Rating: 
Summary: Julia Collin is like, so cute...
Review: ... but I won't talk about that in this review. What I will talk about is a cookbook that takes the culinary gearheads at Cooks Illustrated and allows them to let it rip -- if the Best Recipe series is a solid and thorough series of workshops for the technically-minded cook, and the first America's Test Kitchen book seems to be a slightly dull but not unenjoyable tasting menu some of the crew's favorite recipes, Here In America's Test Kitchen is a blowout, a blow-the-roof-off-and-call-the-cops kegger of cool recipes. It doesn't say it explicitly, but this book is all about party food and comfort food. Party food? Buffalo wings (their secret: extra Tabasco and a bit of vinegar), sangria, chili, barbecue ribs, and grill-roasted turkey for a different twist on Thanksgiving. (I think they do a different turkey recipe in every book.) Comfort food? Beef burgundy. Steakhouse filet mignon. Kung pao shrimp (with several choices of fried rice). Even green bean casserole and the missing meat lasagna recipe that should have been in Italian Classics. There's lots of things to look at and cook here, each one sliced and diced in classic Cooks Illustrated style to get the best possible results. This is a must-have book. It's loaded with behind-the-scenes pictures just like its predecessor, and the food in it is picked out for fun factor and/or just novelty; they even claim to make stuffed peppers appetizing, which is a pretty daring proposition. Get this book, and I promise you'll enjoy just reading it; if other TV cookbooks with their closeups and cutting-edge graphic design are food porn, this stuff is Penthouse Letters.
Rating:
Summary: Quality Cooking Advice & Phenomenal Ribs!
Review: As someone who consider's themselves an elite "home chef", I stopped using recipe books years ago and just built on the basics that I'd gleaned from reading what I considered the "essential" cookbooks. Then, one stormy Saturday afternoon when the husband was at work and the kids were away at Grandma's, I stumbled on America's Test Kitchen on PBS. Needless to say, I loved what I saw. Now I am a Cook's Illustrated fan. I have not come across anything done by these folks that isn't absolute quality cooking instruction - no matter what your level of cooking expertise. That's because ATK doesn't just write the recipes - they write articles and background about every recipe that breaks down each element of the recipe and explains why certain ingredients, techniques and equipment work so much better than others in producing the best tasting recipe. Even if you never follow an America's Test Kitchen or Cook's Illustrated recipe step-by-step, the things you learn just by reading the recipe books can be carried over into all of your cooking. If, like me, you are a non-recipe cook, there is still much to be learned here. "Here in America's Test Kitchen" carries on the standard of excellence that Cook's Illustrated has established for itself. Detailed recipes that are actually essays about what goes into creating each recipe and why certain ingredients and methods are used will elevate the level of every home cook - regardless of your current level of expertise. This book contains some of the best recipes I've ever had. The BBQ Rib recipe prepared with a dry rub and slow cooked over a smoky grill is simply the best rib recipe I've ever made - spicy, smokey, fall of the bone tender with a wonderful crisp skin on the outside. At a recent 4th of July party, these ribs and the ATK buffalo wings were a huge hit. And the cookie jar favorites - chewy, flavorful double chocolate cookies and ginger cookies are family favorites. The recipes here aren't always the quickest, the cheapest or the lowest in fat and calories, but if you are looking for the best in flavor and texture, with America's Test Kitchen you can't go wrong.
Rating:
Summary: UMMM tasty chocolate cake with fudge sauce
Review: Enough to please a man and make a woman swoon, what a wonderful recipe, quirky as it is. The food recipes in this book, are the same demoed on the show and are quirky but always WONDERFUL. There are excellent recipes with detailed instuctions for everything from cassaroles, to texas chili, from soup to new york cheesecake. I am very pleased with this issue.
Rating:
Summary: Buying more in the series
Review: I have been watching this series on PBS and the book is just a delightful. The receipes are pretty easy to follow, ingredients are available in most grocery or gourmet shops. Plus they have done all the testing and we get to prepare the perfect combinations! Highly recommend it, especially as a gift!
Rating:
Summary: Just As Good As the PBS Show!
Review: I have been watching this series on PBS and the book is just a delightful. The receipes are pretty easy to follow, ingredients are available in most grocery or gourmet shops. Plus they have done all the testing and we get to prepare the perfect combinations! Highly recommend it, especially as a gift!
