Tuesday, April 29, 2008

the present that keeps on giving

This past Christmas I found The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook under the tree, after quite a few not-so-subtle hints. Well, unless you consider leaving one's Amazon wishlist up on the computer for the first three weeks of December, followed by a daily chorus of "Honey-did-you-order-my-book-yet" subtle.

I'm a straight-up nerd, especially when it comes to food, so anything from America's Test Kitchen is right up by alley. I DVR their shows on a regular basis, scour library discard sales for old copies of Cook's Illustrated, and read their methodology-laden recipes more intently than a trashy novella. Love me some ATK. The Family Cookbook recipes are mostly absent of ATK's usual emphasis on process and research. Instead, this book is filled with amazingly delicious takes on basic family-friendly fare. Hardcore foodies will hate this book, but we LOVE it.

To date I've made 21 recipes from this cookbook and have tasted quite a few winners. I will write in more detail about my experiences in the future. For now, though, let me just list a few of my favorites:

  • Pancakes
  • Wheat sandwich bread
  • Creamy stovetop macaroni and cheese
Ooh, these sound so gourmet, right? Haha!
Okay, this one sounds a little bit more, um, special:
  • Honey-glazed carrots with lemon and thyme

Really, these recipes are so good that my husband has declared "the red cookbook" to be one of the best presents of all-time. And I'm pretty sure I have another ATK cookbook in my Christmas future, no hints needed.

2 comments:

Pieces said...

Oh, the cookbook sounds great! I LOVE ATK, though I rarely catch it on TV and we don't have a DVR. And Cooks Illustrated makes me swoon. I'm looking forward to more feedback on the cookbook.

Barb said...

Stephanie, I just wanted to stop by and visit you and tell you, thank you so much for commenting on my ridiculous monkey wordless wednesday post. I swear, it's taking me so long to make sixteen of these little guys, I did wordless last week with them, and this week with them and it's looking like NEXT wednesday with them.

Clue: never ever make sixteen sock monkeys at one time. LOL

Thank you for being so sweet and I hope you'll visit again.

xoxo
Barb