Friday, May 8, 2015

Cookbook Thoughts: The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook

Every few months, I feel stuck in a rut. It seems like I am just recycling the same meals, so I start looking for new ideas. I usually turn to the internet, but this time I decided to pick up some cookbooks from the library.

I am a frequent cook and I enjoy doing it. Cleaning up and doing dishes is a different story. I'm usually pretty comfortable tackling a new recipe, but I try to keep in mind that I am cooking for myself, two small children, and a hubby with some dietary restrictions. Not every recipe will work for us. It's also very difficult to make a dinner with 72 steps when you have a toddler clinging to your leg and a first grader shouting for help with his homework.

The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook

The first cookbook I checked out from the library was Deb Perelman's The Smitten Kitchen. I have used many recipes from her blog and I thought this would be a good pick for our family. Perelman admits that she started cooking (and blogging about it) not because she attended cooking school in Italy or came from a proud tradition of chefs. Instead, she started cooking because she was picky. In fact, she calls herself "an obsessive home cook."

She shares pictures of her tiny New York City kitchen and writes about the quest of every home cook - "Will the time and effort of making this dish be worth it?" There are even sections about the items you must have in your kitchen and how to throw a dinner party that won't make you hate cooking altogether

The Smitten Kitchen is a beautiful book. It's one of those cookbooks that you might just leave on your coffee table because it's too beautiful to put up on a kitchen shelf. I meant to take lots of pictures before I took it back to the library, but I forgot. Whoops. Trust me when I say that the photos are gorgeous and I really appreciated that Perelman includes photos of the steps instead of just one of the final product. (See these pictures from her website for a Carrot Graham Layer Cake recipe.)

         flour, grahams, spices     one CUP of carrots per layer

         moderate heaps of filling    graham crumb decoration


The book is divided into breakfast; salads; sandwiches, tarts, and pizzas; vegetarian main dishes; main dishes with seafood and meat; sweets; and party snacks and drinks. Each recipe gets an introduction as Perelman describes her love for a certain food or the experience that led her to experiment in the kitchen.

I'm especially excited to make a marbled pumpkin gingersnap tart and the cheddar swirl breakfast buns.



What cookbooks are you using lately?

23 comments:

  1. Ooh, I just started looking for new cookbooks this week because I am recycling too many and getting bored to tears! Thanks for pointing this one out, Lindsey. I'm going to check out her blog until I can see if my library has this book in stock.

    I just picked up two Taste of Home cookbooks on the discount table at B & N: Healthy Cooking and Comfort Food Diet, because the price of the new hardcovers on the wall averaged $29.00! I got these for about 6.98 each, so even if I find just a couple of new recipes, hey it's worth it :)

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    1. The blog is pretty great too. My favorite from her website is her mushroom lasagna. Yum!

      Cookbooks are so expensive to own, aren't they? Although my husband teases me about checking them out from the library and copying or typing out the recipes. Oh well!

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  2. I've wanted to try this one for so long! It's so pretty. lol

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    1. It is very pretty! Not every recipe was for us, but I certainly took away quite a few good ones.

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  3. We get stuck in a rut as well. Recently we bought a cookbook from the bargain section of Barnes and Noble and it's become a favorite. Mostly because of the chocolate chip scone with Earl Grey glaze recipe we tried and loved! But still, we eat frozen pizza or fast food way too often still.

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    1. Oh those sound delicious! The hubby and I end up picking fast food sometimes when meetings run late or when I just didn't plan enough food for the whole week. It's tough sometimes to stick to a meal plan!

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  4. This cookbook looks yummy. Love that it has such great photos! Lately, I keep finding myself drawn to southern cooking cookbooks...I guess I like comfort food. But I also love Asian cuisine...good thing there are plenty of cookbooks to choose from at the library, huh?

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    1. Yes to comfort food! I confess I don't make a lot of Asian cuisine. Do you have cookbook recommendations??

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    2. A good one to try is From Bangkok to Bali in 30 Minutes by Therese and Byron Laursen. I didn't make all the recipes in it, but there were several that were really successful and that I really loved. I have a Thai cookbook, too, by Christine France called What's Cooking Thai...the nice about this one is that I can control the amount of chilies I add, so the food doesn't get too hot for my palate.

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  5. It's definitely a nice cookbook and I enjoy Deb's recipes and blog. Hope you blog about the marbled pumpkin gingersnap tart when you make it. :)

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    1. I think I should blog about the tart too, although I would hate to make anyone drool on their keyboard... :)

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  6. I need to revisit this cookbook. I've had great luck with the recipes but it's been sitting neglected on my shelf for too long now. Thanks for the reminder! It's such a gorgeous book.

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    1. It is gorgeous! What a fun book to use and admire! :)

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  7. This cookbook looks really good and the recipes that you mentioned sound lovely. I need to check out that website and look for this cookbook too!

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    1. The website is great too. She posts really varied recipes and is a funny writer!

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  8. I've enjoyed Deb's blog, and have now put this on my reserve list at the library. May end up buying it, who knows. There are certainly cookbooks I should re-cycle off my shelves.

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    1. Wonderful! I would love to know what you think of the cookbook!

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  9. I love the Smitten Kitchen blog too. I haven't really had the time lately to dig into any complicated new recipes, so I've been relying on the tried and true family favorite recipes in my head.

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    1. New recipes are good, but there is something really nice about a tried and true one that doesn't take too much brain power!

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  10. I'll have to check it out. Cheers from Carole's Chatter!

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  11. I have a couple of coworkers who swear by her blog and by this cookbook. I'm not a cook -- not by a long shot -- but it's testimonials like these that would make me want to pick this book up and give it a go.

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    1. I love sharing recipe and cookbooks with people. Like with novels or nonfiction, I will trust recommendations from people I know and trust before ads or celebrities!

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