How to get more out of your favorite cookbooks: 7 cookbook tips

7 cookbook tips for getting more out of your cookbooks: a cookbook agent and editor on the 7 cookbook tips for getting more out of your cookbooks so you can finally start using your cookbook collection!


Jarrett and I are riding The Crescent down to New Orleans for Tales of the Cocktail this week–it’s a trip we’ve long dreamed about, and I’m excited about having 30+ hours on the train to catch up on reading, listen to music, daydream, watch the scenery, and maybe even sip a G&T. (Just writing that makes me realize how close to Bliss that all is!)

But I promise I won’t leave you without a few things to read this week.

Speaking of reading: do you read the comments?

I do, if it’s a site I know sticks to useful thoughts on happy topics: y’know, the food, the books, the writerly pep talks. But you couldn’t pay me to read the comments on news sites, or political sites, or health sites. Ugh. It’s like taking a bath in slime and then tossing yourself in a dumpster.

But one of my favorite comment threads of all time to return to is the extended conversation on cookbook tips that happened on the last post on this page on The Kitchn. If you need two minutes of happy, read a few of the comments–people went into amazing detail about how they use their cookbooks, how their families passed them down, where they stand on dog-earing and writing in cookbooks, and all the other cookbook tips they’ve accumulated.

My favorite comment on cookbook tips?

“My mother passed away in April and I can’t seem to move on from her passing. Opening her cookbooks and seeing her notes, especially her hilarious reviews of recipes that weren’t so successful, brings her back to me. Cooking these recipes helps me keep her close to me even though she is gone. So, write in your cookbooks! Your daughters will thank you one day.”

Our cookbooks can speak so loudly about who we were and each little meal we made in our lifetimes. So here are my 7 best cookbook tips for getting more use out of your books–these are the ones that will help you turn your favorite cookbooks into treasured family records of your life!

cookbook tips

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The best thing I did this summer to simplify my life

Is AmazonFresh worth it in 2018? An honest review of AmazonFresh and the 3 things you should consider before signing up in 2018!


Here’s what Saturday morning used to look like at our house:

8 am: wake up, roll over, grab book from nightstand, read
10 am: start thinking about being productive
11 am: read more
12 pm: pull out a cookbook, meal plan for the week ahead
1 pm: panic because the laundry is piled high, the fridge is a wasteland, Pepper wants to go to the dog park, and we haven’t done boopkis yet
1-3 pm: feverishly grocery shop
3-10: collapse exhausted on the couch, order takeout, watch a movie, bemoan that we’re already halfway through the weekend

is amazonfresh worth it 2018

And those were our “leisurely” weekends at home. On weekends when we were out of town, we were those people standing in line at Trader Joe’s at 8 pm on a Monday, hangrily debating the merits of jerky and canned wine for dinner.

Everything about grocery shopping on Saturdays stressed the living heck out of me. The weekend is so short, so precious and spending 2-3 hours of a sunny, sweet Saturday assembling a list, stalking through aisles, waiting in line, and lugging it all home is the opposite of #LivingMyBestLife.

So today I’m sharing one of the best things I did this year to simplify my life. This is the true story of how I finally stopped ruining weekends with one more chore and got 3 hours back in my Saturday for lazy reading in bed.

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Easy almond chicken tenders recipe

An easy almond chicken tenders recipe, adapted from Joanna Gaines’ Magnolia Table cookbook. This is a dairy-free, gluten-free almond chicken tenders recipe that’s extra easy and healthy!


I am proudly basic about many things, but a big one is TV. And that means I love Fixer Upper just as much as the other huddling, shiplapping masses elbowing their way through Target for an artisanal salt shaker.

Are you a Fixer Upper fan or does the whole phenomenon drive you nuts? And have you seen their new cookbook?

It’s called Magnolia Table: A Collection of Recipes for Gathering, and it. is. everywhere. The Magnolia Table cookbook sold a crushing 169,000 copies in just its first week on sale–let’s just pause to focus on how insane those numbers are.

And you know what? I love it. 

magnolia table cookbook recipes

I love to see smart business women succeed, especially when they stay true to themselves. Plus, the book is gorgeous. I can’t remember a softer, simpler, more serene book design that’s come out in the last 5 years. Granted, if color is your jam, all things JG might feel a little too whitewashed. But I loves me some white.

The Magnolia Table cookbook recipes surprised me, though. They weren’t what I expected–maybe you’re a better diviner of what TV stars really eat than I am (bless you for that skill), but I was pleasantly surprised about a few things about the Magnolia Table cookbook recipes.

