When you're entertaining, there's no room for failure--you want your food to deliver on taste and presentation--yet you want the recipes to be approachable enough so that you can enjoy the party, too. Menu planning is hard even for very experienced cooks, but with The America's Test Kitchen Menu Cookbook, we have taken the guesswork out of entertaining. The recipes are built and tested so that they complement each other, and all the logistics have been sorted out. You don't need to worry about oven space or temperature issues--we've done all that for you. And to keep the process stress-free, make-ahead instructions are built into individual recipes as well as each menu's game plan. Want to host a fall dinner party but don't want to get up at the crack of dawn? Try our Rustic Fall Pork Dinner. Simple ham and cheese palmiers made with puff pastry are a sure-to-impress starter, while the main course is an easy but elegant entree and side combo you can make on a sheet pan: roast pork loin with sweet potatoes and cilantro sauce. Tired of stressing out over Thanksgiving? Follow our timelines from start to finish and you'll be sipping a glass of wine along with your guests while the bird roasts. Want to bring the party outdoors? Try our Beat-the-Heat Grilled Shrimp Dinner or Dinner from the Garden. And themed menus like our Tapas Party, Pizza Night, Mexican Fiesta, and more are both fun and manageable. Stumped by appetizers but tired of serving crackers and cheese? You'll find plenty of options here, like our Simple Caramelized Onion Tart with Fig Jam, Blue Cheese, and Prosciutto (store bought pizza dough makes this a snap). Or our contemporary take on smoked salmon canapes that features an easy creme fraiche dip, potato chips, and sliced smoked salmon. Organized around the seasons with menus that serve eight, plus a special holiday and for-a-crowd chapter, The America's Test Kitchen Menu Cookbook takes all the guesswork out of putting together flavorful and practical menus. Packed with tips that will help you shop and budget your time, this book is a must-have for anyone who likes to entertain.
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America's Test Kitchen is a 2,500 square foot kitchen located outside of Boston. It is the home of Cook's Illustrated and Cook's Country magazines and is the workday destination for over 3 dozen test cooks, editors and cookware specialists. Our mission is to test recipes until we understand how and why they work and arrive at the best version. We also test kitchen equipment and supermarket ingredients in search of brands that offer the best value and performance. You can watch us work by tuning in to our public television show, America's Test Kitchen.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
87 of 94 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I consider myself a pretty good cook but a pretty bad chef. While I can cook individual dishes very well, I'm not so good at creating menus. Even with a six-burner stove, I find it hard to juggle the preparation of several things at the same time, and I frequently get confused. So, I was excited to receive my copy of America's Test Kitchen's "Menu Cookbook", a book that appeared to be aimed directly at me.
The book consists of 51 menus -- 10 for each of the four seasons of the year plus 11 "Celebration and Holiday" menus. Since there are 52 weeks in a year, apparently you get to take a week off. Most of the seasonal menus serve 8 people, while the celebration menus serve 12. Each menu contains an estimate of the amount of time each component recipe should along with pictures, drawings and descriptions. In fact, the illustrations are a little better than ATK's previous books.
At a minimum each menu consists of an appetizer, an entrée, a side and a dessert. But, some menus are more exotic. The "Tapas Party", for example, contains seven courses. The recipes appear to be pulled straight from "Cook's Illustrated" and "The America's Test Kitchen Cookbook", but I haven't compared them one-for-one. In other words, they don't appear to be simplified in any way.
And therein lies the problem. Although a rationale is presented for why each recipe works, there is no rationale for why each menu works. How do you coordinate the cooking, presentation and consumption of simultaneous dishes? Short of preparing some of the dishes the day before, the book offers no guidance. There's no indication of the best order for things to be prepared. There's no discussion of how to hold one dish hot while you're preparing another or how to avoid needing two different oven temperatures at the same time (a problem evident in the very first menu). An integrated timeline would have been a good addition.
This feature has always been the weakness of Test Kitchen recipes. Although magnificently optimized, they're also time-heavy, making it difficult to prepare more than one item at once. They seem to assume you have a staff. For example, how am I supposed to prepare a 15-ingredient entrée while serving the appetizer? Who prepares the intricately timed dessert while we all eat the entrée together? Do I ever get to sit with my guests, or should I just stay in the kitchen?
