The New Best Recipe: All-New Edition
by Cook's Illustrated Magazine
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Book Reviews of The New Best Recipe: All-New Edition
Book Review: "Wow, that's the best strawberry shortcake I ever had!"
Summary: 5 Stars
When my son said that at the end of his birthday celebration, of course I was delighted. As I thought about it, I realized that people have been so enthusiastic about the things I've cooked from this book that it's not a huge surprise when they say "that's the best x I've ever had"--just very pleasing. There is only one recipe I ever been disappointed with in this cookbook (the buttermilk biscuits), and I'm going to try that again because I suspect I blew it somehow. Everything else has turned out fantastically the first time.
This is not a "quick meal" cookbook, but on the other hand they do not worship slowness for its own sake. For example, most recipes do not call for sifted flour. This means that for the few that do, you can be confident there is a reason. Each recipe comes with a long and frequently fascinating preface about the dish, the often obsessive testing they did (you can learn a lot from their mistakes, and make fewer of your own), and sometimes the science behind food phenomena. So you not only have a recipe to follow but you can learn something about how to cook on your own. If you're in a hurry, though, you can just skip to the recipe.
When I got this book I also subscribed to Cooks Illustrated magazine for a year; I wound up letting my subscription lapse after I found out that many of the recipes in their articles were already in this cookbook. (Though in fairness I should add that there is plenty in the magazine that's not in the cookbook, such as most of their product testing).
I am not a hard-core foodie or a highly experienced cook (though I'm not a novice). You don't need to be either to make outstanding dishes from these recipes.
Book Review: Recipes are great, but the blows chunks
Summary: 4 Stars
No real table of contents. An insufficient index. No distinct chapters (by page separation). New recipes start wherever, usually at the bottom right side of the left page. Half the food products they recommend in the back of the book comes with the caveat: "Not sold west of the Mississippi River," yet they claim their recipes are for ordinary kitchens and ordinary home cooks. Their "field research" on some things does not stand up to real world experience.
I could go go on, but you get the drift: the layout of this book is awful, and its ATK authors should be embarrassed by it. One example, they claim that a 12" skillet works better than a wok on a stove, but obviously they don't know how to cook with a wok. Their method is more akin to Paula Deen's cheeto-fixins' with extra twangy syrup on the side rather than cooking in one. Hilariously, they claimed they could only get their wok up to 335-degrees. I presume they were using a cheap Wal-Mart brand flat aluminum or thin carbon wok, which no self-respecting cook would even consider. The chicken chapter is the book's worst. ATK doesn't like chicken because "it dries out." Their solution is to buy the super-expensive Kosher chicken or spend a day brining it yourself. Because when it comes to cooking, MONEY is no object to these people!
However, this is the book you want in their set. Why? Because if you peruse them, more than 90% of all the recipes in every other ATK book is found here. Anything you miss you can get online at their site. It's a fine recipe book, but don't take their "advice and tips" without doing your own testing or research. You'll find that people in Boston don't know as much as they claim to know.
Book Review: ONE OF THOSE MAMMOTH COOKBOOKS
Summary: 5 Stars
I'll be honest. I've never really been one who likes these huge, mega-recipe cookbooks as I've always preferred smaller, more specialized books. This one did come as a surprise as a friend loaned it to me who just raved about it. The recipes are culled from the pages of Cooks Illustrated Magazine which I am not overly familiar with. With a 1000 pages and 1000 recipes, you're sure to find a LOT that you can use.
One thing important to note is that these recipes are not simply thrown into the book. Cooks Illustrated tests these receipes in their kitches many times, evaluating all facets of the recipe from ingredients and preparation to cook times and equipment. More than just recipes, the book acts as a guide to everyday kitchen techniques, many designed for the novice but certainly still valuable to more experienced cooks. There's also great advice on buying cookware and utensils, as often your receipes are only as good as the equipment you use to make them.
Everything from simple casserole dishes and crockpot favorites to more elegant receipes can be found within its pages. The receipes are VERY step-by-step, obviously written for the beginner in mind and will ensure a great meal everytime. Add to that the editors have put in a generous helping of over 800 illustrations perfectly complement the well-written and well-tested recipes.
If you are going to own just one of these massive type cook books...toss out Betty Crocker...Give the Joy of Cooking the heave-ho...let the Gourmet Cookbook gather dust, and pickup this fantastic book. Simply put it's the best of its kind anywhere! Highest recommendation.
Book Review: The New Best Cookbook
Summary: 5 Stars
I started watching the "America's Test Kitchen" TV program (ATK) about a year ago. I joined the (parent) Cook's Illustrated (CI) website shortly after and began printing off various recipes that featured ingredients I happened to have on hand ... all met with rave reviews from my own "test kitchen."
The next step was to stock ingredients that frequently occurred in ATK recipes. And then came a trip to the library and home with a copy of this book.
At dinnertime (or before) I only need to mention that "this is an ATK recipe" to get lip-smacking anticipatory reactions ... and I've never been disappointed, nor has any of my diners. "Please make this again," is the customary refrain, along with, "Is there any more?!" And now the great majority (nearly 100%) of the dishes I prepare come from CI/ATK.
So I've returned to Amazon to buy a copy of my own. Sure, all the recipes are at my beck and call from the CI/ATK website(s), but I want to sit down in my comfy chair and find a delectable nugget of a recipe on my own.
If you only have one cookbook, this should be the one. Compared to "The Joy of Cooking" this is head and shoulders better. Compared to Bittman's "How to Cook Everything" this is better, but only because you know that each and every recipe has been beaten to death and tested exhaustively. I wouldn't hesitate for a second to prepare and serve any recipe in this book (untried) for family and guests on any occasion. It's just a non-fail, get-'r-done formula for success.
Buy your copy without hesitation, and enjoy the fabulous meals you're about to prepare.
Book Review: I LOVE this cookbook - foolproof!!
Summary: 5 Stars
I have to start with the disclaimer I am not by nature a great cook. My Gourmet or Bon Appetit recipes may or may not turn out OK, and if they don't, I have no idea what I did wrong. I started using Cook's Illustrated recipes and since they were so good, I got this book.
This cookbook, like the magazine, gives painful details that you are thankfully free to explore or ignore, but it helps teach why things turn out well or badly, which is awesome for a new cook.
Every single recipe I have tried has come out perfect, which is not the case for my Gourmet, Joy of Cooking, Silver Palette, or Barefoot Contessa books. When I put a delicious dinner on the table, my husband now asks, "Is this from that science cookbook?" ... and I guess that's why I like it, I am more scientific than artistic, and this gives recipe and techniques that are precise, that have been tested, that work.
Recipes I loved include: stock, spiced nuts, the very best chocolate chip cookies EVER on page 777, turkey tetrazzini, meatloaf, beef stew, and multiple chicken recipes.
What I don't like: Due to the "best" techniques, the recipes tend to require more steps for recipes than I am used to. My turkey tetrazzini took 3 separate pans on the stove and one casserole, e.g. I have not found them to be quick. They are easy to follow, however.
If I need something foolproof for company, this is where I turn. I think it is a fantastic gift for a new bride or anyone just wanting to learn how to cook better. Definitely if you like the magazine at all, you will love the book.