I don’t have this book yet, but I want it. Last night a friend made the lemon shallot vinaigrette, polenta with Parmesan, and ratatouille recipes for dinner. They were all solid—which is how I’d describe The America’s Test Kitchen Family Cookbook. The original Family Cookbook, published in 2005, was not as durable as this revised edition, which feels like it could go through lots of kitchen adventures with minimal damage. The word family in the title had me a little worried—I’m not cooking for a family—but this book offers up basics any cook could use, no matter whom you’re feeding.
The America’s Test Kitchen Family Cookbook, $23.07
The quick and dirty review of the ATK Family Cookbook is what happens when the Cook’s Illustrated guys decided to make their own version of the venerable red plaid Better Homes & Gardens Cookbook.
My wife and I LOVE this cookbook – we learned to cook using the Joy of Cooking (the edition before the current one, which many criticize), but once we got this one we found that the recipes were more flavorful and consistent, as well as full of insightful little tricks to take your cooking over the edge. Gimicks perhaps? I don’t think so – most techniques can be applied to numerous applications. I would think of it as a good step to take after learning the basics, because some of the stuff might be a bit daunting for a neophyte cook.
i am old enough to rember the early days of consumer digest and its effects on our then consumer purchasing habits; just imagin setting your table for gest having them eat and “declare this as the best meal they have had in a long time”! You reply that “I GOT MY RECIPES FROM THE AMERICAN TEST KITCHEN FAMILY COOKBOOK’
I’m curious how this compares to New Best Recipe, which has been my go-to book ever since I first laid hands on it.
Jacquilynne, the two do have a pretty significant amount of overlap, as both cover a wide range of recipes. The New Best Recipe goes into much fuller descriptions with its recipes, while the Family Cookbook is just one recipe after another.