So, Kelis has also been one of my guilty music pleasures as a young kid growing up in the small suburbs of Northern New Jersey! Seriously, when she broke out on the scene with Kaleidoscope and her big, bright red hair … I knew her music would always be in constant rotation on my bright purple boombox. Ok, I told y’all I grew up in the suburbs and wanted to be a B-Girl so bad (ok, that is a new revelation I am just now sharing with the world).
Yeah, enough about my inner obsessions with being a techo-R&B sensation … but as soon as I caught wind that my girl not only went to culinary arts school, but she was also releasing her first cookbook … I was ecstatic! So after a quick Amazon search, I added this bad boy to my cart and yelped with delight.I mean come on, My Life on a Plate, I just knew this book would be jam-packed with international classics with Kelis’ unconventional flair.
One of the first recipes that I had my eye on for the first few weeks I was studying the cookbook, was her Beef and Bacon Chili. Hello, this is definitely a winter comfort food I knew my family would just be beginning for! After making a few tweaks:
- Substituting ground beef for ground turkey
This chili recipe did not lack on the flavor meter at all! Was that a lame saying? Hey, I’m not sure what you young Black Foodies are using nowadays, just know that this chili was the BOMB! So much so, before I could snap a delicious, mouth-watering image of a heaping bowl of chili … my family demolished the entire Crockpot. But, before I remedy this photo hiccup with the Kelis’ apple pie I made, let me give you a few pros and cons about this chili recipe:
Pros
- The prep and fresh veggie cutting is so worth it.
- If you are familiar around the kitchen, you can totally add in a few of your own spices to make this chili dish all you own.
- Kelis is a great teacher in the kitchen, you just have to be willing to use your kitchen foresight to master her recipes.
Cons
- Takes a lot of prep.
- Requires ingredients that may not be readily available to you (i.e. spices).
- You may have to freestyle on some of the recipe notes Kelis gives you (sometimes there is a lot of advice and other times there is not enough).
Overall, this cookbook is just stunning. From the imagery to the bomb international dishes, this cookbook will definitely be in constant rotation in my kitchen!
Oh yes, peep my apple pie dish above. Aren’t you just loving this? Honestly, Kelis’ apple pie is super simple, easy and delicious! I just have one note for myself in the future: Instead of chilling the dough overnight, I will chill for 1 hour and begin shaping my pie crust. I noticed that chilling overnight made a crisper shell, but I wanted more of a soft, brown shell and crust. Other than that, my family and I ate our way through Christmas with this yummy pie!
Trust me, My Life on a Plate is a definitely a cookbook you need to have on your shelf. From the yummy desserts to belly warming soups and stews, this cookbook is as dope as Kelis! Still don’t believe me, take a look at my ratings below:
Ease of use (how user friendly is it) 3/5
Taste 5/5
Experience 4/5
Visuals: 4/5 Overwhelmingly beautiful!
