Books in the Kitchen

 It seems to me that there are two kinds of people in life. In writing, we classify them as "pantsers" and "plotters." Pantsers fly by the seat of their pants, coming up with new ideas, creating characters on the spot. Plotters take time to create outlines and timelines and generally think things through before they sit down and write. 

When it comes to writing I'm 💯 a pantster, through and through. But in the kitchen, I'm a total plotter. 

I spend a day every week making thorough meal plans and grocery lists organized by aisle. Ever since I started cooking I figured I should rely on the wisdom of other, more experienced chefs to guide me as I make dinner. This has led to some truly stellar meals and some really funny stories (like that time I forgot to cook the lasagna noodles because it wasn't listed as a step in the recipe). 

Over the years I have loosened up enough to be able to customize a recipe based on my family's preferences and to intuit when noodles need to be cooked in advance. But, I still stick pretty close to the recipes I use when charting out our weekly menu. 

I cook from a recipe four or more times per week so I've put a lot of cookbooks to the test over the years. I'm no expert chef but I have collected a list of tried and true books to reference when we want to go to a restaurant but need to eat at home. 

Here are a few of my current favorites:

Pioneer Woman. My favorites are Dinnertime, A Year of Holidays, and Food From My Frontier. Ree is great when you're cooking for a crowd and are in the mood for classics that freeze well. Her pancake recipes are revolutionary and she knows how to make meals kids and adults will love. Last night I made one of her mac and cheese recipes that involved gruyere and velvetta. That is some kind of range. 

Do not sleep on her cakes. They are family favorites and crowd-pleasers. 

Ina Garten. I had a cookbook by Ina sitting on my shelf for years but was too intimidated to cook out of it. When I was given my second Ina cookbook I decided to see what the fuss was all about. 

Fool Proof and Cook Like a Pro are standards that I treasure. Modern Comfort Food was released during the pandemic and is full of recipes that have made dinner time something to look forward to. 

A sneaky pick is Family Style. There are some over-the-top recipes in there but I have found gems that have become part of our regular rotation like Challah French Toast and Saffron Risotto with Butternut Squash, just to name a couple. 

Chrissy Teigen. Her Cravings and Cravings: Hungry for More cookbooks are a recent discovery for me but so far, every recipe I've tried has been a success. My family loves Thai food and she always includes a chapter with some Thai recipes that are easy enough to cook on weeknights but will change your life (coconut rice, I'm looking at you). 

She writes conversationally so the recipes are easy to follow. Her Shake-n-Bake Chicken has been requested by my children more times than I can count and her Pineapple BLT Sliders are a staple around here. 

Deb Perelman. The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook and Smitten Kitchen Every Day are my new obsessions. The recipes are restaurant quality and when I have an ingredient I need to use up I head to her website for ideas. She has changed the way I make meatballs and her banana bread recipes are the only ones I use now. 

An added bonus about these cookbooks and Perelman's style is that she encourages home chefs to be brave and creative in the kitchen. So I'm trying new techniques and ingredients and my family is enjoying her twist on some old favorites. 

I have two honorable mentions to add to this list:

1. Cookish. I got this for Christmas and have only just begun to use it. This is a great cookbook for loosening us plotters up. Its recipes are more like rough guidelines that the chef can adapt to his or her audience. 

2. The Weekday Vegetarians. This year we are trying to eat more vegetarian dinners because it's good for our bodies and good for the planet. This book helped me start the journey. It has great recipes and suggestions for making them with meat, vegetarian, and even vegan. The tone is informative and interesting. Most cookbooks offer some vegetarian options but it's really nice to have one central location for delicious vegetarian dinners when I'm making my meal plans.

I could go on from here but I won't. I've used so many wonderful cookbooks through the years but am always on the hunt for new ones to bring fresh perspectives on the daily activity of cooking. What are your favorites? Are you a pantser or a plotter in the kitchen? Leave a comment below and let's talk.