Ever "outgrow" a cookbook or magazine?

[jkath]

Have you ever felt like you "outgrew" a cookbook or cooking magazine?

Weird - after I got into my forties, it seems like I no longer look at many of my cookbooks, and Taste of Home, which I have gotten since it's second issue, very often goes unread these days. Instead, I'm pouring over more complex recipes, especially the ones where the recipe goes on and on....and those that require many steps as well.

I am finding that I seek out the strangest produce and search for recipes to go with them.

(I still cook my old favorites, of course, but the book where I store my recipes is always getting new additions.)

[suziquzie]

I outgrew Taste of Home also. I got really tired of ingredient lists that mostly included

a can of cream of something soup
a bag of frozen this
a box of that

It wasn't really a taste of the home I grew up in!
May as well eat frozen tv dinners and frozen entrees, and I outgrew THAT when I was 21 and could get my own booze for recipes!!!!

[GotGarlic]

Oh, yeah - ask DH. When we were first married, my repertoire pretty much consisted of Kraft spaghetti from the box (back when it came with a can of sauce), tuna noodle casserole, my mom's fried chicken with rice and gravy, and a lot of stuff from sauce envelopes. We probably ate a lot of canned soup and simple sandwiches, too

Then I discovered fresh herbs and Cook's Illustrated, not to mention the Internet, and the rest is history

[JoAnn L.]

My favorite food magazine use to be Taste Of Home , now it is "Cook's Country". They go more into detail and tell stories about the way they try their recipes. They are so informative. I have learned so much.

[GrillingFool]

Gimme those involved recipes! Gimme unusual!
Gimme lots of chopping, simmering, mixing, reducing,
deglazing, stuffing...

Gimme ingredients that take me into strange little
ethnic groceries!

But hey... you can't beat a box of Macaroni and cheese and
pan fried hot dogs mixed up with a can of mushrooms every now
and then either, LOL!!!

[GotGarlic]

Originally Posted by GrillingFool

Gimme those involved recipes! Gimme unusual!
Gimme lots of chopping, simmering, mixing, reducing,
deglazing, stuffing...

Gimme ingredients that take me into strange little
ethnic groceries!

But hey... you can't beat a box of Macaroni and cheese and
pan fried hot dogs mixed up with a can of mushrooms every now
and then either, LOL!!!

I agree with all of the above.

Shhhhh. In the depths of winter, I love a pan of browned chicken thighs seasoned with thyme and sage, cooked in cream of chicken soup, over white rice. Yum.

[chave982]

Well I started with Allrecipes.com, and now lean more towards Epicurious.com. More difficult recipes, but much more fun to make!

[Fisher's Mom]

We go through "types of food" which changes out types of cooking. For several years we were on a big pasta thing. We ate pasta of some sort pretty much every night. There was a time that every meal was based on beans and rice because I had read it made a complete protein and some of my kids didn't eat meat. Then there were the potato years - potatoes in some form every night. Lots of nights were huge baked potatoes "all the way" as a main course. Right now we're going through a meat and rice thing - mostly because I learned to cook meat that doesn't end up like shoe leather. We have meat as a main course 2-3 times a week right now, which is way more than before. Since I've been learning to make sauces, most of my dishes feature a sauce now - and I never made a sauce in my life til I joined DC! The worst were the peanut butter years. That was when I first got married and the only thing I could "make" was peanut butter sandwiches. It was a shock to my new husband but the upside was, we never had weight problems!

[YT2095]

yeah, the types of food I used to eat when I was living alone on a Mega Low budget just after running away from home.
if I wanted to by something I would eat baked beans on toast or potatoes for a month so I could afford it.
and I`m not talking Luxuries or anything fancy, I`m talking about a Matress and a bed (second hand).
or curtains, or a rug and a duvet to sleep under etc...

trust me, there`s only SO Much you can cook on the blade of a wood saw over a blowtorch!

[kadesma]

And what this all boils down to..You grew, you realized hey, I love doing this,and now you enjoy a challenge and the rewards..We are foodies big time. Isn't it fun to get in and make something and have your family rave? Doesn't it make you feel special when you make up a recipe all on your own? Yep, we grew up..But, there are those days when a can of or a frozen package can make things easier..But, what ever we do be it quick things from a box or the long process of from scratch..it's sitting down at the table and seeing all the faces you love looking at you..Then bread and water is a feast...
kadesma