November 2017 Cookbooks

Adventures in Slow Cooking by Sarah DiGregorio

Sarah DiGregorio has childhood memories of her grandmother's pot roast from the crockpot, but in this cookbook she takes us beyond the traditional crockpot foods like pot roast. She has recipes for everything from stocks and condiments to drinks and desserts. There were definitely a few things I'd like to try like her risotto. After making risotto once, I would LOVE to make it more often if it's as easy as it seems to be in the crockpot. This is taking crockpot cooking to the next level - definitely worth checking out.

Smitten Kitchen Every Day by Deb Perelman

I liked the first Smitten Kitchen cookbook so much that I bought it, so I was excited to check out this new one. While I haven't been on the Smitten Kitchen blog as often as I used to, I wasn't as impressed with this cookbook. There are a few things I'd like to try, but overall there wasn't as much that I wanted to try as in the first one. But, one redeeming factor is Perelman's views on cake she promises her cake recipes will take 1 hour total - start to finish. That way hopefully you'll be inspired to make cakes more often - which I am now after looking at her recipes! I also like that she breaks down her recipes so you know how much cake it makes - 1 cake + 1 frosting = 12 cupcakes, 1 layer 9-inch round cake, or 2 cake + 2 frosting = 24 cupcakes or 2 layer 9-inch round cake. If you follow the blog or liked the first Smitten Kitchen cookbook this one is definitely worth checking out.

The Winter Table by Lisa Lemke

So, after I finished going through this cookbook I went back and read my review of her earlier cookbook The Summer Table and I feel basically the same way - there are a lot of recipes that are probably great, but not many that appealed to me. Not saying it's a bad cookbook, just not for me.

Southern Girl Meets Vegetarian Boy by Damaris Phillips

I've liked Damaris Phillips since she won the Next Food Network Star a few years ago. So, I was excited to check out her new cookbook. When she met her husband he was vegetarian and she wasn't sure how to date him because she always cooked the Southern food she grew up on - which is usually dishes like fried chicken and greens seasoned with ham. But, as they fell in love she started working on changing her cooking to accommodate his feelings about meat. So, the cookbook is obviously more vegetable focused, but she does include a few dishes with two recipes - one traditional (with meat) and one vegetarian version. While I'm not going be become a vegetarian there were a few recipes I want to try. Overall, a good cookbook for a vegetarian or someone who wants to eat less meat overall for whatever reason.