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Chrissy Teigen’s cooking won me over. After years at Delish, I’ve seen one too many celebrity cookbooks that seemed like the star simply slapped their name on a book to collect a paycheck. Or created a tome of longwinded recipes calling for all kinds of ingredients that’d (A) cost the average person a fortune and (B) require trips to six stores to get everything you need.
And a supermodel schilling recipes? To call me skeptical was an understatement. Then, I went to interview Chrissy for an article shortly after her first cookbook, Cravings, launched, and as a parting gift, her publicist handed me a mason jar of chili, one of the recipes in the book. I scarfed it for lunch — and dreamed about it for two days later. I finally picked up the book and found myself stunned by how well-vetted, approachable, and just straight-up craveworthy the recipes were.
So, when I heard Chrissy was coming out with a sequel — no gimmicks, just more insane dishes — I was intrigued. And this cookbook, Cravings: Hungry For More, might just be better. It hits on all of my musts: Every recipe has a photo, so you know what you’re getting yourself into! The techniques are clearly explained, like it’s *gasp* one human talking to another! There’s a blatant love of cream cheese and decadence!
So far, the Blueberry Cream Cheese Pancakes are my favorite dish. Their method flies in the face of everything IHOP’s master pancakers taught me about flawless shortstacks. And yet, I’m obsessed. Before you make them, here’s what you need to know:
- The recipe calls for buttermilk AND vinegar. More so than tanginess, it makes these babies extra fluffy. Don’t skimp.
- You could skip buttering the skillet, but it’s worth trying. Chrissy swipes butter on the hot pan before making each batch. If you go a little heavy-handed, your pancakes will get that lacy, webbed look instead of an even golden color, and they’ll cook unevenly. However, with just a light coating, you’ll get a crispy exterior that gives way to a pillowy center.
- Put the cream cheese in the freezer! It sounds crazy, tossing blobs of frozen cream cheese into the pancakes, but this way, they’ll retain (most of) their shape without melting into the batter, and infuse every other bite with a tangy kick that complements the blueberries epically. The pancakes and syrup are sweet enough; this is an awesome counterpoint.
You might stop making pancakes any other way. I know I’m tempted.
