Rating: 
Summary: NEVER a recipe failure
Review: This is the ninth book that I have purchased from the editors of Cook's Illustrated. I have been a fan of the PBS series, America's Test Kitchen, but the 2003 shows have yet to air here and the show is produced in Boston. With the first book in the series, I used to follow along with the television episode that corresponded to the recipe(s) in the book.For the uninitiated, Cook's Illustrated is the Consumer Reports of the kitchen. Products and food brands are tested and evaluated. Each recipe is prepared in a variety of ways until a concensus is reached and the 'winning' recipe is published. If you follow the simple directions, you get a scrumptious result. For novice and expert alike, this is an invaluable resource. More than a mere cookbook, Here in America's Test Kitchen is a course in culinary arts and science. I love to read through it and learn the how's and why's of food preparation. As for the recipes themselves, I loved the Stovetop Macaroni and Cheese. I found it amusing that in the evaluation of cheddar cheeses, the 'experts' displayed a northeastern proclivity toward white cheese and a disdain for annato-colored (orange) cheese. The Beef Burgundy recipe was the best I have ever tasted. And as an earlier reviewer noted, there is a party theme in this book. Party foods, bistro favorites, chili and holiday entertaining recipes are evidence that the Cook's folks like to party too! I have given this book as a gift and the recipients have become converts to the Cook's Illustrated series. Even if you haven't seen the television show, buy this book anyway. It will win many kudos for you from family and friends.
Rating:
Summary: They've Done It Again!!
Review: This is the ninth book that I have purchased from the editors of Cook's Illustrated. I have been a fan of the PBS series, America's Test Kitchen, but the 2003 shows have yet to air here and the show is produced in Boston. With the first book in the series, I used to follow along with the television episode that corresponded to the recipe(s) in the book. For the uninitiated, Cook's Illustrated is the Consumer Reports of the kitchen. Products and food brands are tested and evaluated. Each recipe is prepared in a variety of ways until a concensus is reached and the 'winning' recipe is published. If you follow the simple directions, you get a scrumptious result. For novice and expert alike, this is an invaluable resource. More than a mere cookbook, Here in America's Test Kitchen is a course in culinary arts and science. I love to read through it and learn the how's and why's of food preparation. As for the recipes themselves, I loved the Stovetop Macaroni and Cheese. I found it amusing that in the evaluation of cheddar cheeses, the 'experts' displayed a northeastern proclivity toward white cheese and a disdain for annato-colored (orange) cheese. The Beef Burgundy recipe was the best I have ever tasted. And as an earlier reviewer noted, there is a party theme in this book. Party foods, bistro favorites, chili and holiday entertaining recipes are evidence that the Cook's folks like to party too! I have given this book as a gift and the recipients have become converts to the Cook's Illustrated series. Even if you haven't seen the television show, buy this book anyway. It will win many kudos for you from family and friends.
Rating:
Summary: Buying more in the series
Review: This is the one cookbook that has not gone on the shelf, but instead sits on the corner of the counter. So far I've made the beef burgundy, pan roasted chicken, smothered pork chops, lemon meringue pie, macaroni and cheese, nachos with salsa and guacamole, and more. I'd've done more in the past two weeks, but I do have a job to go to. These may not sound like extraordinary recipes - they're all in my Betty Crocker cookbook or Good Housekeeping cookbook - but this is the cookbook that tells you the how and why, what works and what doesn't work (based on their own testing, which is an interesting read in itself). One of the things I like most is that they make an honest effort and usually succeed at restricting themselves to ingredients found in nearly every supermarket. Serving sizes are extremely generous. I ate nachos for four days --- luckily, they were delicious. I do wish they would include nutritional analyses. These recipes are all about taste and optimal preparation to ensure the best results; nothing particularly low cal or low carb and certainly not low fat here; and it doesn't purport to be a diet cookbook. That's okay, but it would still be nice to have the numbers. And it would be nice if they would test a few ways of cutting calories and/or carbs and/or fat while developing the best recipe. As a novice, I also got tripped up in the pan roasted chicken because the recipe didn't give me even a clue as to how long the pieces would be in the oven; I guessed about 30 minutes but turned out to be 50 minutes to get to temperature, which threw off the timing on the side dishes...minor, novice issue. Finally, I also subscribe to Cook's Illustrated published by the same people. In the Nov/Dec issue was an incredible recipe for pumpkin cheesecake (beg, borrow or steal it from someone). Their technique explanation ranted about the wonders of cooking a cheesecake in a waterbath. Indeed it made a great difference. But in this cookbook, there's a recipe for a New York Style Cheesecake with no mention of a waterbath. I'm not a pro, so maybe the different techniques deliver two distinct textures, but it was curious why both ways aren't discussed in the cookbook since they touted it in the magazine (or vice versa). I've bought a couple pieces of their recommended equipment and believe they've been right on target there too. It's an impressive book that has pursuaded me to buy both the Italian Classics Cookbook and the cookbook for the 2002 television series. Looking forward to receiving those soon.
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