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: The Best Cookook I Own
Summary: 5 Stars
I collect cookbooks. They're everywhere at my house. Also subscribe to various cooking magazines. THIS is my favorite. Every single recipe I have made has turned out perfect. I only got this book a couple of weeks ago but so far I've made:
*Classic Deviled Eggs-terrific. Tells you how to boil the eggs perfectly. Put 7 eggs in a saucepan and cover with 1" of water. Bring to a boil over high heat; remove pan from heat and cover for 10 minutes. Fill a bowl with cold water and add 14 ice cubes. Transfer eggs to water and let rest for 5 minutes. Peel. So easy. The yolds are cooked through and no green ring around them.
*Greek Salad-the best I've had. The fresh mint and parsley really brought out the flavor.
*Glazed Carrots-oh wow! Even my kids loved these and they are so easy to make.
*Mashed Potatoes-I thought I was doing just fine with my way. Apparently boiling them in the skin does make a difference. Every one loved them.
*Chicken Marsala-Oh my!!! This is the best thing I've ever made. It is so much better than any chicken marsala I've had at a restaurant. It's easy too. My kids devoured it and they don't even like mushrooms. The chicken was so tender you could cut it with a spoon. I am not exaggerating. This is one recipe you have to make.
*Oven Fried Bacon-Wow! So easy and I don't get splattered cooking the bacon anymore. Plus all the pieces come out the same size. No shrinking.
*Home Fries-so delicious. We can't get enough of these. Perfect for breakfast.
*Pizza Dough & Pepperoni Pizza-homemade pizza is way better than chain pizzerias. This is not difficult and will spoil your family.
*Cream Biscuits-these turn out beautiful and even have a little split line around the middle so they're easy to cut. The easiest biscuits I've ever made. Try these if you've never made biscuits. Only 5 ingredients.
*American Sandwich Bread-the best. This is a simple recipe to follow and makes consistently beautiful bread. I don't even buy bread at the store anymore. Talk about a perfect grilled cheese!
*Buttermilk Biscuits-perfect texture and you don't even need to roll them out. Make it in your food processor!
*Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies-Now I have neighborhood kids coming by and asking if I have any of my cookies made. Yeah, they're that good. I just keep them in stock all the time now.
*Blueberry Cobbler-perfect with a bowl of vanilla ice cream. I can't get over how beautiful this turned out and it's so simple. It almost seemed too simple. The lemon juice and zest in the blueberries really brightened the flavors.
This book is huge. 1028 pages. Not all of that is recipes. There's the Table of Contents and Index and several pictures of "how to" and reviews of different products.
Chapters include:
*Appetizers
*Soups
*Salads
*Vegetables
*Rice, Grains, and Beans
*Pasta and Noodles
*Poultry
*Beef
*Pork
*Lamb
*Fish and Shellfish
*Stews
*Grilling
*Eggs and Breakfast
*Pizza, Calzones, and Foccacia
*Quick Breads, Muffins, and Biscuits
*Yeast Breads
*Cookies, Brownies, and Bar Cookies
*Cakes
*Pies and Tarts
*Crisps, Cobblers, and Other Fruit Desserts
*Puddings, Custards, Souffles, and Ice Cream
PROS: Every single recipe has been rigorously tested. I read somewhere that they decide on a recipe and then research and gather 30-75 recipes then boil it down to a few. They then start testing various ways of making the recipe until they come up with a winner. Then a professional tester tries it. Then it's sent out to hundreds of volunteer testers to make sure there are no problems and the directions are crystal clear. So you know that each recipe has been tested and re-tested. Everything turns out great. I also love the product reviews. Which knife is best for my money? Which shredded cheese is best?
Before each recipe is a rief description of some of their trials and errors and what worked. I find it interesting, at least.
CONS: This is just a personal issue but I would have liked some photos of the recipes. What can I say? I like to feast with my eyes as well. So that's really not a big deal.
I think you really get a lot for your money with this book. It would be perfect for anyone but especially for novice cooks because the instructions are so clear and precise.
Get the book. You won't be disappointed. Now I'm off to make some more of that delicious bread. :)
Book Review: I don't know anything about cooking
Summary: 5 Stars
I don't have experience cooking and I sure don't know much about cooking technique. I have personally made all the recipes my family has enjoyed from this book with "technical" help from my wife. When my wife has made "new" recipes from other sources, we don't know what the final product will be like. With this book, not only do they tell you what the final product should be like, it most likely will turn out that way. I've watched America's Test Kitchen and thought that I could make some of the recipes they prepared. I like how detailed the instructions are on the show and the book is even more detailed. I've seen Cook's Illustrated magazine in the book store and this book is similar though slightly condensed (explanations of the testing they did and why the final recipe is the way it is).
