5.0 out of 5 stars
Cravings 2: More Deliciousness
Reviewed in Canada on 24 September 2018
Chrissy Teigen, My Queen. I am a major fan of Book 1, and I was looking forward to the Book 2. If you bought Book 1, you’ll probably love Book 2 just as much (I do!). Once again, Chrissy proves she understands how to blend flavours together to get amazing meals.
There are 9 sections in this book: (1) Breakfast & Brunch, (2) Soups, (3) Salads, (4) Sandwiches, (5) Snacks, (6) Potatoes and their Friends, (7) Thai Mom, (8) Suppers and (9) Sweets (yep, she has a desserts section in Book 2).
The index is once again detailed and well done. It is very easy to find a recipe when you don’t remember which section you initially found it in.
Recipes’ anecdotes: They are funny, but not as hilarious as in Book 1. Nonetheless, you now have some newcomers writing the anecdotes (I won’t tell who).
Prep time: I am an intermediate cook and I take a lot of time, because I clean my things simultaneously. Therefore, I think that my prep + cook + clean time is around 1-2 hours for recipes that are about 30-60 minutes overall time.
Ingredients: Some ingredients will be difficult to find in certain parts of Canada (see below for the Cool Ranch Taco Salad). However, she sometimes makes suggestions for alternatives if allergies, which I don’t remember seeing in Book 1. In addition, she indicates which recipes are vegetarian or “vegetarianable”. Great addition!
In one week, I made 5 recipes out of Book 2: (1) Lazy Shrimp & Pork Wonton Soup, (2) Cool Ranch Taco Salad, (3) Grilled Pork Banh Mi Sandwiches, (4) Pepper’s Spring Rolls and (5) Skillet Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Blondies. They were all EXCELLENT!
The Wonton Soup is original and more tasteful than your average wonton (which I find taste bland). The Spring Rolls were delicious. I often make spring rolls with my family. We were super pleased with this new version.
Cool Ranch Taco Salad: This recipe reminded me a lot of the Cobb Salad in Book 1. The structure and contents of the salad are somewhat similar. Between the two, I think I prefer the Cobb Salad, although it takes more time to make.
For my fellow Canadians, Cool Ranch Doritos are a major ingredient of the recipe. I mistakenly thought they were not available in the Great White North (I found out only after making the recipe). Therefore, I made this salad with the Spicy Nachos Doritos. It gave the salad an extra wonderful spicy kick. I did try the Cool Ranch Doritos later, and I believe they will give a milder taste to the salad.
The Grilled Pork Banh Mi Sandwich with Quick Pickles is MIND-BLOWING. This, I believe, is a typical Chrissy Teigen recipe, because it has a million flavours into one meal: sweet, tart, spicy, salty. It’s delicious and easy to make. It does take more prep time than other recipes, but soooooooo worth it.
Finally, the Skillet Peanut Butter Chocolate Blondies was also great (and tasted even butter once it had cooled down). However, I do have one criticism. Her instructions say to use a stand mixer. While useful, the good quality mixers are not affordable, and it would be quite hard to beat the ingredients by hand. Get ready for a strong arms workout with this recipe.
In short, this book is for people who love: meat (esp. pork), cilantro, coconut, dairy (cheese and cream), butter and spices/heat. Just like Book 1, Book 2 is for beginner/intermediate cooks.
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