The America's Test Kitchen Quick Family Cookbook: A Faster, Smarter Way to Cook Everything from America's Most Trusted Test Kitchen Author: America's Test Kitchen | Language: English | ISBN:
B009L7QGYW | Format: PDF
The America's Test Kitchen Quick Family Cookbook: A Faster, Smarter Way to Cook Everything from America's Most Trusted Test Kitchen Description
- File Size: 34654 KB
- Print Length: 464 pages
- Publisher: America's Test Kitchen; Lslf edition (October 3, 2012)
- Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
- Language: English
- ASIN: B009L7QGYW
- Text-to-Speech: Enabled
X-Ray:
- Lending: Not Enabled
- Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #257,913 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
UPDATE (10/11/12): I have used this cookbook almost every single night since I initially wrote this review. I continue to be impressed by how delicious the food is, and how spot-on times are (both cooking and prep). This is now, hands down, my go-to cookbook for our weeknight dinners. In fact, we will be cooking not one, but two recipes from it tonight! I cannot recommend this cookbook enough.
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I have several of the America's Test Kitchen cookbooks, and as a whole, I quite enjoy them. And as the mother of two children, with a husband who works odd hours, the idea of "Quick" certainly had appeal. So I was very pleased that this newest cookbook did not let me down. First, a quick run-through of some of the highlights of the cookbook as a whole:
On the inside of the front cover, 12 last minute side dishes. Sides are always the mind-bogglers in our house. We plan the main dishes out, usually in advance, but the side dishes tend to get ignored until the last minute. In the Getting Started section, they listed "Strategies for beating the clock", as well as knife and prep school. As always, there are equipment essentials listed, with the test kitchen favorites pictured. And as always, the are hints and tips, as well as test kitchen favorite ingredients throughout the cookbook. Each section also has a page "Putting _____ to work". In the "Appetizers & Snacks" section for example, it is cream cheese, with 5 different quick recipes to use cream cheese. Very handy for times when you have an ingredient left over and would like to find something to use it up.
Having subscribed to "Cook's Illustrated" for many years, I'm a fan of America's Test Kitchen. I've also subscribed to the website. It's filled with test results, reviews and recipes; however, it is annoying and pricey. A small portion of the website information is available to the public, more to subscribers, and everything is available to "premium" subscribers.
America's Test Kitchen is synonymous confidence in cooking. Recipes are said to have been tested and tweaked until they work perfectly and are as tasty and appealing as possible. So, this America's test kitchen cookbook is a bargain in that it contains equipment recommendations, reviews of many foods needed for the recipes, illustrations of knife skills and carefully tested recipes.
"Quick" is the keyword for this cookbook. Each recipe must be achievable in 45 minutes or less, including prep time. Yet, the cookbook includes traditionally slow cooked items, such as stews and casseroles. Shortcuts in ingredients and method make this possible.
Changes in cooking technique save time. Some items are cooked on the stove top in a skillet or in the microwave and finished in the same skillet or baking dish in the oven. "Skillet Baked Macaroni and Cheese" uses one oven-safe skillet to boil the macaroni, make the sauce, and finish it in the oven. Final baking is usually in a very hot over, 475 to 500 degrees, but only for ten minutes or so. The pressure cooker is an important time-saving tool. By necessity, most cookies are of the no-bake style.
Other ways to increase to shorten prep and cooking time are using:
* "Convenience" or "processed" foods. Some convenience foods are shortcuts to better flavor, such as using soy sauce in beef stew.
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