We’ve all heard the old adage “The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.” While the validity of this statement can be argued, the point that is being made is accurate: a man must eat! (Or a woman for that matter, let’s not leave ladies out of that equation.) Food is a necessity of life, unlike some of our other desires, hunger is actually on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.
“Whenever I get married, I start buying Gourmet magazine.”
Nora Ephron
So, ladies who want to get married, are you ready to feed a man? It’s not necessarily one of those things we think about when preparing ourselves for marriage, especially in this day and age. I work with and know many women who don’t know how to cook at all, and they either order out every day or their husbands cook. In terms of your husband cooking, it’s great that one of you know how and (hopefully) enjoy it! And you know what works in your marriage balance. But the alternative – eating out all the time? That gets costly, and it also gets old to never have a homecooked meal. And hopefully…you want to learn to cook! It’s just a fun thing to do!
I was blessed with a mother who is an amazing cook, and she wanted my sister and I to be able to prepare healthy, wholesome and hearty meals at an early age so we could be proper hostesses. We love to entertain and have people over, and it’s so much fun when you can cook a delicious meal and serve it instead of catering in. She also taught me to love cookbooks, so I thought we could look at a few cookbooks today that are helpful in not only teaching you to cook the basics, but also to cook more advanced recipes and learn to create your own recipes and learn the flavor mix as you go along. Gourmet magazine is a start, but certainly not a finish!
The Blue Willow Inn Cookbook : My family loves this cookbook. Every recipe we’ve made out of it has been pure perfection – it mainly has classic Southern comfort food with a few traditional desserts as well.
The Betty Crocker Brides Cookbook: While I personally have never cooked out of this cookbook, it’s a favorite at bridal showers and housewarming gifts for the newlywed couple. Flip through the pages and you’ll see why!
North Country Cabin Cooking: This is one of our family’s other favorite cookbooks – mainly for desserts. A warning – if you aren’t from the Midwest or don’t enjoy traditional Scandinavian or Midwestern cooking, you probably won’t like this cookbook. Lots of hotdishes, bar cookies and tips on cooking shortcuts and recipes in this one. Great little book for a new bride’s kitchen!
Newly married brides, wonderful long-married ladies, do you have any suggestions for building up a kitchen repertoire? We would love to hear your ideas in the comments!
A few more food blog resources: How Sweet It Is – Pioneer Woman
top photo via trendy bride by olga platikina