ALSO BY THE EDITORS AT AMERICAS TEST KITCHEN
The Cooks Illustrated Cookbook
The Americas Test Kitchen Healthy Family Cookbook
The Americas Test Kitchen Family Baking Book
The Americas Test Kitchen Family Cookbook
The Complete Americas Test Kitchen TV Show Cookbook
Slow Cooker Revolution
The Best Simple Recipes
AMERICAS TEST KITCHEN ANNUALS:
The Best of Americas Test Kitchen(20072012 Editions)
Cooking for Two (20092011 Editions)
Light & Healthy (2010 and 2011 Editions)
THE COOKS COUNTRY SERIES:
From Our Grandmothers Kitchens
Cooks Country Blue Ribbon Desserts
Cooks Country Best Potluck Recipes
Cooks Country Best Lost Suppers
Cooks Country Best Grilling Recipes
The Cooks Country Cookbook
Americas Best Lost Recipes
THE BEST RECIPE SERIES:
The New Best Recipe
The Best One-Dish Suppers
Soups, Stews & Chilis
More Best Recipes
The Best Skillet Recipes
The Best Slow & Easy Recipes
The Best Chicken Recipes
The Best International Recipe
The Best Make-Ahead Recipe
The Best 30-Minute Recipe
The Best Light Recipe
The Cooks Illustrated Guide to Grilling & Barbecue
Best American Side Dishes
Cover & Bake
Steaks, Chops, Roasts & Ribs
Baking Illustrated
For a complete listing of all our books or to order any of our books, visit us at http://www.cooksillustrated.com
http://www.americastestkitchen.com
or call 800-611-0759
Copyright 2011 by the Editors at Americas Test Kitchen
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
Americas Test Kitchen
17 Station Street, Brookline, MA 02445
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
The Americas Test Kitchen menu cookbook : kitchen-tested menus for foolproof dinner parties : 51 menus for every occasion plus strategies that guarantee less stress and better food / by the editors at Americas Test Kitchen ; photography by Carl Tremblay, Keller + Keller, and Daniel J. van Ackere. -- 1st ed.
p. cm.
Kindle ISBN 978-1-936493-05-0
1. Menus. 2. Dinners and dining. 3. Cooking, American. 4. Cookbooks. I. Tremblay, Carl. II. Van Ackere, Daniel. III. Americas Test Kitchen (Firm) IV. Keller + Keller.
TX731.A633 2011
641.5973--dc23
2011026475
Manufactured in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Distributed by Americas Test Kitchen
17 Station Street, Brookline, MA 02445
EDITORIAL DIRECTOR: Jack Bishop
EXECUTIVE EDITOR: Elizabeth Carduff
EXECUTIVE FOOD EDITOR: Julia Collin Davison
SENIOR EDITOR: Suzannah McFerran
ASSOCIATE EDITOR: Adelaide Parker
TEST COOKS: Rebecca Morris, Christie Morrison
PHOTOSHOOT KITCHEN TEAM:
ASSOCIATE EDITORS: Chris OConnor, Yvonne Ruperti
ASSISTANT TEST COOKS: Daniel Cellucci, Danielle DeSiato-Hallman, and Kate Williams
EDITORIAL ASSISTANT: Alyssa King
DESIGN DIRECTOR: Amy Klee
ART DIRECTOR: Greg Galvan
ASSOCIATE ART DIRECTOR: Matthew Warnick
PHOTOGRAPHY: Carl Tremblay
STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER: Daniel J. van Ackere
ADDITIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY: Keller + Keller
FOOD STYLING: Marie Piraino and Mary Jane Sawyer
ILLUSTRATOR: John Burgoyne
PRODUCTION DIRECTOR: Guy Rochford
SENIOR PRODUCTION MANAGER: Jessica Quirk
SENIOR PROJECT MANAGER: Alice Carpenter
PRODUCTION AND TRAFFIC COORDINATOR: Kate Hux
ASSET AND WORKFLOW MANAGER: Andrew Mannone
PRODUCTION AND IMAGING SPECIALISTS: Judy Blomquist, Heather Dube, and Lauren Pettapiece
COPYEDITOR: Cheryl Redmond
PROOFREADER: Debra Hudak
INDEXER: Elizabeth Parson
PICTURED ON FRONT OF JACKET:
PICTURED OPPOSITE TITLE PAGE:
Contents
WELCOME TO AMERICAS TEST KITCHEN
This book has been tested, written, and edited by the folks at Americas Test Kitchen, a very real 2,500-square-foot kitchen located just outside of Boston. It is the home of Cooks Illustrated magazine and Cooks Country magazine and is the Monday-through-Friday destination for more than three dozen test cooks, editors, food scientists, tasters, and cookware specialists. Our mission is to test recipes over and over again until we understand how and why they work and until we arrive at the best version.
We start the process of testing a recipe with a complete lack of conviction, which means that we accept no claim, no theory, no technique, and no recipe at face value. We simply assemble as many variations as possible, test a half-dozen of the most promising, and taste the results blind. We then construct our own hybrid recipe and continue to test it, varying ingredients, techniques, and cooking times until we reach a consensus. The result, we hope, is the best version of a particular recipe, but we realize that only you can be the final judge of our success (or failure). As we like to say in the test kitchen, We make the mistakes, so you dont have to.
All of this would not be possible without a belief that good cooking, much like good music, is indeed based on a foundation of objective technique. Some people like spicy foods and others dont, but there is a right way to saut, there is a best way to cook a pot roast, and there are measurable scientific principles involved in producing perfectly beaten, stable egg whites. This is our ultimate goal: to investigate the fundamental principles of cooking so that you become a better cook. It is as simple as that.
You can watch us work (in our actual test kitchen) by tuning in to Americas Test Kitchen ( www.americastestkitchentv.com ) or Cooks Country from Americas Test Kitchen ( www.cookscountrytv.com ) on public television, or by subscribing to Cooks Illustrated magazine ( www.cooksillustrated.com ) or Cooks Country magazine ( www.cookscountry.com ). We welcome you into our kitchen, where you can stand by our side as we test our way to the best recipes in America.
PREFACE
The Vermonters I grew up with had no problem planning menus because every midday dinner was about the same: meat, potatoes, biscuits or bread, a vegetable, and milk from the cow out back. Dessert was a sugar or molasses cookie or, occasionally, since the town baker, Marie, didnt take to pie-making, a slice of apple or lemon meringue pie. Any culture that depends on the availability of simple, local ingredients has few panic attacks when it comes to menu planningone eats what is in season along with a store of preserved foods from the cellar, including potatoes, apples, brined pork, dried meats, succotash, and the like.
That lack of choice offers simplicity but most of us would be hard pressed to consume such a restrictive diet. That reminds me of a story about a frugal farmer, a train, and a pig. An elderly farmer, known far and wide for his parsimony, stopped at the Sanbornton Bridge ticket office in New Hampshire.
How much to Littleton? he asked the ticket agent.
Two dollars.
The farmer said nothing for a bit. Well then, how much for a cow?
Three dollars.
A pig?
One dollar.
Book me as a pig, said the old-timer promptly.
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