Customer Reviews

More Best Recipes (America's Test Kitchen)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Those of you who complain about Cooks Illustrated's habit of redundant recipes between books, look elsewhere. Literally everything in this book is a rehash; I'm about to explain why this isn't necessarily a bad thing, and why CI fans probably don't need this book anyway.

This book is exactly as advertised: the best stuff from the last five years or so of the magazine. A lot of this stuff has been covered in the TV show books; for that, you want the 10th anniversary book, especially if you haven't bothered with ordering the last two years directly from the publisher or never got the first edition of The Best Recipe (where the first season was documented). And diligent collectors of the Best Recipe series will have all or most of these recipes anyway (some stuff, like Pizza Bianca or Almost No-Knead Bread, has as far as I know only appeared in the TV books and the magazine). But for the most part, this is a book for people who are just getting into the whole Cooks Illustrated thing -- something to be bought as a set with The New Best Recipe.

It does adopt a bit of the informality in some of the later Best Recipe books, showing recipes in part as problem domains as recipes in and of themselves. And chances are a lot of the recipes are just the sort of things you want collected all in one place like this. On its own it's worth the 4 stars; it just has a bit of a limited audience compared to some of its seriesmates. Get it for a new cook, or for someone who's just woken up to the geek side of the kitchen. But if you've been collecting CI books as long as I have, it probably isn't for you.

This cookbook is huge, containing 762 pages of recipes and many useful tips. There are many repeats of recipes given in Cook's other cookbooks, so that is a warning. I wish that there was not a label of `ALL NEW' posted prominently on the cover, it hardly seems fair to do that.
The recipes are not too difficult, but not the everyday simplified comfort food.
The grilling instructions are especially good. Personally I loved the fact that I finally got the `griller' in our family to learn how to cook a well done hamburger without it being burned to a crisp. That alone was worth the price of this book.
There are a lot of great tips in here, so if you do not have many of the Cook's series it would be a wonderful addition or gift for someone. There are explanations of so much, even an experienced cook can use, such as supermarket cheeses 101, explaining among other things the best cheeses for budgets.
For a novice or experienced cook, the thoughts and explanations on cooking something such as French onion soup are amazing: a complex series of chemical reactions, explained simply.
Small instructional pictures are also one of the outstanding features of Cook's; how to assemble sticky buns, for example, there is no question on how to do the folding and shaping.
The breakfast recipes are wonderful,such as; French omelets, Hueves Rancheros. Two other outstanding sections are how to substitute ingredients 101 and Make Ahead Cooking.
As long as you know this is not really all new, or if you do not have previous Cook's books this is a fantastic addition to a cook's shelf.

I do not review here, but I just had to speak up on this one.

If you have received the magazine or bought any of the other Cook's Illustrated cookbooks over the past 3 years, skip it. There is not a SINGLE thing new. No new research, no new color photography, not one single new recipe. I am both an avid cook and reader, so publications from Cook's are eagerly anticipated in my home, providing a fix for two of my favorite past times. Not this one. No rush to read, no marking of recipes to try, because there is NOT A SINGLE NEW thing in here.

Possibly, I was spoiled by Bittman's revision of How To Cook Everything; that was the type of 'More' I was expecting. An actual update, with additions, and an editing eye towards understanding how and why a devoted reader would appreciate an addition to 'The New Best recipe'.

All in all, I am disappointed, but it has a home on my shelf. If you only have 'The Best Recipe' or 'The New Best Recipe', by all means, be my guest. Although, quite honestly, 'The Best International Recipe', would be a much better addition to your shelf.

If you love ATK/Cook's Illustrated recipes you'll love this cookbook - be aware that it's a large/heavy cookbook so cuddling up on the couch with it is not ideal! It has all the recipes featured over the last 5 years from the Cook's Illustrated magazine - those are usually the best of the best if it's been featured in the magazine. So far, I'm pleased with the recipes I've made from it. The tamale pie rocks!

I discovered America's Test Kitchen books a year ago. I have collected about 100 cook books over the years but now I use Best Recipes and More Best Recipes almost exclusively.

These recipes work and work well. They are not always simple but the descriptions make them seem simple as long as you follow the instructions closely.

MORE BEST RECIPES offers a companion volume to the new 'Best Recipe' title and presents another fine roundup of favorite dishes that have been tried and tested by America's Test Kitchen cooks. All the recipes work as promised, producing consistently superior food - they've been tested and tasted at least two dozen times each, so come packed with far more experience than the usual cookbook collection. If a home cook is seeking only a limited number of expert collections, this should be at the top of the stack! General lending libraries won't be able to keep it in stock!

My wife is a great cook but this makes her a better one. We have the first book and More Best Recipes is an excellent follow on. Both books have great receipes and they explain why you use or do something. I highly recommend the book.

I have never owned one their recipe books before. I have heard complaints of redundancy and recycled recipes. However, I have been very satisfied with this book. The recipes are clear, detailed and easy to follow. The techical tips and ingredient ideas are very helpful particularly if you have not made the dish before.

To start, I let the book fall open and decided to try that recipe, which was Hungarian stew...it was amazing. Also, I wanted good slow cooker recipes and was not disappointed with any of the recipes. I love this book, and my friend ran out an bought one too!

More of what I have come to expect from my favorite source of recipes and cooking tips. One of the things I like best about this series is the way in which they explain WHY they do what they do - if your tastes are diffent, the recipes teach you how to adjust them to get what you want. And every recipe I have tried is a winner.