Hence, I'm left to conclude that the central premise of the book has been poorly addressed. In spite of the jacket assertion that the book contains "...strategies that guarantee less stress", I found very few. Maybe this information reveals itself once you start cooking, but I'm reluctant to take the risk with a room full of guests.
Addendum 3/1/2012 - I just learned that when I ordered this book, I failed to realize that I had inadvertently signed up to receive preview copies of all of ATK's future books. I can't begin to tell you how much I object to this "Book of the Month Club" strategy. It's cheap and below the dignity of a previously high-quality enterprise.
The book consists of 51 menus -- 10 for each of the four seasons of the year plus 11 "Celebration and Holiday" menus. Since there are 52 weeks in a year, apparently you get to take a week off. Most of the seasonal menus serve 8 people, while the celebration menus serve 12. Each menu contains an estimate of the amount of time each component recipe should along with pictures, drawings and descriptions. In fact, the illustrations are a little better than ATK's previous books.
At a minimum each menu consists of an appetizer, an entrée, a side and a dessert. But, some menus are more exotic. The "Tapas Party", for example, contains seven courses. The recipes appear to be pulled straight from "Cook's Illustrated" and "The America's Test Kitchen Cookbook", but I haven't compared them one-for-one. In other words, they don't appear to be simplified in any way.
And therein lies the problem. Although a rationale is presented for why each recipe works, there is no rationale for why each menu works. How do you coordinate the cooking, presentation and consumption of simultaneous dishes? Short of preparing some of the dishes the day before, the book offers no guidance. There's no indication of the best order for things to be prepared. There's no discussion of how to hold one dish hot while you're preparing another or how to avoid needing two different oven temperatures at the same time (a problem evident in the very first menu). An integrated timeline would have been a good addition.
This feature has always been the weakness of Test Kitchen recipes. Although magnificently optimized, they're also time-heavy, making it difficult to prepare more than one item at once. They seem to assume you have a staff. For example, how am I supposed to prepare a 15-ingredient entrée while serving the appetizer? Who prepares the intricately timed dessert while we all eat the entrée together? Do I ever get to sit with my guests, or should I just stay in the kitchen?
Hence, I'm left to conclude that the central premise of the book has been poorly addressed. In spite of the jacket assertion that the book contains "...strategies that guarantee less stress", I found very few. Maybe this information reveals itself once you start cooking, but I'm reluctant to take the risk with a room full of guests.
Addendum 3/1/2012 - I just learned that when I ordered this book, I failed to realize that I had inadvertently signed up to receive preview copies of all of ATK's future books. I can't begin to tell you how much I object to this "Book of the Month Club" strategy. It's cheap and below the dignity of a previously high-quality enterprise.
49 of 52 people found the following review helpful
By J. Holton
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is a very nicely done, inch thick, hardcover book. More than just a menu book it contains cookware recommendations, as you'd expect from ATK, and an extremely useful list of "Emergency Substitutions." For example, you can substitute cake flour with a combination of AP flour and cornstarch, or buttermilk with milk and lemon juice or white vinegar. It also contains "11th Hour Recipes" separate from the menus in case something goes wrong at the last minute (dropped cake, etc.). There are a total of 51 menus with a total of 250 recipes. Each menu is portioned to serve 8, although the holiday menus serve 12. The menus are organized by season: Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter, and Celebrations and Holidays. Each menu contains 4 to 5 courses, and contains a "game plan" for what to cook ahead and what to do the day of, and info for timing. No other ATK books I know of do that, nor do they arrange courses for you to keep things interesting for the guests. I can only see someone complaining about this is they prefer to plan all this themselves. If so, why buy the book anyway? I've included a full list of the menus below. These do not contain all the recipes for the menus because that would take a long time to type out.
