A little late, please forgive me. I just didn't want to interrupt those fabulous ladies last week. I hope you all enjoyed them and had fun visiting their blogs.
This month was a bit tricky! It's Lent! So, I switched around my normal categories so that Friday was now a Meatless Meal. Like usual, we end up with bits and pieces from other meals that we need to use up, so those will get used in the OPEN days. Nick was away for a few days also, and with some leftovers in the fridge, I was happy to have those days OPEN as well, so that's why it looked like I was a lazy cook Week 1.
I'm already happily planning next month because guess what showed up at my doorstep?! Presents! (Even though I ordered them, I will continue to call them presents since I bought them with a gift card. :-p)
I was so excited to get these. I had already purchased the samples on my kindle (and even tried a few recipes), so I was so excited to get the real deal.
In general, I have mixed feelings about cookbooks. With so many recipes from highly acclaimed chefs available on the internet, along with a host of blogs with even more recipes for free, I'm hard pressed to find the need for cookbooks. I have several, but they tend to hang out on a shelf as dust collectors the majority of the time.
But as I've gotten more experience in the kitchen, I've asked my cookbooks to do more than I originally intended. As I'm sure it is with most new cooks, I started out (in college) with a basic recipe book (Better Homes & Gardens) and a few others by some of my favorite TV chefs. I have used them, and still make some of the recipes (by now, memorized). Now, this time I wanted cookbooks that I could continue to learn from as well as keep me pursuing in my newest cooking categories (ice cream making and baking in particular).
I recently read Julia's Kitchen Wisdom and really enjoyed the set up of the book. While it is a bit hard to follow the recipes as it is really written like a novel, she gives many variations on a Master Recipe, essentially instructing you on the basics while also giving you the leeway to come up with your own variation.
It was the type I was looking for. I realized that the books I had, while the recipes were good, didn't really teach me much but to make that exact recipe. I like the idea of learning the basic recipe and then learning how to vary that recipe. That's essentially how you learn to cook anyway. So, I ordered some samples on my kindle (I just love that feature) and made a few recipes and ordered the books.
Which just dropped in on my doorstep, so you'll have to wait for a full review of these as I make more recipes, but from what I've made so far, these are keepers.
What are some of your favorite cookbooks? Have you started meal planning? If so, how's it going?
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A little late, please forgive me. I just didn't want to interrupt those fabulous ladies last week. I hope you all enjoyed them and had fun visiting their blogs.
This month was a bit tricky! It's Lent! So, I switched around my normal categories so that Friday was now a Meatless Meal. Like usual, we end up with bits and pieces from other meals that we need to use up, so those will get used in the OPEN days. Nick was away for a few days also, and with some leftovers in the fridge, I was happy to have those days OPEN as well, so that's why it looked like I was a lazy cook Week 1.
I'm already happily planning next month because guess what showed up at my doorstep?! Presents! (Even though I ordered them, I will continue to call them presents since I bought them with a gift card. :-p)
I was so excited to get these. I had already purchased the samples on my kindle (and even tried a few recipes), so I was so excited to get the real deal.
In general, I have mixed feelings about cookbooks. With so many recipes from highly acclaimed chefs available on the internet, along with a host of blogs with even more recipes for free, I'm hard pressed to find the need for cookbooks. I have several, but they tend to hang out on a shelf as dust collectors the majority of the time.
But as I've gotten more experience in the kitchen, I've asked my cookbooks to do more than I originally intended. As I'm sure it is with most new cooks, I started out (in college) with a basic recipe book (Better Homes & Gardens) and a few others by some of my favorite TV chefs. I have used them, and still make some of the recipes (by now, memorized). Now, this time I wanted cookbooks that I could continue to learn from as well as keep me pursuing in my newest cooking categories (ice cream making and baking in particular).
I recently read Julia's Kitchen Wisdom and really enjoyed the set up of the book. While it is a bit hard to follow the recipes as it is really written like a novel, she gives many variations on a Master Recipe, essentially instructing you on the basics while also giving you the leeway to come up with your own variation.
It was the type I was looking for. I realized that the books I had, while the recipes were good, didn't really teach me much but to make that exact recipe. I like the idea of learning the basic recipe and then learning how to vary that recipe. That's essentially how you learn to cook anyway. So, I ordered some samples on my kindle (I just love that feature) and made a few recipes and ordered the books.
Which just dropped in on my doorstep, so you'll have to wait for a full review of these as I make more recipes, but from what I've made so far, these are keepers.
What are some of your favorite cookbooks? Have you started meal planning? If so, how's it going?