While they have incredible detail on how and why, they do have to assume you have some rudimentary knowledge of cooking technique. So, when I tried the brownie recipe and it told me to "fold" the flour into the batter, I was clueless - fortunately, my wife supervises. As others have stated, they purposely change their recipe from "classic" recipes to make it more likely the average home kitchen has the tools required along with the ingredients being available at your supermarket.
The brownies are incredible - the difference between out of the box brownies and the "classic" brownies is why people make food from scratch. Light and fluffy pancakes came out just the way they describe it...not the dense version I usually generate from packaged mixes (my wife had to give me a lesson on flipping pancakes - that's how inept I am in the kitchen). BBQ spare ribs with the BBQ dry rub - just like the ribs I had at "Smokey Bones" in the Atlanta area (the book tells you how to cook grill recipes for charcoal and gas grills). Cheese Straws drew rave reviews at a party (although not as pretty because my daughter and I couldn't get the twists described in the recipe so we just laid it out flat - the guests didn't care). Fallen chocolate cake (molten lava cake) was better than the local Chili's. Every recipe I've made has come out they way they said it would.
As a totally novice cook, if I can get good results, then anyone should be able to do the same. As a novice cook, I do run into problems when timing is important when making a recipe the first time - like frozen dough becoming too warm because I took too long with something else before getting to the dough. They assume the average cook can get something done in X minutes while someone like me takes double the time. Fortunately, from America's Test Kitchen, I knew to just throw the dough back into the freezer when it got too warm.
On my wife's advice, I am writing all over the book with my own notes on each recipe I make with any adjustments on spices or time allotments so each recipe will be MY Best Recipes.
It's a great book. One day, maybe I'll let my kids use it and they can personalize it with the stains/spills they've put into the other recipe books we have (yeah, the books where the results are hit and miss).
Book Review: One of the best cookbooks, ever!
Summary: 5 Stars
After purchasing many cookbooks over the years, my girlfriend told me something interesting. She told me that she found it difficult to learn to cook from a book, since she learned to cook by watching her mother. At first, this remark seemed insignificant, but later, the truth of what she said began to sink in. Although I have watched many of the PBS and Food Network cooking show, and have bought some of the author's books, none were offered in a format where the books were sold with the matching DVDs from the show.
Though I always liked watching America's Test Kitchen, I had never purchased any of their books. As Christmas 2006 rolled closer, I went to the ATK website, and found they had a great deal offering a book and accompanying covering all of the shows they aired in 2006, and for only $29.95 plus S/H. I bought a set for her and one for me, and since then, have been completely hooked on the ATK approach to cooking.
Sure, the DVDs help. Although I am experienced at cooking from many cookbooks, after watching an episode on DVD then reading the recipe, I go into the kitchen with a much clearer sense of purpose. However, the beauty of the ATK books is that they also provide a valuable narrative of the recipes they tried and how they failed, before giving you their solution.
Since then, I have purchased the ATK 2007 season book and DVD, and this Best Recipe book as well. Although the Best Recipe book does not include a DVD, it offers the same, in depth description of how recipes were developed, along with valuable recommendations on the best cooking equipment, and taste ratings of supermarket ingredients.
The best thing that I can say about ATK is that, after many years of buying books and cooking, I have finally found a line of books that teach you how to cook! I honestly feel as though I am receiving a culinary education from ATK. Rather that asking you to follow recipes blindly, they guide you to why cooking techniques work and don't work. Ultimately building knowledge and repertoire, I am not only becoming a more confident cook, but a more creative one as well.
Though large, this is the best single volume cookbook I have ever come across. In contrast to some of the other reviews, I find no difficulty whatsoever with the indexing. The book is simply separated into sections such as Poultry, or Vegetables. Within Vegetables, recipes are listed alphabetically (ie Asparagus is near the front, and Zucchini is near the rear). I never have any trouble finding anything, though I don't start in the back, but simply turn to the right section and go from there.
Some of the best food I have EVER made has been from these ATK books. My Beef Carbonnade, Boston Baked Beans, and Butternut Squash soup were mouth watering show stoppers. Many other recipes, including Meatloaf, high-roast chicken, Chicken Francese, and Huevos Rancheros, were very, very good.
