Weakness.

One of my biggest weaknesses is cookbooks.  In the last month I have bought three.  Three BIG ones.  And this is in addition to the seemingly endless amount of bookmarked online of recipes that I want to try.  And the cupboard full of cookbooks I already have. 

One website that I read frequently is The Pioneer Woman.  I have tried a few of her recipes, most have worked really well.  One of Ken's favourites is apple cake in an iron skillet (he calls it sex in a pan).  In fact, I had to go out and buy a SMALLER skillet because when we used the big one we'd eat all the dessert in one sitting.  Just the two of us.  And I wondered why it was so hard to lose weight....

I must admit, the apple cake doesn't look pretty, but it smells and tastes AMAZING.  And works equally well with pears.  Caution - it is LOADED with butter - which I regularly stock up on when we travel to the US.  Unsalted butter up here is insanely expensive, so picking up a few pounds (ok, more than a few) is a must when we go to south.  In fact, on my last trip down with some girlfriends we were grilled at the border about the amount of butter we were bringing home.  You'd think it was drugs or something.  Never mind the wine we had, that guard was all focused on the 10lbs of butter each of us were trucking back to Canada....

The Pioneer Woman also has a cookbook (which of course, I bought).  I have tried a couple of recipies and they turned out quite well. 

Another weakness is Williams-Sanoma.  I don't really buy stuff there, but I browse.  And dream.  And drool.  I did see this cookbook in their store, but I didn't buy it.  But then, as I was in Costco a few days later (buying aforementioned butter) I saw the cookbook, and it was almost half the price.  I scooped it up. 

I haven't tried anything in it yet, but I have found a bunch of recipies that I will try in the coming weeks.  I love how it is laid out, and the photos are amazing. 

Last but not least, I purchased Baking, by Martha Day.  It too was in Costco, and it was CHEAP.  I'd never heard of her, but a quick google shows that she has written numerous cookbooks.  Again, the photos are amazing, and I can't wait to try some of the recipes.  I am such a sucker for a good cover for a cookbook (I think mine is a newer edition, because I couldn't find it online, but here is an earlier version of her book):