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: Fair, but not a great cookbook
Summary: 3 Stars
I've enjoyed watching the America's Test Kitchen shows, so I had high expectations of this cookbook. But now that I've actually tried some of the recipes, I realize that the authors' approach has some problems. I think really good cooking has a lot to do with personality and taste -- like any art or craft -- and the "test kitchen" approach is designed to exclude these factors. They write of anonymous "tasters" and most recipes do seem like they're designed to appeal to some sort of lowest common denominator. They're just not terribly interesting.
Another problem with the test kitchen approach is that they seem compelled to reinvent the wheel for every recipe. Is this really necessary? Every recipe comes with this long narrative explaining how they tried every conceivable way of making, say, meatloaf or roast chicken. Usually, at the end of the day, they end up with pretty much the standard method of making the dish.
If you're new to cooking, this book will teach you a lot about how to make basic, familiar dishes. But if you've already developed a feeling for ingredients and techniques, and you're looking for something that will take you in new directions, go for a book written by a talented and experienced cook, not by a committee.
Book Review: Answers all the questions I never knew I had
Summary: 5 Stars
Being of the engineering variety (of human), cooking has not come naturally to me in the past. This book changed all that, with its "how to" and "why" style of informative direction. The book is written almost like a story, and you can learn a great deal about whatever type of food you're considering just by following the "story." I'd HIGHLY recommend this for any beginner or expert cook. It covers all aspects of cooking, grilling, and everything in between. It gets as nitty-gritty as helping you figure out how much gas is left in your grill's propane tank. The style of food in this book appears to be much healthier than many of the books I've seen on my mother's or grandmother's book shelves. By experimenting with many ways to prepare the same dish, the authors have guaranteed your creation will be a hit. For example, the "Classic Apple Pie" was designed to focus on the apples, avoiding ingredients that mask or otherwise smother the natural citrusy flavor. As previously stated, I'm new to cooking in general, and found the "how to" information related to pie-making to be extremely helpful. I see no need to buy any other book - and am sure this will provide YEARS of interesting, thoughtful, and delicious meals.
-28 yr old male
Book Review: Favorite recipes removed!!
Summary: 2 Stars
I purchased the "New" version to replace the original Best Recipe release that I no longer have. Unfortunately, I discovered that the recipes are not the same and in fact two of my favorites have been removed altogether. I have only opened the book up three times so I have yet to determine how many of my favorite recipes have been drastically altered or deleted altogether. The mac and cheese is now much more time-consuming to create and not as good, and the wonderful butterflied roast chicken with mustard tarragon pan sauce has been excluded. If you think that you can replace your old cookbook with the new one and expect it to be inclusive of your recipes--forget it. I called Cook's Illustrated and after having just bought the new cookbook, they were indifferent about telling me that I'd have to buy an online subscription ($30!!) in order to retrieve the deleted recipes. A more responsible company would have had the original recipes available for free for those who are disappointed that the new book doesn't have them. I'd also like to add, that the recipes seem much more overly complicated (i.e. time consuming) for nearly imperceptible better results than the recipes in the original version. Dig up the original, it is still the Best Recipe.Book Review: Amazing book
Summary: 5 Stars
I have had this cookbook for a couple of months and have yet to be disappointed with a single thing I have made. The recipes are explained in detail, and I believe this book has made me a better cook simply by providing the "science" behind what makes a recipe work (for example adding baking soda to add more browning to a baked good). This has become my cooking bible and I have since ordered two more books from the same publisher.
Recipes I've made from the book that were fantastic include:
Devils Food Cake with Coffee Buttercream Icing (YUM!)
Chicken Marsala
Guacamole (so easy, yet so delicious)
Hummus (again, easy - it's fun and cheaper to make your own!)
Ratatouille
Stir Fried Pork (tasted better than a Chinese restaurant)
I've made a ton of others, but these are recent ones that come to mind. There are also numerous "sidebar" articles throughout the book with various equipment and ingredient reviews. I've followed a number of these recommendations and have also been very pleased.
In summary, this book is well worth the price and you will be on your way to serving fantastic meals to your family with relative ease!
Book Review: If you need to know 'why' a particular method is best, this is the cookbook for you.
Summary: 5 Stars
I think this cookbook strongly appeals to those of us who like to know exactly why something works. If you have ever seen 'America's Test Kitchen' on television, then you know exactly what to expect in this book.
I was particularly impressed with the scientific discussion on brining poultry. I had no idea that the ions in salt cause the protein molecules in the meat to rearrange themselves in such a way that the meat becomes more tender. The level of the discussion is perfect -- you do not need a science degree to understand it, but if you have one, you will still appreciate the discussion.
I also enjoy that the cookbook includes a detailed discussion on each recipe -- including the best type of garlic to use for cooking. The scope is broad, covering equipment to chicken brands. I also like the objective approach of the book. When they tell you that something was judged best, they tell you what factors are considered good. Sometimes, several variations on a recipe are included.
This cookbook is truly comprehensive and is ideal for someone new to cooking or for the seasoned cook who would like to know how to improve his/her techniques based on what is tried and true.