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Copyright 2016

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.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names:

Americas Test Kitchen (Firm), author.

Title: All-time best appetizers / by the editors at Americas Test Kitchen.

Description: Brookline, MA : Americas Test Kitchen, [2016] | Includes index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2016017363 | Ebook ISBN9781940352831

Hardcover ISBN:9781940352824

Subjects: LCSH: Appetizers. | LCGFT: Cookbooks.

Classification: LCC TX740 .A567 2016 | DDC 641.81/2--dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016017363

AMERICAS TEST KITCHEN

17 Station Street, Brookline, MA 02445

Distributed by Penguin Random House Publisher Services

Tel: 800.733.3000

Chief Creative Officer: Jack Bishop

Editorial Director, Books: Elizabeth Carduff

Executive Editor: Julia Collin Davison

Executive Editor: Adam Kowit

Associate Editor: Rachel Greenhaus

Editorial Assistant: Alyssa Langer

Art Director: Carole Goodman

Associate Art Directors: Allison Boales and Jen Kanavos Hoffman

Production Designer: Reinaldo Cruz

Graphic Designers: Sarah Horwitch Dailey and Aleko Giatrakis

Photography Director: Julie Bozzo Cote

Assistant Photography Producer: Mary Ball

Senior Staff Photographer: Daniel J. van Ackere

Staff Photographer: Steve Klise

Photography: Keller + Keller

Food Styling: Catrine Kelty, Marie Piraino, and Sally Staub

Photoshoot Kitchen Team:

Senior Editor: Chris OConnor

Associate Editor: Daniel Cellucci

Test Cook: Matthew Fairman

Assistant Test Cook: Allison Berkey

Production Director: Guy Rochford

Senior Production Manager: Jessica Lindheimer Quirk

Production Manager: Christine Walsh

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Production and Imaging Specialists: Heather Dube, Sean MacDonald, Dennis Noble, and Jessica Voas

Copyeditor: Cheryl Redmond

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Indexer: Elizabeth Parson

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a

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 60 test cooks, editors, 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 preconceptions, which means that we accept no claim, 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 recipe and continue to test it, varying ingredients, techniques, and cooking times until we reach a consensus. As we like to say in the test kitchen, We make the mistakes so you dont have to. 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). We use the same rigorous approach when we test equipment and taste ingredients.

All of this would not be possible without a belief that good cooking, much like good music, is 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. Our ultimate goal is to investigate the fundamental principles of cooking to give you the techniques, tools, and ingredients you need to become a better cook. It is as simple as that.

To see what goes on behind the scenes at Americas Test Kitchen, check out our social media channels for kitchen snapshots, exclusive content, video tips, and much more. You can watch us work (in our actual test kitchen) by tuning in to