Kimball, founder of Cook's Illustrated
magazine and host of the PBS show America's Test Kitchen, offers a preface to this guide to the tools, techniques and ingredients needed in today's kitchens, along with about 50 recipes. At first glance the casual cook might be daunted by the recipes, but by following the careful instructions an inexperienced cook could turn out a perfect meal consulting just one or two of the 26 chapters (e.g., "Party Foods," "Chicken in a Flash," "Ham Dinner," "Cookie Jar Favorites"). The editors offer such homey dishes as Cheesy Nachos, Spaghetti Putanesca, Scalloped Potatoes and Lemon Meringue Pie. Moreover, the recipes have been formulated to ensure short lists of ingredients and common home equipment. Veteran cooks will revel in the analysis of the science behind the recipes—the single bread recipe here, five pages long, answers questions that dozens of other cookbooks do not—and will appreciate the illustrated technique sidebars and brand-name comparisons of everything from pastas to sauté pans. (Jan.)