Rating:
Summary: A Great Book
Review: I have long loved the professional approach to home cooking that Cooks Illustrated has always taken. Their recipes are well thought out, easy to follow, and remarkably dependable. The equipment reviews have saved me money by steering me to high quality yet economical kitchen equipment. The reviews, which are scattered throughout, look at everything from vegatable peelers to measuring spoons. Also reviewed are such items as salt, beef stock, and other food additives. I appreciate the fact that when I begin a recipe I can be certain that it will result in something good -- this is not the case with many other cookbooks being sold today. This cookbook is straight-forward but very interesting.
Rating:
Summary: A New Chef's Must Have
Review: There are three things I love about this book: 1. It's easy to use. So, when you're just starting to learn to cook you think, "I need something short and simple to try". The people at Cook's Illustrated take the opposite approach: They give you more complex recipes with minutely detailed instruction sets. At first, the book appears difficult. But then, you realize that what they've actually done is take all of the guesswork out of making good food. The instructions never say something like "Beat Egg Whites until glossy and firm". They say, "Get out your mixer, turn it on to medium (about a 5 on a KitchenAid) and beat the egg whites for 3 minutes." By providing precise instructions, they help even the most novice cook achieve tasty and predictable results each and every time they cook. 2. Unlike a lot of cookbooks, it's not a coffee table book. Each and every recipe in here is something you can make in your kitchen with ingredients you can get at the Shaw's (Star Market, Ralph's, Food Lion, Kroger, etc.) Market. 3. Each of the recipes is a lesson. By cooking your way through this book, you'll actually learn so many top notch ways to make basics that you'll be able to cook from any other cookbook out there on the market today. My advice is to give this book to the novice chef in your life and then sit back and enjoy the results. You'll like the food so much you'll buy it for everyone you know.
Rating:
Summary: A New Chef's Must Have
Review: There are three things I love about this book: 1. It's easy to use. So, when you're just starting to learn to cook you think, "I need something short and simple to try". The people at Cook's Illustrated take the opposite approach: They give you more complex recipes with minutely detailed instruction sets. At first, the book appears difficult. But then, you realize that what they've actually done is take all of the guesswork out of making good food. The instructions never say something like "Beat Egg Whites until glossy and firm". They say, "Get out your mixer, turn it on to medium (about a 5 on a KitchenAid) and beat the egg whites for 3 minutes." By providing precise instructions, they help even the most novice cook achieve tasty and predictable results each and every time they cook. 2. Unlike a lot of cookbooks, it's not a coffee table book. Each and every recipe in here is something you can make in your kitchen with ingredients you can get at the Shaw's (Star Market, Ralph's, Food Lion, Kroger, etc.) Market. 3. Each of the recipes is a lesson. By cooking your way through this book, you'll actually learn so many top notch ways to make basics that you'll be able to cook from any other cookbook out there on the market today. My advice is to give this book to the novice chef in your life and then sit back and enjoy the results. You'll like the food so much you'll buy it for everyone you know.
Rating:
Summary: NEVER a recipe failure
Review: These are can't fail recipes from the Cooks Illustrated folks.I believe I'm up to half a dozen or so books from the folks at Cooks Illustrated. That's not counting the books from folks who have left the crew and gone on to other things. I have never, repeat, NEVER had a recipe from them that did not deliver exactly as promised. They truly do test everything until there is no variable unturned. Whether you are a beginning cook and need exact directions, or an experienced cook that is sick of pretty cookbooks with faulty recipes, this book is a great investment.
Rating:
Summary: Yet another winner from ATK
Review: This is my third Amerca's Test Kitchen cookbook. In all of the meals that I have cooked using these books, I have never had a flop. As a male and a physician, I really appreciate the "clinical" approach to cooking that ATK applies. Want to make good, gooey chocolate cookies? Then try a dozen different methods and see what works best. They have used this method for all of their recipes, and the reaults are tremendous. ATK avoids pretentious cuisine. They aim to make the best steak, best french-fries; things that my kids will eat. Yet, some of my favorite meals for guests come from the book as well. (Twice-coked potatoes with pesto...mmmm). Even though I live in a small town in a remote area, I have always been able to find the ingredients they suggest. They have a "Consumer Reports"-like approach to rating ingredients and equipment. What a delight when Morton's table salt out-performs...sea-salt in blinded taste-testing. I can't wait for next year's book to come out!
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