Friday, May 24, 2019

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?

24 comments:

  1. Chrissy is just lovely! But my go-to cookbooks need to be doable in 30 min or less, with a minimum number of ingredients lol

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  2. She is such a funny person - I am curious about her cookbooks. At this point in my life, some of the recipes that are more involved definitely aren't practical for me. Maybe I'll check this one out from the library.

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    1. I got it from the library! I really felt her personality come through in her stories.

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  3. "Potatoes and their friends," haha. Sounds like it's a fun cookbook.

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  4. What are we cooking and when??

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  5. Chrissy is hilarious. That is a shame about the time involved in some of those recipes though. Definitely not practical in my house where my son is asking about dinner as soon as he gets off the school bus, lol.

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    1. Haha, yes! Not practical for us after work, either.

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  6. Hah! Quick meals are 10-15 minutes, MAYBE 30, but definitely no more than that. If it takes any longer than that, it's just not worth it (at least not at this point in my life). I can't spend that much time in the kitchen when I have three little monsters running around, and nap time is when I get housework done. Gotta choose my battles!

    Lindsi @ Do You Dog-ear? 💬

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    1. I hear ya! It's definitely not do-able during the week for us.

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  7. I love cooking, but I just google recipes - I don't have any cookbooks :( I love the look of this one though! I'm glad the recipes aren't too extravagant, either.

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    1. The pictures and stuff were very cool, but yeah, I can just look up recipes online!

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  8. I hate cooking, but I love baking! I don't use cookbooks though since I rely a lot on reviews on recipes online! This one does look interesting though!

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    1. It definitely had a lot of variety, which I appreciate!

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  9. i actually have not learned to cook till i met my husband so... into my 20s? much to my own moms dismay. I can't pull recipes out of thin air, but I enjoy following and discovering good ones then tweaking them till I like them better

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    1. Yes, I am the same way, I can't really just create recipes myself. My husband is really good at that!

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  10. I love cookbooks and cooking (if only I had more time to cook!), and I picked up this book from Book Outlet. I’ve yet to go through it though. I’m glad you found a few things you wanted to try, Angela. Wonderful review!

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    1. Thanks, Jennifer! I hope you find some good recipes!

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  11. Great review! I'm with you - 40 minutes or more is not a quick meal. I've also found that there are enough recipes online that I don't get much out of most cookbooks. If I could find one where I can really trust all the recipes will be good and easy, that would be awesome, but short of that, I'd rather search online.

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    1. Right, I totally agree - I'd rather just look for one recipe online that buy an entire book where maybe only a few of the recipes would appeal to me.

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  12. I literally have one cookbook. It's a crock pot cookbook. A lot of my recipes are from watching my mom as a kid so they are just some basic meals. What I do is if I like a recipe I ripe it out and put it in the crock pot book to keep it or make a copy and put it in there. I have a book that is swelling with recipes! I do want to get a keto book as I have been having to eat this way for over two months for the surgery in August. Uggh. =)

    Mary

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    1. Keto is something I haven't tried, but have heard a lot about! I have a bunch of recipes, some printed from the internet and some from family, just shoved in one of the cabinets in the kitchen!

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I'm so glad you stopped by, and I would love to hear your thoughts! Comments are always greatly appreciated!