Cook's Illustrated Cookbook [Hardcover]

I've been a big fan of Cook's Illustrated for a while and I own a bunch of their cookbooks. Here's the scoop on this one.

It offers more recipes than any other book they've got.
Many of the recipes appear in other books.
This one offers a short "Why it works" intro to each recipe, but unlike Cook's Illustrated "Best Recipe" book, it doesn't give a detailed explanation of all the things they tried on the way to the final recipe.

Should you buy this? Here's a little decision tree:

Do you already own Cook's Illustrated Best Recipe cookbook?
-- If yes, then don't buy this -- too much duplication.
-- If no, then are you interested in the the recipe development process?
---- If so, then buy Cook's Illustrated's Best Recipe cookbook.
---- If not, then buy this book (The Cook's Illustrated Cookbook) -- it's more complete.

Summary - A Great cookbook for someone who wants to cook, not look at pictures of someone else's cooking.

For those of you unfamiliar with Cook's Illustrated, it is this great magazine dedicated to making it easier to cook great food. This cookbook keeps up that tradition by compiling and modernizing recipes from the magazine without loosing the informative method of presenting not only the recipe but the background about why something works, what to use to get the best result, and what tools work the best. This is not a cookbook full of glossy pictures of professionally photographed prepared dishes, it is the cook's cookbook, with the necessary illustrations (done as line drawings) to get the job done. Those of you familiar with the magazine will feel right at home, since the cookbook is done in the exact same style. Typical sidebars include:

Illustrated guides to complete a task (i.e. - Trimming a chuck-eye roast, Folding Bread Dough, Slicing a Soft Cake so it looks perfect, etc.)
Test Kitchen Tips (i.e. - Key Tips to perfect Pasta, Buying Scallops, etc.)
Why A Recipe Works (i.e. - Why the recipe is structured a certain way to get the best result)

Index - The book is adequately indexed, but indexes never quite think the way you do, so a little logic is still required to find what you are looking for (i.e. - Coffee Cakes is under Cakes and nor cross-referenced under Coffee and Cakes themselves are sub-grouped in the index (Cakes, Cakes - Chocolate, Cakes - Savory).

Negatives - The book's pages could be of a heavier weight for my liking. I understand that this is a big book already with so many recipes, but the paper feels fragile in my hand. Also, the binding seems thin and only time will tell if this binding will hold up to the heavy use I plan on putting it through. Lastly, I really it when cookbooks include bookmarking ribbons to allow me to quickly flip through multiple recipes quickly when I am preparing a couple of recipes simultaneously. For these reasons, I subtracted a star.

Value - This is a great value even with my few negatives.

Ideas for Making it Better - In the way of improvement, I wonder why a book like this is not offered digitally. I have a Pad Computer and a Kitchen Computer, both of which I use while cooking, so having a cookbook that offers me the ability to thumb through for recipes digitally would be nice. I would like to see companies offer both, similar to what they do now with textbooks, so you can have the paper and the digital at one lower combined price.

Contents - The compilers waste no time with long introductions or discussions on what cooking is about. They dive right into recipes, a lot of recipes, and spread the information throughout the book teaching you why something is the way it is when you need to know it. The style of this cookbook is to get you to dive right in and start cooking, not admiring the professionally prepared dishes or reading endless text on how to separate an egg. Organized logically, it includes:

- Appetizers
*Nuts, cheese, and eggs
*Shrimp and Salmon
*Dips, Spreads, and Salsas
*Nachos and Quesadillas
*Bruschetta and Tarts
*Spring Rolls and Dumplings
-Salads
*Vinaigrette and Dressings
*Green Salads
*Vegetable Salads
*Deli Salads
*Chicken Salads, Tuna Salads and More
-Soups
*Stocks
*Chicken and Beef Soups
*Vegetable and Bean Soups
*Chowders and More
*Croutons and Other Garnishes
-Chilis, Stews, and Braises
-Curries, Stir-Fries, and Asian Noodles
*Curries
*Vegetable Stir Fries
*Chicken, Meat and Shrimp Stir Fries
*Fried Rice and Noodles
-Pasta
*Pasta Sauces
*Pasta with Olive Oil or Cream Sauces
*Pasta with Tomato Sauces
*Pasta with Meat Sauces
*Pasta with Chicken or Seafood
*Pasta with Vegetables
*Whole Meat Pasta Dishes
*Fresh Pasta and Filled Pasta
*Manicotti, Lasagna, and other Baked Pasta Dishes
-Rice, Grains, and Beans
-Vegetables
*Potatoes
*Stuffed Vegetables and Vegetable Mains
-Poultry
*Chicken Cutlets and Breasts
*Bone-in Chicken Parts
*Fried and Stuffed Chicken
*Whole Roast Chicken
*Chicken & Rice Dishes, Pot Pies, and Enchiladas
*Turkey
*Cornish Game Hens and Duck
-Meat
*Beef
*Pork
*Lamb
-Fish and Shellfish
-Grilling
*Poultry
*Pork and Lamb
*Fish and Shellfish
*Vegetables
*Barbeque Sauces
-Eggs and Breakfast
*Eggs and Egg Dishes
*French Toast, Pancakes, and waffles
*Oatmeal and Granola
*Bacon and Potatoes
-Quick Breads and Coffee Cakes
*Biscuits, Scones, and Muffins
*Popovers, Doughnuts, and Buns
*Coffee Cakes
*Quick Breads
-Yeast Breads and rolls
-Pizza, Calzones, and Flatbreads
-Cookies, Brownies, and Bars
*Cookie Jar Classics
*Shortbread and Other Butter Cookies
*Madeline, Biscotti, and More
*Brownies, Bar Cookies, and Candy
-Cakes
*Classic Layer, Sheet, and Snack Cakes
Chocolate Cakes and Occasional Cakes
*Cakes with Fruit
Pound Cakes And Bundt Cakes
Angel Food and Chiffon Cakes
*Cupcakes
*Pudding Cakes
-Pies and Tart Crusts
*Fruit Pies
*Custard and Cream Pies
*Tarts
-Fruit Deserts
*Shortbread, Cobblers, Crisps, and More
*Simple Fruit Desserts
-Pastry
-Puddings, Custards, and Frozen Desserts
*Puddings and Custards
*Souffles
*Ices, Soberts, and Sherberts
*Ice Cream and Frozen Yogurt
*Desert Sauces and Whipped Cream
-Beverages

Recommendation - I would recommend this Cookbook and plan on giving it as a gift to several of my friends.

First of all, `Cook's Illustrated Cookbook's title is a bit misleading - for those who really like illustrations for their recipes, there are none in here. What is in the book, by way of illustration are the Test Kitchen's very good diagrams that illustrate skills such as; forming a tart shell, carving an herbed roast turkey, chopping onions without tears.
This is a big cookbook with 890 pages. It contains recipes for: appetizers, salads, soups, chilies, stews and braises, curries, stir-fries and Asian noodle dishes, pasta, rice, grains and beans, vegetables, poultry, meat, fish and shellfish, grilling - a really wonderful chapter, since it gives both charcoal and gas grill instructions, eggs and breakfast, quick breads and coffee cakes, yeast breads and rolls, pizza, calzones, and flatbreads, cookies, brownies, and bars, cakes, pies and tarts, fruit desserts, pastry, puddings, custards and frozen desserts and beverages.

There is a very detailed secondary index listing every recipe and a thorough index giving ingredient, dish name and type. There is also a volume and weight conversion chart. Chilies have several varieties as do pork chops and salmon and several other dishes. Serving sizes are given and 154 kitchen tips are inserted telling you such hints as; how to store cheese, salting - the secret to juicy roasts. Some help is missed in several places, for example in a recipe for coconut icing; they do not tell you how to toast the coconut - strange for a book that usually gives so much guidance. For those who still believe the way to grill is with charcoal - it is a relief to have these instructions included. The recipe for beer can chicken has become a legend in our back yard. The coconut cake has been pronounced almost as good as our fabled grandmother- a minor miracle to say the least. Linguine with garlic cream sauce is wonderful, as is the mushroom lasagna.

In my naivety I assumed with a Cook's label there would be different recipes than the ones in the Test Kitchen cookbooks. With very few exceptions, since I have an extensive collection of Test Kitchen cookbooks, every recipe is in here. For those of you that have several Test Kitchen books it is going to be a repeat of quite a lot of the information. I was really disappointed in that fact; but if you do not, it is a wonderful book. So in a quandary as to what to rank it I've given it a 3, because of the extensive repeats from the Test Kitchen books. I was hoping that the Cook's magazine would have some different material. It would be a good book for even a confident beginner who wants to learn good cooking; but I really resent the constant reprinting of what is already out there with no disclaimer. I feel it leads the purchaser of the book astray.

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 174 reviews  4.6 out of 5 stars