Cook's Country 2008

If you are searching for fancy-schmancy, this will not be the book for you. However, if you are looking for a cookbook that covers the basics of comfort cooking with good pictures of finished recipes and "how-to" pictures with text this is an excellent cookbook for the beginner and beyond. America's Test kitchen goes through many variations of a recipe in order to get to the one that they believe is the best of the best, and that is what they bring to you in this book. I tried the beer bread and used the smoked gouda cheese variation (sans the bacon, but that would have been good too). The bread came out great and I liked the explanation before the recipe of some of the other variations that they tried before coming to the final recipe-why they suggest a lighter beer, how much butter they thought should be used and why it seemed to work better. As you thumb through the book there are old favorites, chicken soup, macaroni and cheese, snickerdoodles, red velvet cake and regional cooking from the South etc. I think this cookbook will make a great addition to my kitchen library that I will turn to again and again for their clear, concise instruction and reliable recipes. This would be a nice cookbook for a beginner to have as many of the recipes are basic and the instruction on technique is very good. It would also make a nice gift for a newlywed, along with some of the kitchen basics.

I knew I would love this cookbook because it is a 598 page collection of fabulous regional American recipes from the Cook's Country Magazine that I already own every issue of. I appreciate having so many of the recipes in book form because it is much easier to browse and reference than individual back issues. There are many tips and techniques pictured throughout but only some of the recipes are pictured and they are clustered in 4 sections. I would recommend it for anyone and I think it would also make a great 1st cookbook because the lengthy introductions with explanations of what did and did not work in developing the recipe and why is great instruction for beginning cooks. There are so many great recipes but you absolutely have to make the Chocolate Blackout Cake! The categories are: Starters and Snacks Salads and Dressings Soups Stews and Chilis On the Side Lunch Counter Specials Hearty Breakfasts Morning and Teatime Treats Bread Basket Favorites Casseroles and Other Potluck Favorites Chicken and Turkey Every Way Beef and Pork Seafood Slow Cooker Favorites Cookies and Bars Galore Blue Ribbon Cakes Homespun Pies and Fruit Desserts Spoon Desserts

I'll admit upfront that I'm a big Cook's Illustrated fan. I watch the magazine's "America's Test Kitchen: Season 8" show on PBS and subscribe to Cook's Country, Cook's Illustrated's magazine aimed at presenting convenient versions of classic American recipes. Most of the recipes in this book are taken from that very fine magazine. First of all, the big reason I'm such a fan is that the folks at Cook's really test, test and test again before presenting their recipes either in print or on their various broadcasts. I've tried many of their recipes -- everything from pulled pork and "jucy lucy" [sic] hamburgers to chicken biryani and coq au vin -- and they've always turned out great. This test-kitchen approach is what's behind Cook's Country's recipes. Second, the editors often take pains to explain just how tough a particular recipe was to crack, sometimes taking the reader step-by-step through their trial-and-error processes. These explanations as to how they ended up making certain decisions for the final recipes are educational. (An example: The recipe here for firecracker chicken was a real challenge for the test kitchen, it seems. The big issue was getting a crust with a good texture that wouldn't slide off of slippery chicken breasts before frying or get blown off by escaping moisture while frying. How they ended up with the solution they did is edifying, in that it's a breading technique I can now apply to other recipes, too.) Third, Cook's does a great job of working with ingredients you can easily find in your local supermarket, which is a big plus for those of us not living in the hippest of metros or who don't want to buy four different types of pricey imported cheese for a single lasagna recipe. (Not that there's anything wrong with that.) Fourth, while many of the recipes are classic, these recipes are not old. They are modern versions that deliver the taste of the past but are engineered with an eye toward a modern kitchen and a modern pantry. The folks at Cook's are not snobs; if a particular recipe works best using a microwave oven at some point, they'll tell you. If canned diced tomatoes will work as well in a specific recipe as fresh tomatoes, they'll tell you that, too. And while you'll find many retro dishes here -- casseroles, stews, roast chicken, desserts and the like -- you'll also find things that you haven't run across before but seem like you should have, like their Guinness beef pot pie with bacon, skillet pizza or "unstuffed" chicken breasts. Lastly, the tone of The Cook's Country Cookbook is just right. I honestly don't remember ever reading one of these recipes and feeling I needed more info. I also never felt overwhelmed with info or with chef jargon, either. The editorial voice is competent but friendly and the text is easy on the brain. If you want one classic American recipe book that you can trust, this is the one. I don't normally give out five stars in my reviews; I reserve that rating for stuff I think is

I would like to take issue with the previous reviewer concerning the fact that the recipes are taken from previous magazines. I for one am delighted to have these excellent and thoroughly tested recipes and product reviews and commentary finaly assembled into a single well organized cookbook. I greatly value these recipes and use them often, but found it tedious to have to thumb through the magazine issues looking for ideas for cooking pork chops for example. All similar recipes are grouped together. If one uses the monthly magazines and then reads the book description and reviews (above), it should be obvious that the magazine recipes would appear in " Cook's Country's" first ever cookbook! Why wouldn't they? I would be dissapointed if I looked for my favorite recipes from the magazine in the cookbook and couldn't find them. Especially for tried and true classics. For example, If the people at "Cook's Illustrated/ Cook's Country" test recipes for fried chicken and after much tweeking (as is their custom) offer up a recipe that is the "best recipe", I would expect to see that recipe in any of their cookbooks in which it would be pertinent. How many BEST recipes for a single dish can their be. I assume ONE. Therefore whether I reach for their "American Classics" volume or one of their more comprehensive cookbooks, I would expect to find THE best recipe for fried chicken in all of them, unless of course they've further developed that recipe. I've repeatedly seen this kind of complaint , that they repeat recipes (as if this was a flaw or a rip off, which it's not) and/or they never add new recipes. Cook's Illustrated is constantly testing and publishing new recipes and sometimes updating older ones. I've been an avid professional and home cook for about 40 years now and own thousands of cookbooks and nothing comes close to the cookbooks offered by "Cook's Illustrated'" (I own them all). I'm not alone in this opinion. Read the reviews for their other cookbooks. I would highly recommend any thing they publish to any one who enjoys cooking and wants thoroughly tested, fool-proof, and delicious recipes with one caveat. Read the descriptions and reviews of the book(s) you intend to purchase and make certain it's something you want.