Cooking at Home with America's Test Kitchen

Publishers Weekly

This excellent companion to PBS's America's Test Kitchen series makes it possible to develop a season's worth of expertise without ever tuning in. On the show, the ATK team works out the science behind popular dishes, eliminating guesswork for the at-home chef. Chapters are broken up by episode, like "Cooking With Squash," which includes recipes for Butternut Squash Risotto and Butternut Squash Soup. While there are ideas for creative variations-a sprinkle of curry or cinnamon croutons to spice up the soup, for instance-it's the hearty, relatively simple classics like Roast Turkey and Blueberry Cobbler that get the most airtime. Indeed, these are exceptional renditions with thorough instruction, though many of these recipes will be familiar to readers of Cook's Illustrated and the Best Recipe cookbooks. Like the magazine and cookbook, this guide includes helpful sidebars and illustrations demonstrating proper techniques (removing the silver skin from tenderloin; cleaning leeks) and choosing the best nutmeg grater or Parmesan. The beauty of the ATK/ Cook's Illustrated franchise is its message that even the fledging chef can succeed with the right tools and know-how-but this book will be indispensable to cooks of all experience levels. 32 full-color photos; 500 b&w photos. (Jan.) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

The just-published America's Test Kitchen Cookbook, based on the popular PBS series, is a huge general cookbook with more than 1000 recipes organized into the standard categories of soups, salads, etc. This companion volume to the sixth season of the show follows the format of the series, with 26 themed episodes from "Tex-Mex Favorites" to "Old-Fashioned Birthday Cake." Each chapter includes a couple of master recipes and numerous variations, along with reports from "The Tasting Lab" or "The Equipment Corner" (or both), which rate ingredients and kitchen tools. The television show echoes the approach of the magazine, and here the authors describe "What We Wanted" and "What We Learned" in the course of developing each master recipe. The book is illustrated with hundreds of black-and-white photos and line drawings, along with color photographs of a sampling of the recipes, and it is sure to be in demand. Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.