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The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook, Heavy-Duty Revised Edition
America's Test Kitchen Product Details - Ratings and reviews for the america's test kitchen family cookbook, heavy-duty revised edition. |
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by: America's Test Kitchen
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Sales Rank: 1310
America's Test Kitchen
Released: 2006-09-30 |
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Amazon.com Review
Over time, twin enterprises Cook's Illustrated magazine and America's Test Kitchen have published many books dedicated to providing exhaustively tested recipes--"best" versions of traditional dishes plus definitive takes on kitchen equipment and ingredients. Some series readers have complained of endlessly recycled or rejiggered recipes; others take each book at face value, finding the formulas and cooking insights good and helpful. America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook, which calls itself a cookbook, cooking school, and kitchen reference in one, offers over 1,200 approachable recipes for a very wide range of dishes--from "weekday" fare like Creamy Rice Casserole, Cheesy Nachos with Spicy Beef, and Skillet Lasagna, to dressier recipes, including Pan-Seared Lamb Chops with Red Wine Rosemary Sauce, Roasted Trout Stuffed with Bacon and Spinach, and Chocolate Marshmallow Mousse. There are "specialty" chapters devoted to sandwiches, drinks, and slow cooker and pressure cooker dishes; a grilling section is a tutorial in itself. Unorthodox, "better-way" approaches abound. For example, a fried chicken formula instructs the cook to wet the bird's dry coating slightly before it's applied for an extra-crunchy crust. Predictably, side bars feature equipment and ingredient evaluations, on bottled salsa, for example; "good food/bad food" photographs show readers what to aim for when producing fare like holiday cookies; and there are tips, charts, and "Cooking 101" sidebars galore. Step-by-step photos offer more direction still. Though the majority of recipes are sound and yield tempting results, readers poring through the book will note gaffes and curiosities. The recipe for poached eggs, for example, offers the option of extra cooking for "firm yolks" (hard-boiled poached eggs, anyone?) and hamburgers receive an indentation before cooking to avoid "puffy" domed burgers, a novel problem that could, in any case, be solved by proper shaping. The addition of sugar to some savory dishes--for example, a pan sauce for steak--is misguided. Readers should also know that the book, which comes in loose-leaf form, requires some assembly, and that the pages themselves are quite thin, making them vulnerable to spills and tearing in daily kitchen use. These things said, the book delivers solid, family-friendly dishes with enough fully orchestrated "how- to" to make even novice cooks feel secure when tackling the basics or more ambitious fare. What's New in the Revised Editon?
First out in 2005, America?s Test Kitchen Family Cookbook was praised for its recipe ease, inclusiveness, and wealth of helpful information, but was also criticized for its physical production. A loose-leaf book with its pages included separately, readers found it inconvenient to assemble and its paper impractically thin. The revised edition is printed on heavier stock, and arrives with its pages already on its rings (there are two more now, for sturdiness) with only chapter dividers to insert, a simple task. In addition, new inside front and back covers provide information on emergency substitutions, roasting guidelines, equivalent measures, and more--and a "Light Recipes" chapter has been included. Without defining precisely what "light" means--fewer fats and carbs, or a combo?--the section offers attractive all-course recipes, such as turkey chili, veggie burgers, meat and cheese lasagna, and chocolate bundt cake. Some readers will welcome the "slimming" of familiar dishes while others will find some of the manipulations--using cornstarch to thicken the sauce in fettuccine alfredo or ricotta to add body to a reduced-fat pesto, for example--unappealing. The book, however, remains a valuable kitchen tool--and one with greater convenience and durability than before. --Arthur Boehm
Exclusive Recipe Excerpts from The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook (Revised Edition)
More from America's Test Kitchen
Product DescriptionRepackaged to be easier to use and expanded to include a whole new chapter of healthy, light recipes, this revised edition of one of last fall's bestselling cookbooks remains the one and only basic cookbook you will ever need. Beautiful step-by-step photos illuminate every conceivable technique from chopping shallots and skinning salmon to cutting up a chicken and tying a roast. In fact, just about anything you want to do in the kitchen is explained in these pages in America's most popular test kitchen's approachable, no-nonsense voice. These recipes will keep you busy (and your friends and family happy) for years to come, since we've included hundreds of easy weeknight dishes (like Skillet Lasagna and One-Pot Chicken and Rice), company-worthy dinners (like Beef Burgundy, Roast Leg of Lamb, and Fresh Fruit Trifle), equipment ratings, shoppings tips, and more.
