Perfect Vegetables: Part of "The Best Recipe" Series [Hardcover]

Editors of Cook's Illustrated Magazine (Author)

Book Description

Series: Best Recipe | Publication Date: August 2003

How to prepare and cook everything from asparagus to winter squash Do you know why most stuffed peppers are soggy and bland? Is it better to blanch or steam broccoli? Will washing mushrooms make them waterlogged? In Perfect Vegetables the editors address these and hundreds of commonly asked questions about vegetables. There are more than 350 recipes including Glazed Carrots with Bacon, Grilled Portobello and Spinach Salad and Tomato and Mozzarella Tart

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Perfect Vegetables is the work of Cook's Illustrated magazine, a publication devoted to providing the "best" American recipes. Like the magazine, from which its contents is largely drawn, the book offers super-tested recipes--as many as 18 tries for stuffed tomatoes, for example--for an A to Z vegetable range, artichokes to zucchini. The book also includes dozens of technique and equipment notes ("Stir-Fry Basics," is one), plus a short section on vegetable soups. An impressive recipe range is here and accounted for--classic dishes like grilled eggplant and braised fennel, plus "newer" formulas for the likes of Grilled Red Peppers with Mint and Feta and Glazed Curried Carrots with Currants and Almonds. Are these the ultimate versions of the dishes included? Certainly they represent exhaustive investigation--and most cooks will find the Perfect Vegetables take, which offers many technical refinements (preheat your baking sheet to ensure golden oven-baked fries, for example) enlightening.

Vegetable entries begin with a detailed discussion that highlights the cooking methods for each that ensure best results. (Steaming, for example, gets the nod for artichokes, as it yields the "deepest, most pronounced flavor.") Master recipes follow, such as that for steamed artichokes, plus formulas for tasty accompaniments like Lemon Mint Vinaigrette, or variations, such as Roasted Baby Artichokes with Roasted Garlic Aïoli. Techniques are beautifully illustrated with line drawings and photos. The ingredient and equipment investigations, which often include ratings, are mini consumer reports. Devotees of Cook's Illustrated and those new to its "obsessive" approach to dish making, should happily embrace this encyclopedic compendium. --Arthur Boehm

From Publishers Weekly

For vegetarians and food enthusiasts weary of soggy carrots, smelly cabbage or lumpy mashed potatoes, the editors of Cook's Illustrated present a tome devoted to vegetable perfection from artichokes to zucchini. Carefully researched and thoroughly tested, each section (organized alphabetically by vegetable) includes an informative history and interesting food facts; tips on how to select the freshest vegetable at the market; and detailed approaches to cooking and serving. The volume answers oft-asked questions about preparing and storing foods, and includes both basic recipes ("master recipes") and tastier dishes (Green Beans with Sautéed Shallots and Vermouth, Mashed Potatoes with Brie and Tarragon and Glazed Carrots with Currants and Almonds) for each veggie. Step-by-step illustrations on preparation help the home cook master technique: detailed lessons, for example, are provided for preparing artichokes for braising and corn for grilling, dicing an avocado and segmenting an orange. There's a section on why chopping onions can make you cry, as well as suggestions to stop the flow of tears. (Light a candle or wear swimming goggles.) "Best of" segments are peppered throughout the book, offering the reader results of taste and equipment tests from the Cook's Illustrated staff. Those looking for merely a recipe book may feel overwhelmed by the plethora of information and advice, as the test kitchen staff leaves no ingredient unchecked (they devote 56 pages to potatoes), but chowhounds and home chefs alike should delight at every obsessive and flavorful detail.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: America's Test Kitchen (August 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0936184698
• ISBN-13: 978-0936184692
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 8.7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #147,611 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

160 of 162 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good book, but many repeats, January 6, 2006

By 

Renee Gleason (New York) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Perfect Vegetables: Part of "The Best Recipe" Series (Hardcover)

I love Cook's Illustrated. I subscribe to their magazine, I subscribe to their website and I own several of their cookbooks. Very rarely have they ever steered me wrong with any of their recipes and tips. This is one book that I was disappointed with, however---not because the recipes aren't great or the layout of the book isn't up to par, but because many of these recipes can be found in their comprehensive cookbook "The New Best Recipe" (a great book, btw. It has just about everything you could ever need). There are only a few different recipes in Perfect Vegetables that cannot be found in the New Best, and the money I spent to get a handful of new veggie recipes was not worth it, in my opinion. If you already own the New Best, than I would be very hesitant to spend any money on this book. I would physically look through the book at a bookstore before buying to see if this is something you would really like to own. If you don't own New Best and are looking for a wonderful veggies cookbook, than this one is for you!

75 of 76 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great vegetable recipes and ideas, September 18, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Perfect Vegetables: Part of "The Best Recipe" Series (Hardcover)

Thus far, I've made several recipes from this book and everything has turned out delicious! I've found it very helpful to use in planning side dishes for dinner parties or for dinner in general. Even if you don't follow the recipe exactly -- like improvising based on the ingredients you have on hand -- they provide enough variations for you to find something you can work with. Because the recipes are arranged alphabetically by vegetable used, it's very easy to browse and find exactly the recipe that sounds best to you. And, it's a great reference for ideas. Roasted Baby Carrots and Sugar Snap Peas with Garlic and Toasted Nuts were both fantastic.

51 of 54 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous Book for Veggie Lovers, March 3, 2004

By 

Tashi (NC) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Perfect Vegetables: Part of "The Best Recipe" Series (Hardcover)

Although we are not vegetarians, we, and our friends love fresh vegetables. This is the most comprehensive compilation of vegetable recipes we've seen, and an asset to anyone's cookbook collection. We have tried at least a dozen recipes, and we have made some of them more than once. Each one works just as described, and the additional information on why the particular method was chosen as the best is very useful. This is a winner!