==Spring==
Elegant Salmon Dinner
Shrimp Dinner with Greek Flavors
Farmer's Market Vegetarian Dinner
Rustic Pork Stew Dinner
Rack of Lamb Dinner
Classic Beef Tenderloin Dinner
Dressing Up Chicken
A Taste of Spain
Casual Pan-Latin Supper
Tapas Party
==Summer==
Dinner from the Garden
Eastern Shore Crab and Corn Cake Supper
Easy Halibut Dinner
Southern Fried Chicken Dinner
Mexican Fiesta
Mediterranean Flank Steak Supper
Easy Grilled Chicken Dinner
Fajitas and 'Ritas
Middle Eastern Shish Kebab Dinner
Grilled Shrimp Dinner
==Fall==
Rustic Tuscan Supper
Little Italy Pasta Supper
New York-Style Pizza Party
Provencal Bistro Dinner
Farmhouse Chicken Dinner
Vegetarian Indian Night
Autumn Harvest Pork Dinner
Classic Roast Beef Supper
Refined Short Ribs Dinner
Japanese Salmon Dinner
==Winter==
Mushroom Pasta Supper
New England Cod and Potato Dinner
Family-Style Italian Sunday Supper
Easy and Elegant Cornish Game Hen Dinner
A Taste of India
Snowed-In Slow-Roasted Pork Supper
Hearty French Lamb Shank Dinner
Steakhouse Prime Rib Dinner
Belgian Stew Supper
Paella Night
==Celebrations and Holidays==
Lasagna Dinner for a Crowd
French Country Stew Supper
Exotic Chicken Tagine Dinner
Big Game Day Party
Fourth of July Block Party
Upscale Picnic Spread
Sunday Brunch Celebration
Spring Leg of Lamb
Holiday Ham Dinner
New Year's Eve Blowout
Classic Thanksgiving Dinner
My only complaint is that the book is not spiral bound, so you need a weight to keep it open. It is sized like a coffee table book as the other reviewer noted. However, I don't understand why he gave this book three stars because he likes to talk to guests. It's obvious this book is about cooking for dinner parties. That's its goal, and that's what it accomplishes. If you want to be free to mingle or be center of attention then buy a book on hiring a caterer. If you enjoy cooking because it's how you show your love and gratitude for family/friends, then this book is for you. Besides, in my family people are always in the kitchen!
==Update==
I've since made several of these menus for large family gatherings. The relatives have been impressed! I've made the Thanksgiving, Holiday Ham, French Country Stew, and Rustic Italian dinners. Lots of raves. Overall, I've found that each menu has TOO MANY recipes. Five huge courses? Who is THAT hungry? Instead I pick and choose the ones that sound the best.
For example, on Christmas my family ate the menu on page 301: Ham/Carrots/Fennel/Red Potatoes, Buttermilk Biscuits, and Apricot-Almond Bundt Cake. Three recipes from that menu I did not do. I assembled the biscuits and baked the cake the day before. There were 3 other recipes, but I made a Brussels Sprouts with Pecans recipe from myrecipes.com instead. Brussels Sprouts provided a nice green color to the table and are in season. While the recipes stick fairly closely to the season, they are not strict. For Christmas there's a Baby Greens with Strawberries recipe. Strawberries in December? I know they're technically available, but still. For the French Country Stew I included baguettes from a local baker with Amish butter. That's not in the menu, but an easy and obvious addition that enhanced the meal by sopping up sauce.
These menus are not written in stone. They provide much inspiration, and are fantastic starting points. Are these five coursers too difficult? If you try to pull ALL of them off as written your dinner will be a bit over-the-top. Not impossible, but unnecessary in my opinion. Unlike other reviewers I am not put off by having too many choices. Instead, I see unused recipes as an opportunity to create another unique spin of that menu at some future date.
Overall, this book has taught me a lot about cooking for groups of 8 to 12, and boosted my cooking confidence. I began teaching myself how to cook a few years ago. The key is to make as much ahead of time as possible. Each menu has notes titled "The Game Plan," and these are crucial for your success. If you're short on time look for the "Even Easier" notes, which provide similar but fast recipes.
