I love cookbooks. I buy them because they are pretty. I also love food. But more often than not, I rarely cook anything from them because – lazy. Most cookbook recipes require a number of specific ingredients that it just becomes a hassle. Again, lazy. But the cookbooks mentioned in this post are the exception. These are actually cookbooks that I have cooked from, multiple times. So much so that, I have incorporated most of the recipes as regular staples in the Leggy household:
Cravings by Chrissy Teigen – I remember when this book came out and it collectively got panned by food critics. It was pegged as nothing special and just another celebrity cookbook which I guess is true, it IS just another celebrity cookbook but this book is accessible. Accessible in that the ingredients are easy to find. I think the industry needs to wonder why cookbooks don’t sell that much anymore. They are expensive and we can basically just look up any recipe online these days. And that’s what makes this book different. The ingredients can be found in most local grocery stores
FAVORITE RECIPE: The Spicy Clam Pasta. It has become a signature dish at most of my dinner parties. I also love the Whole Fish recipe. It tastes fresh and herb-y and oh so delicious. This might not be “The Joy of Cooking” (the Holy Grail of Cookbooks) but it is still pretty good, standard wise. Also, the personal anecdotes that accompany each recipe will make you laugh. The book is very Teigen and I love it.
Cooking in Everyday English by Todd English – This was the first cookbook I bought when I moved into my current apartment with dreams of cooking every week and not eating out at all. Umm…yeah. That lasted about a month but within that month I cooked a lot from this book. I loved it and I think it was recommended to me by someone on Twitter a long time ago. I didn’t know anything about Todd English when I bought this book and frankly, I still don’t but like I said, I love this book. I love it because it’s as basic as you can get and a pretty good entry level/gateway into the cookbook world. I mean, he provides the most elementary information on cooking and assumes that you know absolutely nothing! There is even a chapter on SALT!
FAVORITE RECIPE: The Tequila-Braised Short Ribs. Absolutely delicious! Just typing that is making me want to make that recipe this week regardless of the fact that I have a refrigerator filled with leftovers!
MOMOFUKU by David Chang – When I was in college, I went to New York for spring break and ate at one of David Chang’s restaurant and have not looked back since then. I low key became obsessed with eating at all his restaurants, I’m going to Las Vegas at the end of the month and I’m trying to convince my friends to eat dinner at his restaurant there. Of all the cookbooks I own, this is probably the most high brow one. The ingredients are hard to find, I mean, he uses all the fat!!
I bought this book in college and I remember the first recipe I ever made from this book was the steamed buns (I looked up this creation on Instagram because I know I posted it on there in 2012 when I made it and wow, the struggle!), mine wasn’t as fluffy as the real one but dang, it was still good but I was in college and broke so my experiment with this book was put on pause till I graduated. I never recommend this cookbook to anyone though, it’s a little bit more complicated. I just like things that are a pain in the ass sometimes.
FAVORITE RECIPE: The Kimchi Stew. Besides being delicious, it is the easiest thing to make from this book. Honorable mention to the Banh Mi, and of course, Ramen.
Do you buy cookbooks? What are some of your favorites? Let me know in the comment section!! I think it’s time I add to my collection!
Leggy
TwoNightStands 