Copyright 2014 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
The Complete Cooks Country TV Show Cookbook
Every Recipe, Every Ingredient Testing, Every Equipment Rating
From All 7 Seasons
EPub ISBN: 978-1-940352-08-4
ISSN: 2330-5762
Paperback: $29.95 US
Manufactured in the United States of America
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Distributed by Americas Test Kitchen
17 Station Street, Brookline, MA 02445
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Editorial Director: Jack Bishop
Editorial Director, Books: Elizabeth Carduff
Executive Editor: Lori Galvin
Associate Editor: Alyssa King
Assistant Editor: Melissa Herrick
Editorial Assistants: Kate Edeker, Rachel Greenhaus, and Samantha Ronan
Photography by: Keller + Keller
Staff Photographer: Daniel J. van Ackere
Additional Photography by: Stephen Hussar and Carl Tremblay
Cover Photo: Kate Kelley
Associate Art Director, Photography: Steve Klise
Food Stylists: Mary Jane Sawyer, Marie Piraino, Catrine Kelty, and Daniel Cellucci
Design Director: Amy Klee
Art Director: Greg Galvan
Associate Art Directors: Beverly Hsu and Taylor Argenzio
Designer: Jen Kanavos Hoffman
Production Director: Guy Rochford
Senior Production Manager: Jessica Lindheimer Quirk
Project Management Director: Alice Carpenter
Production and Traffic Coordinator: Brittany Allen and Britt Dresser
Workflow and Digital Asset Manager: Andrew Mannone
Senior Color and Imaging Specialist: Lauren Pettapiece
Production and Imaging Specialists: Judy Blomquist, Heather Dube, and Lauren Robbins
Historical Researcher: Meg Ragland
Copy Editor: Cheryl Redmond
Proofreader: Debra Hudak and Amanda Poulsen Dix
Indexer: Elizabeth Parson
Credits for archival photography are listed .
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Navigating this E-Book
This eBook includes a that allows you to jump to any chapter. And each chapter has its own table of contents with links to every recipe in the chapter.
We have also created a that lists all the recipes in the book, divided by chapter, in one place. You can access the Recipe Index from the Table of Contents. (It also appears at the end of the book.) Each title in the Recipe Index is a link that will take you directly to that recipe.
This cookbook is filled with sidebars; throughout the book there are links to this material where appropriate.
Most eBook reading devices also offer a search function that allows you to type in exactly what you are looking for. Please read the documentation for your particular eBook reader for more information on its search function and any other navigational features it may offer.
WELCOME TO COOKS COUNTRY
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 Country and Cooks Illustrated magazines 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.
Filmed in a renovated 1806 farmhouse, Cooks Country from Americas Test Kitchen features the best regional home cooking in the country and relies on the same practical, no-nonsense approach to cooking that has made Cooks Country magazine so successful.
Christopher Kimball, the founder and editor of Cooks Country and Cooks Illustrated magazines, is the host of the show and asks the questions you might ask. Its the job of our chefs, Julia Collin Davison, Bridget Lancaster, and Erin McMurrer, to demonstrate our recipes. The chefs show Chris what works and what doesnt, and they explain why. In the process, they discuss (and show you) the best examples from our development process as well as the worst. Jack Bishop continues to challenge Chris to live -tastings of kitchen staples like egg noodles, blue cheese dressing, and orange juice, while Adam Ried reveals the test kitchens top choices for equipment, including cookie sheets, slow cookers, aprons, and more.
Although just six cooks and editors appear on the television show, another 50 people worked to make the show a reality. Executive producer Melissa Baldino conceived and developed each episode along with co-executive producer Stephanie Stender and lead production assistant Kaitlin Hammond. Lynne Olver and Meg Ragland assisted with all the historical recipe research. Debby Paddock assisted with photography research.
Along with the on-air crew, executive chefs Erin McMurrer, Rebeccah Marsters, and Dan Zuccarello helped plan and organize the 13 television episodes shot in September 2013 and ran the back kitchen, where all the food that appears on camera originated. Hannah Crowley, Amy Graves, and Lisa McManus organized the tasting and equipment segments.
During filming, chefs Danielle DeSiato-Hallman, Daniel Cellucci, Sarah Gabriel, Lan Lam, Christie Morrison, Sarah Mullins, Dan Souza, Diane Unger, Cristin Walsh, and Meaghen Walsh cooked all the food needed on set. Kitchen assistants Shane Drips, Jennifer Hernandez, and Erica Sheridan also worked long hours. Chefs Alexxa Grattan, Ashley Moore, and Stephanie Pixley helped coordinate the kitchen with the television set by readying props, equipment, and food. Assistant test kitchen director Leah Rovner and senior kitchen assistants Michelle Blodget, Alexxa Grattan, and Meryl MacCormack were charged with making sure all the ingredients and kitchen equipment we needed were on hand.