fantastic

Can't believe I actually read a cookbook cover to cover!

Well, not exactly cover to cover... I did skip several recipes that didn't appeal to me, but even on those recipes I skipped, I read the extra blurbs included that related to something specific in that recipe.

Whether it be choosing the best springform pan or America's Test Kitchen's favorite chicken breast brand, there was always good information in every recipe.

For those who are unaware, America's Test Kitchen prints several magazines every year (Cook's Illustrated, Cook's Country, etc.) and this annual cookbook is a collection of the best from that year. Each recipe gives a little backstory to how they tested dozens of different recipes to determine the best one. They have tips and tricks from producing an all-beef meatloaf (gelatin is the key substitute for veal) to making the perfect low fat cheesecake (making yogurt cheese overnight produces the thickness and tang lost by using less & light cream cheese)! I enjoy cooking, but add scientific explanations of how things work and I'm ecstatic.

Already made one recipe (Hearty Slow-Cooker Beef Stew) which turned out good, but I think I may have made some mistakes (like draining the beefy oil when preparing the chunks the night before). But that's the great thing about these recipes—now it's my turn to try them again and again until I perfect them for myself! Dog-eared at least 20 recipes I want to try!

OOOH so yummy I made the crunchy baked pork chops they were wonderful! Love the instructions and techniques perfect descriptions.

Great book!

I like how they explain the trial and error of the recipes they make. Photos for most items. It's written just like they talk on TV :)

I only came across a handful of recipes that I would consider making myself, but this book is still full of great advice, tips, and tricks. I really like the explanations of how the final recipe was 'discovered'.

This is such a great book if you like to know why a recipe works, or too often in my case, why a recipe fails.

2007 had better recipes

I'm not really sure what the justification for this book is. I mean, it's got some great recipes, amazing in fact. Their French onion soup this year is...I don't even have the words. And given that this is the 'best of' of Cooks Illustrated for 2009 it's bound to be worth using. I just don't see why you'd want this book, a glossy collection of recipes from their 2009 magazine, when you could just get their green cloth-bound annual edition and have all of 2009's recipes. Yeah, do that instead.

This is an excellent line of cookbooks that will appeal to both gourmands and most ordinary cooks. Quite a lot of text accompanies each recipe, but the recipes are good and explained well and do-able. Book includes ratings of equipment as well.

Very concise, and the efforts behind each recipe appreciated. I plan to try quite a few, and am hopeful for just as good results.

Yum! This was my introduction to Cook's Illustrated. Everything that I have tried in the book was fantastic. I highly recommend it.