I purchased this book for Christmas for my sister as well, and she loves it.
Book Review: A great resource for recipes and information
Summary: 5 Stars
I feel I need to refute the previous reviewer's allegations. I've had this book for a year and a half, and while I've always enjoyed cooking, this book has taken me to a new level, in both enjoyment and skill. I read it front to back (and have since subscribed to the magazine) and found it fascinating reading. I love the explanations on the development of each recipe. I've made at least a hundred of the recipes in here, and very few have failed me. Most have been amazing.
Because I have not made either the Osso Buco or Beef Burgundy recipes the previous reviewer mentioned, I cannot attest to their quality specifically. However, one of the goals of these recipe developers is to take culturally traditional food and make it accessible to the American home cook. Many traditional recipes include ingredients and equipment that are not practical or available, and the recipes in this book do their best to work around this and still produce fantastic food.
I have however baked both the Baguette and Rustic Italian Bread recipes from this book. When I removed the baguette from the oven, I realized that I had finally made a great baguette, after trying many other recipes. The crust was great and the crumb was perfect. (The taste was bland-I forgot to add the salt.) I've made the Italian bread several times and gotten a ridiculous amount of compliments on it.
I've found their equipment testings valuable, even more so because they do not advocate buying tools that will be useful for only a specific food. Since reading this book, I've put my breadmaker, egg cooker, and deep fryer in storage, because the stove and oven can do it all. I've also found their tastings useful, especially because the magazine does not accept advertising. The science explanations peppered throughout the book have really wet my appetite for more kitchen science.
I will admit that this book is not for everyone. A lot of people aren't interested in the "best" recipe, they're interested primarily in the easiest or healthiest recipe. Also, there are no color pictures. I don't find this too detrimental because a lot of the focus of the book is on developing the best recipe for classic dishes, like mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli, and I know what those are supposed to look like. There are line drawings to help explain techniques, and these are helpful.
For me, this has been a great book. It's a large resource of recipes from a source that I trust, and because every recipe starts by explaining their goals, I know what to expect from the finished product. I've also been able to take what I've learned here and apply it to everything I cook. Perhaps most importantly, it makes me excited to learn still more about food and cooking.
Book Review: These Recipes Consistently Deliver
Summary: 5 Stars
I consider myself an experienced cook but I have had frustrating experiences with cookbooks and recipes I'd find in magazines and newspapers. Something would sound wonderful, I'd buy ingredients, spend hours cooking and the results would be...OK. Not terrible, not inedible, but a disappointment none the less. Even cookbooks that I love and contain recipes I think are wonderful would also have recipes that I found pretty so-so. In fact, in many cookbooks the ratio of successes to non-successes is pretty small. Finding The Best Recipe (the edition that preceded this one) was a revelation for me. Each recipe I tried was a success. When The New Best Recipe was published, I bought one immediately and was thrilled to find so many new recipes.
This is now my go-to cookbook, the first place I look when I want to find a recipe, and a book I check other recipes against when considering recipes from other sources. I use this book in the way my mother used the Joy of Cooking when I was growing up in the late 60s and early 70s. And just as Joy was the book she used when she needed a recipe for a classic like beef stew or a then fashionable food such as quiche or cheese fondue, The New Best Recipe has recipes for classics (spaghetti and meatballs, pot roast, coq au vin, shrimp scampi) and also has recipes for foods that have hit the American culinary radar more recently such as pad thai, beef fajitas, and pozole. In fact the huge range of foods is one of the things that makes this cookbook so wonderful; for instance, the pasta section includes recipes for lo mein, tuna noodle casserole and ravioli.
This is a great book for beginners because of the detailed explanations of how the ultimate recipe was achieved which include discussions of different techniques that were considered or used and why they were rejected, as well as the many sidebars which give information on technique and equipment. Plus there is nothing that teaches you to cook like cooking, and nothing that keeps you cooking as much as having success. But it is a book that an experienced cook will find just an interesting and useful. I have been cooking for years and I have learned from this book.
This is not (and does not represent itself to be) a low-fat cookbook. The recipes are about achieving maximum flavor and taste. It is also not (and does not represent itself to be) a cookbook full of fast recipes. However, this book contains so many recipes that low fat and fast recipes can be found among them. The recipes are always clear and easy to follow, and the results will speak for themselves.
I love cookbooks and have many but if I were forced to have only one cookbook, this would be the one