Staff Pick
Sheesh. I had every expectation of not liking this book. After all, what could a model, nay, a supermodel, nay nay, a swimsuit supermodel possibly know about eating food? What could the recipes be like? Wave a lettuce leaf near your mouth? Nibble on a frozen pea?
But I'm a bookselling professional, so I set my low expectations aside and gave Cravings a look. And, for pity's sake, guess what? Teigen's recipes are awesome! She seems nice. She's funny. I'd bet she'd be fun to hang with. And, always a plus in my mind, she cooks bacon the right way: in the oven, so the rashers come out nice and flat.
Rather than describe her cookbook myself, I'm going to leave the description to her own words: "I know how I like my food. I like it spicy, salty, sticky, crunchy, juicy, oozy — basically any dish you know and love, jacked up to a bordering-on-socially-unacceptable amount of flavor." Her recipes stand up to this statement. Do you like garlic, cheese, bacon, butter, or an absurd amount of crunchy crust on your chicken pot pie? It's all here. (Featured Cookbook, "On the Table") Recommended By Tracey T., Powells.com
Synopses & Reviews
Maybe she’s on a photo shoot in Zanzibar. Maybe she’s making people laugh on TV. But all Chrissy Teigen really wants to do is talk about dinner. Or breakfast. Lunch gets some love, too.
For years, she’s been collecting, cooking, and Instagramming her favorite recipes, and here they are: from breakfast all day to John’s famous fried chicken with spicy honey butter to her mom’s Thai classics.
Salty, spicy, saucy, and fun as sin (that’s the food, but that’s Chrissy, too), these dishes are for family, for date night at home, for party time, and for a few life-sucks moments (salads). You’ll learn the importance of chili peppers, the secret to cheesy-cheeseless eggs, and life tips like how to use bacon as a home fragrance, the single best way to wake up in the morning, and how not to overthink men or Brussels sprouts. Because for Chrissy Teigen, cooking, eating, life, and love are one and the same.
Review
“Chrissy Teigen’s Cravings is a cookbook with realistic recipes for people who like it “spicy, salty, sticky, crunchy, juicy, oozy,” and if you have some kind of prejudice against supermodels who unabashedly love Taco Bell, there’s nothing I can do to help you. It’s fun to read, with a recipe for everyone with two eyes, a stomach, and a fork. Frito pie? A chapter called “Sh*t on toast”? Absurd sexy photo shoots with chicken wings? What’s not to love? I didn’t even mention the bulldogs yet. If there’s one thing we can all learn from Teigen, it’s not to judge a cookbook by its cover.” Bon Appetit
Review
"Even the most celebrity-cookbook-skeptical reader will find it hard not to enjoy this tome from supermodel Chrissy Teigen. With self-deprecating wit and down-to-earth charm, Teigen posits herself as an enthusiastic home cook and passionate eater (with, of course, a day job that has her sampling the world’s best restaurants on the regular). Thankfully, she leaves highbrow pretension and health food snobbery to other lifestyle gurus. Indeed, she more closely calls to mind chef-authors Christina Tosi and Dale Talde, with her irreverent attitude and fondness for all things junk-food-y (check out the French toast casserole topped with salted Frosted Flakes or the artichoke, spinach, and buffalo chicken mashup dip). Amid the hybrids and hot sauce are some truly interesting culinary ideas (Stove Top Stuffing–crusted pork chops, charred broccoli with garlic bread crumbs), along with traditional Thai recipes care of her mother Pepper. It’s to Teigen’s credit that she has fun with the recipes but never makes them sound easier than they are—otherwise it might be very difficult to accept Hawaiian pizza jalapeño poppers from a Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue cover girl." Publisher's Weekly
About the Author
CHRISSY TEIGEN is known as many things—Sports Illustrated swimsuit cover model, star of Instagram and Twitter, TV personality—but her real passion is food. Teigen has starred in a Cooking Channel special and the MTV show Snack-Off.