A Few of My Favourite Cookbooks and The Recipes I Love From Them

April 22, 2020

At the beginning of 2020, I made it a goal of mine to actually dive into the cookbooks that I owned but never used (I also made it a goal to use items I love and donate/sell others I don’t). To me, this was 100% a resolution/goal I could get behind and knew that I could commit to it (cooking/baking>working out…haha!). I’m sure we can all agree that 2020 has been a devastating year thus far and so for me, spending time diving into my beautiful books, bookmarking, and making some of the recipes has in a way been therapeutic. I’ve never enjoyed cooking and baking so much as I have in the last month. Making new, exciting recipes every week has been one of the things that makes me feel happy while at home. Of course I miss going out to restaurants, but there truly is nothing better than nailing a recipe and sharing it with those you love (or in my case, my husband and sometimes picky toddler). I am so grateful for our weekly grocery run where Jamie picks up all of the ingredients I’ve listed for the recipes I want to make. It has given me such a perspective on how lucky we are to be able to have access to fresh food and the ingredients to make these meals and my heart is with anyone who can’t. Hopefully, this post serves as an inspiration for you to try out the recipes in the cookbooks you have at home as it is so relaxing to flip through the pages with the intention to save and later make the recipes. If you have a little extra to spend right now, the following are my favorite cookbooks and the recipes I love from them. I’d love to know, what are some of your favorite cookbooks? Or, what are some cookbooks you have lying around and now want to try a recipe from? Let me know in the comments below!

Let Me Feed You By Rosie Daykin: “Everday recipes offering the company of home“. This is a book that I ordered last year mainly because I just loved the cover and the striped spine (I admit it, ok). Flipping through the book, I was immediately drawn to the photography and knew that I’d made a good decision in purchasing it even just for photo inspiration. One recipe that I did make from this book early on was “Lasagna for Paul” which is a little labor intensive but so so worth it. Jamie and I first made it together for his family when we hosted Sunday dinner and it was a hit. We’ve made it a few times since then and every time it tastes better than the last. We’ve also taken the bechamel sauce from this recipe and use it in our alfedo pasta and it.is.heven.

Recipes I recommend from Let Me Feed you:

-Cinnamon Doughnut Muffins (Rosie graciously allowed me to share the recipe here)

-Italian Sausage Soup (recommended by a reader and it is delicious)

-Turkey Chili (this was unlike any chili I’ve ever tasted. So unexpected and delicious)

-Any of the desserts (Rosie is the wonder of Butter Baked goods so can guarantee you’re in for a treat!).

Half Baked Harvest Super Simple by Tieghan Gerard: “More than 125 recipes for instant, overnight, meal prepped and easy comfort foods“. I recently became a Half Baked Harvest Fan this year and I honestly wonder what took me so long. When this book came out, I caught wind of it because so many people that I follow were posting about it. Before getting the book (it was a Christmas gift) I started trying out recipes from the HBH blog and there wasn’t a single recipe that I didn’t salivate over. In fact, I made our entire Jamie and I a Christmas eve Dinner and cocktail and our Christmas Brunch all from HBH blog recipes…all were a hit! I was so excited to dive into this book and here are the recipes I’ve loved so far but I’m dying to make most everything in this book (next up: cheesy eggs).

Recipes I recommend from Half Baked Harvest Super Simple:

-Browned Butter Scallops with Burst Cherry Tomatoes (I served with rice)

-Chicken Tinga Tacos (super simple (as the book implies) and really really yum)

-Coconut Chicken Tika Masala (I mixed this recipe with another one from The Modern Proper Blog but nonetheless it was delicious)

-Kais Favoruite Orange-Sesame Chicken (this was really yummy but I did find it a bit spicy, definitely better than take out orange chicken)

-Curried Thai Spring Roll Lettuce Wraps (I’ve made these twice now and they are so much fun to set up on a board and put together. They make for a great date night in dinner)Fraiche Foods Full Hearts by Jillian Harris & Tori Wesszer: “A collection of recipes for every day and casual celebrations”. This book was sent to me by Jillian & Tori but I would have bought it regardless since I’m such a huge fan of both of these women. There was so much media hype about this book but for one reason or another, I never got around to making recipes from it until recently. However, let me tell you…when I started I couldn’t stop. I now look to this book weekly for recipe inspiration and can’t wait to make the Garden Bolognese for the second time this week it.is.beyond.

Recipes I recommend from Friache Foods Full Hearts:

-Aunty Mary’s Banana Bread (Admitadly, I also made the banana bread from the Magnolia Volume 1 cookbook and enjoyed it more but this one is very good)

-Sticky Apple Date Toffee Puddings (this was actually the only recipe I made when I first received this book and it was so perfect for the fall)

-Skillet Cornbread (the perfect cornbread recipe)

-Garden Bolognese (you can’t tell the difference between a meaty bolognese and this one and if you can it is 100% better)

-Butternut Squash Carbonara (I was so close to making the root vegetable soup from this book but at the last minute switched to this carbonara after a pasta craving. Jamie and I both devoured it and Edwin loved it too).

-Captain’s Kale Caesar Salad (One thing I love about this book is how involved Jillian’s and Tori’s families are in it. This caesar salad was said to be made on Jillian and Justin’s first date so I had to try. The dressing and croutons are must makes).

-Broiled Grapefruit with Coconut Almond Granola (I’ve made a batch of this granola twice now and it has quickly become my go-to. I think it is so yummy with the broiled grapefruit and yogurt but I have been enjoying it every morning with a plain grapefruit sans yogurt.

Magnolia Table Volume 1 & 2 by Joanna Gaines: “A collection of recipes for gathering“. I’ve had Magnolia Table Volume 1 since it came out and only just cracked it open to make a couple of recipes (I figured I better try at least 1 before ordering Volume 2, haha!). While I’ve only made 2 recipes (below) from Volume 1, they were very tasty and I’m looking forward to finding some time to make more. I’ve also bookmarked 2 recipes from Magnolia Volume 2 to make this week which I’ll list below (they both happen to be chicken-based so I’ll make one tonight and one at the end of the week). Admittedly, while I LOVE the photography in both of these books I feel like quite a few of the recipes (especially in volume 1) seem a little heavy and not as many have caught my eye like my other books. I’d love to know, if you’ve made any recipes from these books, which are your faves!?

Recipes I recommend from Magnolia Table Volume 1:

-Bow Tie Pasta with Baby Kale and Sundried Tomatoes (this dish is healthy because there’s kale, right? This pasta is so creamy and delicious who cares if its a little indulgent.)

-After School Banana Bread (Would you believe me if I told you I’ve made 4 different banana bread recipes in the last month? Well, I have! This one is 100000% my favorite out of all of them.

-Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas (I haven’t made this one yet but I’ve had it bookmarked for weeks so I wanted to include it)

Recipes I’m making from Magnolia Table Volume 2 this week:

-Honey Garlic Chicken with Pineapple (This is a sheet pan meal that looks delicious and simple. I’ll be serving it over rice)

-Chicken Piccata with Roasted Zucchini and Meyer Lemons (I love how this recipe was plated in the book, I’m going to tryi my best to recreate it at the end of the week)
Other Books I own that I’m planning to bookmark and make recipes from: