The America’s Test Kitchen Family Cookbook, Heavy-Duty Revised Edition
Posted on Tuesday, December 29th, 2009 at 8:38 am
Product Description
Repackaged 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.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)
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|  Light Chicken Parmesan |  Classic Apple Pie |
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 Cook’s Illustrated |
 The Best 30-Minute Recipe |
My favorite cooking show is America’s Test Kitchen on my local public station. I checked this book out of the library and decided I wanted my own copy. I love the testing that goes into each recipe and also their ingredient and product reviews. I’ve made the meatloaf several times already and cooking the onions separately really makes a difference. Their recipe is replacing my mother’s recipe which I have made for over 30 years. The beef burgundy recipe is also wonderful…it fills the house with the most delicious aromas. You might say this is my go to cookbook right now even though I have a sizable collection. I would recommend this one for anyone, beginner to experienced.
Rating: 1 / 5
“America’s Test Kitchen,” “Cooks Illustrated,” “Cooks Country” and everything affiliated with it is a SCAM. They will take your money, nicke-and-dime you to death, then refuse to provide customer service. They claim to have a customer service line open during normal business hours, however, no matter when you call, you will be directed to leave a detailed message, and no one will ever call you back. Beware these greedy culinarians. Once they have your credit card number, you will never see hide or hair of them again.
Rating: 1 / 5
I’m satisfied with the book. When I got it though, there was a slight dentation on the outside hardcover.
Rating: 3 / 5
Everybody who reads this book loves it; the TV show looks wonderful. But just try to cook out of it- you’ll be in tears.
The spring loaded rings don’t work, the pages are so flimsy a spatter in the kitchen ruins the page, and the book is generally unwieldy and difficult to handle- those binder rings are D shaped and it’s just hell to turn the pages. I find the conversions and substitutions to be pretty sad stuff. A cook book is supposed to be able to handle the heat in the kitchen- All my Granny’s Julia Childs are ancient, cruddy,and still hardy kitchen gear. My year old copy of this is disintegrating. And it gets worse when you try to use the information in this thing…
I’m an intermediate cook, and this is a bad tool. Want to ruin $50 bucks worth of filet mignon? There are very explicit instructions on how to do so in this book. And an awful lot of other bizarrely bad recipes, too.I find the whole culinary aesthetic here to be just too weird.
I’d look into Alton Brown and his “Good Eats” books and show for a basic how to of cooking.The food tastes good, very important thing. Don’t waste the money here.For the price of this book you can get a pretty decent honing steel, which you need more.
I’m really disappointed in this. A lot of work went into this book, and the only thing I can find in it of any real use is the product recommendations; They made the publishers and writers a lot of money on advertising placement.
There is no one single book for the kitchen; you need several. If you don’t bother with this one you won’t miss any thing.
Life is short; you’d be better off with good take out.
Rating: 1 / 5
I purchased as a gift. It was received in the sealed packaging, but the
binder was already smashed and split at the seam. WAS VERY DISAPPOINTED!
Rating: 2 / 5