(Click here to read my full cookbook review of Magnolia Table by Joanna Gaines.)

almond chicken tenders recipe

But of all the Magnolia Table cookbook recipes, the one that called to me loudest was Joanna Gaines’s Almond Chicken Tenders recipe, which with a few tweaks, hit that perfect trifecta of easy + healthy + simple that I love.

3 ways to make Joanna Gaines’ Almond Chicken Tenders recipe (and other Magnolia Table cookbook recipes) healthier + simpler:

  1. Make it gluten-free. The original almond chicken tenders recipe calls for ½ cup almond flour and ½ cup all-purpose flour. I cut the AP and made it 1 cup almond flour, because it’s gluten-free, paleo, higher protein, and lazy person alert: did you know it’s easier to measure one thing instead of two? That’s some culinary math for you right there. And yes, you could do the same swap for many of the non-baking recipes in the book, or even use your favorite 1:1 gluten free flour mix.
  2. Halve the butter. I know, I love butter, too. But butter goes straight to my butt and makes my stomach hurt sometimes, so REALITY CHECK. (Reality sucks.) But the good news is that this almond chicken tenders recipe really doesn’t need that much fat, so we’re gonna be just fine. And the better news is that you can substitute ghee for the butter if you’re dairy-free.
  3. Skip the parsley garnish. Because I don’t know about you, but I can never use up all my leftover parsley. And picking leaves off stems is just UGH. I might quit parsley for the rest of my life, in fact. Instead, skip this most thankless of tasks and cook green beans and tomatoes in the same buttery skillet you used for the almond chicken tenders. Two side veg > one fussy garnish.

Almond Chicken Tenders recipe: A Magnolia Table cookbook recipe

This almond chicken tenders recipe was adapted from Magnolia Table: A Collection of Recipes for Gathering by Joanna Gaines

almond chicken tenders recipe

 

Almond chicken tenders recipe

An easy, healthy almond chicken tenders recipe that's also gluten free and dairy free! Adapted from Joanna Gaines' Magnolia Table.

Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Servings 4

Instructions

  1. In a large, shallow bowl, mix the almond flour, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, and black pepper. Season the chicken on both sides with salt then coat with the almond flour.
  2. In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat. Add half of the chicken and cook on both sides until browned, about 3 minutes per side. Wipe the skillet and repeat with the second batch of chicken, adding an additional 1 tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil.
  3. (If you’re using parsley, now’s the time to pick the leaves off the stems, chop, and set aside so you can make it look pretty at the end.)
  4. Wipe out the skillet. Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter over medium heat until foaming. Stir in the almonds and cook until toasted, about 30 seconds. Remove from the heat, stir in the lemon juice, and drizzle over the chicken. Garnish with the parsley, if you’re going that way.

Make it healthier: Serve the almond chicken tenders in butter lettuce cups with green beans and cherry tomatoes blistered in the same buttery skillet.

almond chicken tenders recipe

For more cookbook recipes, check out:

Once Upon a Chef, the Cookbook by Jennifer Segal

once upon a chef cookbook review

My favorite Middle Eastern cookbook of the year:

best middle eastern cookbook

Get one free tip for reading more + living better each week!

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Here’s how to make the Magnolia Table cookbook recipes healthy

3 easy ways to make the Magnolia Table cookbook recipes healthy: yes, you can cook Joanna Gaines’ Magnolia Table cookbook recipes even if you’re dairy-free, gluten free, paleo, or trying to lose weight!


I am proudly basic about many things, but a big one is TV. And that means I love Fixer Upper just as much as the other huddling, shiplapping masses elbowing their way through Target for an artisanal salt shaker.

Are you a Fixer Upper fan or does the whole phenomenon drive you nuts? And have you seen their new cookbook?

It’s called Magnolia Table: A Collection of Recipes for Gathering, and it. is. everywhere. The Magnolia Table cookbook sold a crushing 169,000 copies in just its first week on sale–let’s just pause to focus on how insane those numbers are.

And you know what? I love it. 

magnolia table cookbook recipes

I love to see smart business women succeed, especially when they stay true to themselves. Plus, the book is gorgeous. I can’t remember a softer, simpler, more serene book design that’s come out in the last 5 years. Granted, if color is your jam, all things JG might feel a little too whitewashed. But I loves me some white.

The Magnolia Table cookbook recipes surprised me, though. They weren’t what I expected–maybe you’re a better diviner of what TV stars really eat than I am (bless you for that skill), but I was pleasantly surprised about a few things about the Magnolia Table cookbook recipes.

3 surprising things about the Magnolia Table cookbook recipes

magnolia table cookbook recipes

Read More