==Spring==
Elegant Salmon Dinner
Shrimp Dinner with Greek Flavors
Farmer's Market Vegetarian Dinner
Rustic Pork Stew Dinner
Rack of Lamb Dinner
Classic Beef Tenderloin Dinner
Dressing Up Chicken
A Taste of Spain
Casual Pan-Latin Supper
Tapas Party
==Summer==
Dinner from the Garden
Eastern Shore Crab and Corn Cake Supper
Easy Halibut Dinner
Southern Fried Chicken Dinner
Mexican Fiesta
Mediterranean Flank Steak Supper
Easy Grilled Chicken Dinner
Fajitas and 'Ritas
Middle Eastern Shish Kebab Dinner
Grilled Shrimp Dinner
==Fall==
Rustic Tuscan Supper
Little Italy Pasta Supper
New York-Style Pizza Party
Provencal Bistro Dinner
Farmhouse Chicken Dinner
Vegetarian Indian Night
Autumn Harvest Pork Dinner
Classic Roast Beef Supper
Refined Short Ribs Dinner
Japanese Salmon Dinner
==Winter==
Mushroom Pasta Supper
New England Cod and Potato Dinner
Family-Style Italian Sunday Supper
Easy and Elegant Cornish Game Hen Dinner
A Taste of India
Snowed-In Slow-Roasted Pork Supper
Hearty French Lamb Shank Dinner
Steakhouse Prime Rib Dinner
Belgian Stew Supper
Paella Night
==Celebrations and Holidays==
Lasagna Dinner for a Crowd
French Country Stew Supper
Exotic Chicken Tagine Dinner
Big Game Day Party
Fourth of July Block Party
Upscale Picnic Spread
Sunday Brunch Celebration
Spring Leg of Lamb
Holiday Ham Dinner
New Year's Eve Blowout
Classic Thanksgiving Dinner
My only complaint is that the book is not spiral bound, so you need a weight to keep it open. It is sized like a coffee table book as the other reviewer noted. However, I don't understand why he gave this book three stars because he likes to talk to guests. It's obvious this book is about cooking for dinner parties. That's its goal, and that's what it accomplishes. If you want to be free to mingle or be center of attention then buy a book on hiring a caterer. If you enjoy cooking because it's how you show your love and gratitude for family/friends, then this book is for you. Besides, in my family people are always in the kitchen!
==Update==
I've since made several of these menus for large family gatherings. The relatives have been impressed! I've made the Thanksgiving, Holiday Ham, French Country Stew, and Rustic Italian dinners. Lots of raves. Overall, I've found that each menu has TOO MANY recipes. Five huge courses? Who is THAT hungry? Instead I pick and choose the ones that sound the best.
For example, on Christmas my family ate the menu on page 301: Ham/Carrots/Fennel/Red Potatoes, Buttermilk Biscuits, and Apricot-Almond Bundt Cake. Three recipes from that menu I did not do. I assembled the biscuits and baked the cake the day before. There were 3 other recipes, but I made a Brussels Sprouts with Pecans recipe from myrecipes.com instead. Brussels Sprouts provided a nice green color to the table and are in season. While the recipes stick fairly closely to the season, they are not strict. For Christmas there's a Baby Greens with Strawberries recipe. Strawberries in December? I know they're technically available, but still. For the French Country Stew I included baguettes from a local baker with Amish butter. That's not in the menu, but an easy and obvious addition that enhanced the meal by sopping up sauce.
These menus are not written in stone. They provide much inspiration, and are fantastic starting points. Are these five coursers too difficult? If you try to pull ALL of them off as written your dinner will be a bit over-the-top. Not impossible, but unnecessary in my opinion. Unlike other reviewers I am not put off by having too many choices. Instead, I see unused recipes as an opportunity to create another unique spin of that menu at some future date.
Overall, this book has taught me a lot about cooking for groups of 8 to 12, and boosted my cooking confidence. I began teaching myself how to cook a few years ago. The key is to make as much ahead of time as possible. Each menu has notes titled "The Game Plan," and these are crucial for your success. If you're short on time look for the "Even Easier" notes, which provide similar but fast recipes.
