I'll be reading more cookbooks any time soon, though, especially considering I have an entire Pinterest board of recipes I've saved and have yet to try!

Do you like to cook?  Do you have any go-to cookbooks?