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The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook, Heavy-Duty Revised Edition
- Ring-bound: 726 pages
- Publisher: America's Test Kitchen; 2006-09-30
- Label: America's Test Kitchen
- Studio: America's Test Kitchen
- ISBN: 193361501X
- Average Customer Review: based on 132 reviews
- Sales Rank in Books: #1310
Avg. Customer Review:
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Review of America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook 2009-01-09
Comment: At the risk of sounding sacrilegious, go to your shelf of cookbooks, take your Betty Crocker Cookbook and your Joy of Cooking, slide them both off to the side, and make room -- up-front and center -- for The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook.
The aforementioned standards, "Betty" and "Joy", were my dual bibles for cooking. I learned cooking using these giants because they teach the basics of cooking -- a good place to begin if you've never picked up a pot or a slotted spoon. But The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook beats both in its comprehensiveness AND in its simple, straightforward instructions.
The features are too numerous to list, but I'll mention a few that sold me from the first page. The yellow text box entitled, Test Kitchen Tip are gems, each and every one. The tips often explain why a cooking method, cooking time, or ingredient will NOT work. The tips originate from the editors' successes and failures when attempting a recipe in their kitchen, and the the tips often are at the crux of the recipe's success. The more extensive "how-to" tips" such as Frozen Fish: The Basics are in orange lined boxes and also should not be missed. There are photographs demonstrating how to make cinnamon rolls, preparing lobster for the grill, how to pan-sear chicken and make a pan sauced, and hundreds more. The editors even rate kitchen equipment and recommend specific brands that they have tested and rated the best. All cooks, new and experienced should read the Cooking 101 sections. Even as an experienced cook, I discovered a few of my methods were not correct, so I was delighted to read the Cooking 101s.
No matter what your kitchen skills, you need this book. If you want to learn to cook, this is your book. If you want to master cooking methods both simple and sophisticated, this is your book. If someone threatened you with a skewer and demanded that you rid yourself of all cookbooks but one -- this is your book.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating:
Summary: You can be a fantastic cook! Really!!! 2009-01-09
Comment: I hate to cook, never watch cooking shows and know nothing about cooking techniques whatsoever. That being said I wasn't a very good cook until I purchased this cookbook! Every recipe I have tried has turned out fantastic even for a complete beginner like me. It's the most used cookbook in my kitchen. What I love most about this book, other than the delicious recipes, are the photographs and technique explanations. Proper technique makes a huge difference in the outcome of my dishes. My husband often tells me that my dishes are restaurant quality. Whenever I have a potluck, I get many special requests from friends & family for specific items they love from this book.
The cookbook also offers a huge variety of recipes for popular American dishes, as well as ethic dishes such as Mexican and Asian. This book has transformed me from an average cook to a really good one. I couldn't be happier and recommend it to everyone!
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating:
Summary: Great Cookbook 2009-01-09
Comment: I'm learning as I go. Really an informative cookbook ... and the food's great, too.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating:
Summary: A Great Starter Collection 2009-01-02
Comment: I got this book almost two years ago and it's great. A lot of standard recipes and techniques for the home cook. Almost everything I've made has been good, a few recipes were great (German Apple Pancakes comes to mind). It has almost every basis American recipe you can thing of, plus a few "ethnic" staples. It's an excellent starter cookbook. If you only want one cookbook this would be it.
Only downside is the verison I have comes in a binder formensures you stay on the page you want, but which makes page turning a little difficult. So far have no pages have been torn with regular use.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating:
Summary: This is the one I reach for 2008-12-31
Comment: This is my standard. If I need a recipe for something, I check this first. Everything turns out very well. The only negative is that the pages can be torn out rather easily. I wish this were a standard book rather than 3 ring binder style.
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The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook, Heavy-Duty Revised Edition