43 of 54 people found the following review helpful
By Buck Eye
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is a beautiful book that has a better place on the coffee table than in the kitchen. The pictures are beautiful. The book is supposed to be for entertaining ("foolproof dinner parties!"), but I question making some of the menus for guests. Do you really want to be frying chicken when the guests are present? The New Year's Eve Blowout requires shucking oysters, roasting a tenderloin, broiling shrimp, mashing potatoes and cooking haricots verts at the last minute. But the tenderloin can be partially made ahead as can a sauce for the oysters and the dessert. I don't think this is a great way to entertain on New Year's Eve.
There are a few make-ahead stews, etc. as are most of the desserts. A very few main dish recipes can be made the day ahead (even the Lasagna must be made the morning of the party). Some recipes can be made 4 hours ahead and served at room temperature or reheated in the microwave. Many, many other recipes can be made 1 hour before serving. The menus would be great if I had a chef doing the work while I entertained my guests.
I have most of the Cook's Illustrated, America's Test Kitchen and Cook's Country cookbooks. Many of the recipes are the same, or a slight variation, of previously published recipes.
If you buy this book, put it on the coffee table and let your guests look at the pictures. If you want to entertain as we do, (like spending most of the time with our guests) try Pam Anderson's "The Perfect Recipe for Having People Over" or any one of Diane Phillips "make-ahead" books.
I sent this one back.
There are a few make-ahead stews, etc. as are most of the desserts. A very few main dish recipes can be made the day ahead (even the Lasagna must be made the morning of the party). Some recipes can be made 4 hours ahead and served at room temperature or reheated in the microwave. Many, many other recipes can be made 1 hour before serving. The menus would be great if I had a chef doing the work while I entertained my guests.
I have most of the Cook's Illustrated, America's Test Kitchen and Cook's Country cookbooks. Many of the recipes are the same, or a slight variation, of previously published recipes.
If you buy this book, put it on the coffee table and let your guests look at the pictures. If you want to entertain as we do, (like spending most of the time with our guests) try Pam Anderson's "The Perfect Recipe for Having People Over" or any one of Diane Phillips "make-ahead" books.
I sent this one back.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
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America's Test Kitchen always excels at setting clear objectives and pursuing them to a successful conclusion. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Fly By Light
5.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting concept
I have a lot of cookbooks and especially love the America's Test Kitchen series. What I like about this cookbook, besides the beautiful photography, are the complete meals. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Gadget Girl
4.0 out of 5 stars
The "menu" idea seems a little alien
Excellent cookbook, of course, coming from Cooks Illustrated. The individual recipes are standard CI-stuff, which means utterly excellent but also slightly stodgy. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Stephen Foster
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fail-proof and delicious
If you've yet to become hooked on America's Test Kitchen recipes, all I can say is where have you been?
Published 2 months ago by A. Anderson
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Great Cookbook for Entertainer
I was a little hesitant about purchasing after reading other reviews. We often entertain dinner parties of 4 to 6 guests and thought a menu cookbook would be great. Read more
Published 4 months ago by S. D. Wheatley
5.0 out of 5 stars
Love to Entertain? This is your Book
I use the Cooks Illustrated collection as my base for any cooking event, hosting, catering, etc. This menu book is a perfect combo of all the Cooks books. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Diana Chavez
5.0 out of 5 stars
Meticulously Effective Cooking Primer on Preparing Successful Dinner...
Now in its 12th season, the PBS staple "America's Test Kitchen" hosted by the avuncular if somewhat prickly Christopher Kimball, founder of Cook's Illustrated magazine, introduced... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Ed Uyeshima
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good Recipies, But Complex Menus
This is a nice-looking book, with heavyweight pages and some great visuals. ATK always puts out high quality publications, and this one is no different. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Brian P. Hudson
2.0 out of 5 stars
Elaborate Dinners For Ambitious Cooks
I have a rule about cookbooks. When I'm buying one, at least three recipes have to look totally appealing, i.e., I can't wait to make the dishes. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Geneva Lewis
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent Book Home Cook!
I love this book, my son went to the Culinary Institute of America and he approves the menu and recipes. Read more
Published 8 months ago by J. Rich
