The Best Skillet Recipes: A Best Recipe Classic [Hardcover]

Cook's Illustrated Magazine (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2009

One pan is all you need! From breakfast all the way to dessert, one skillet is all you need for fast, flavorful meals. it's no surprise that meat, fish, and pasta dishes come together nicely in a skillet But pot pie can also be made in the pan. So can pizza, casseroles and souffles.

Put away that second pot for boiling pasta and cook it in its sauce right in the skillet. Start pizzas on the stovetop in the skillet and finish with a hot blast in the oven (still in the skellet). Spruce up your stir-fry repertoire with new and innovative ideas.

One pan means less clean up. The Best Skillet Recipes means a world of great and easy meals.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this latest addition of the Best Recipe Classic series, Cooks Illustrated editor Christopher Kimball and his team of kitchen scientists celebrate the untold versatility of that ordinary workhorse, the 12-inch skillet. An indispensable tool for eggs, pan-seared meats and sautéed vegetables, the skillet can also be used for stovetop-to-oven dishes such as All-American Mini Meatloaves; layered dishes such as tamale pie and Tuscan bean casserole; and even desserts such as hot fudge pudding cake. In the trademark style of other America's Test Kitchen publications, the cookbook contains plenty of variations on basic themes (you can make chicken and rice with peas and scallions, broccoli and cheddar, or coconut milk and pistachios); ingredient and equipment roundups; and helpful illustrations for preparing mango and stringing snowpeas. Yet the true strength of the series lies in the sheer thoughtfulness and detail of the recipes. Whether or not you properly appreciate your skillet, this book will at least teach you to wield it gracefully. (Mar.)
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Product Details

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: America's Test Kitchen; First edition (March 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1933615419
• ISBN-13: 978-1933615417
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #31,116 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #83 in Books > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Culinary Arts & Techniques

More About the Author

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

76 of 79 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is a great cookbook for people with limited time and limited space., March 14, 2009

By 

andiesenji (SoCal,USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Best Skillet Recipes: A Best Recipe Classic (Hardcover)

I've owned this book for less than a month and am already addicted to it.
Not everyone has a large and well-equipped kitchen with several stovetop burners and a large selection of pots and pans. Not everyone has all day in which to prepare a meal.
This cookbook satisfies both stumbling blocks.
Most of the meals can be prepared in much less time than traditional recipes and with many needing only one pan means that cleanup is also quick and easy.
I'm now retired so do have more time to cook than I did in the years in which I worked, however I also have other activities that sometimes take up a lot of my time and I still want to have a good home-cooked meal. (Not at all a fan of fast food.)
Some of the recipes do take longer to prep and have a significant list of ingredients but the directions are clear and concise and easy to understand.
I like that the book contains CI's ratings of various "quick" ingredients such as Supermarket Chicken Broth, Extra-Virgin Olive Oils and even Fish Sauce.
Many of the recipes are down-to-earth plain foods but there are also recipes for more exotic dishes for the cook who wants to be a bit more adventuresome.

I have particularly found this cookbook helpful when unexpected guests arrived and the weather was somewhat nasty and no one felt like going out to a restaurant. I was able to put together a lovely main dish (Chicken and Couscous with Fennel and Orange) for four people with very little effort.

41 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Cookbook I Really use, April 14, 2009

By 

M. Steffen (San Jose, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Best Skillet Recipes: A Best Recipe Classic (Hardcover)

First off, I agree completely with the other 5-star reviews here. So I'll try to add something constructive. This is not a Coffee Table book. Don't expect traditional color pictures, there are almost none. There are, however, clear illustrations. This book is teaching me to cook with confidence and, unbelievably, eagerness. Even without photos, these recipes look manageable and inviting. Along the way, you build a repertoire of techniques and habits (setting up your "mise en place") that apply to all your cooking and baking. I think it appeals to all levels of cook, and would make a wonderful gift equally at at a wedding shower or a retirement celebration. Or for ypurself.

29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Restaurant Line Cook's Secret Revealed, April 30, 2009

By 

E. D. Russell "history buff" (Charlottesville, VA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Best Skillet Recipes: A Best Recipe Classic (Hardcover)

Yes, this a great book, and practical too, one that I consult and use constantly. But even more importantly, it covers a technique that I'd been very curious about, and had not seen described in any other cook book: "Pan Roasting" -- starting meat or fish on the top of the stove, and finishing it in the oven. Now, when your waitress says, "The chef is just finishing your dish in the oven," you'll not only know what she means, you'll know how to do it. Would you like to turn out restaurant quality rack of lamb? With this book I was able to do it in a few minutes on the very first try!