The Cook's Bible: The Best of American Home Cooking Book

Whether you're a kitchen novice or a veteran home chef, Christopher Kimball has written the one cookbook you absolutely must own - an indispensable guide to the best in American home cooking. As the founder, publisher, and editor of Cook's Illustrated magazine, Kimball has perfected a new way of writing about food: take a classic dish, meticulously test all possible variations, and then present the recipes proven best. Now, with THE COOK'S BIBLE, Kimball at last gives you a cookbook based on the same rigorous methods. From the ideal way to cook a turkey to perfect chocolate cake, you get foolproof master recipes for hundreds of favorite dishes - and one of the best basic cookbooks every published. THE COOK'S BIBLE takes the mystery out of preparing a great meal. What's the ideal ratio of oil to vinegar in a vinaigrette? Kimball gives you the answer: 4 1/2 to 1. What's the secret to perfect roast chicken? A 375 oven and a 170 internal temperature for the thigh. How about the toughest kitchen challenge of all, piecrust? Kimball makes it easy with the right ingredients (including Crisco and butter) and illustrated step-by-step instructions. For these and the rest of America's best-loved dishes - vegetable soup, poached salmon, roast beef, grilled ribs, homemade pizza, waffles, chocolate chip cookies, and many others - Kimball has tested and retested to deliver the definitive recipes. In addition to these master recipes, Kimball also serves up a generous helping of appealing variations - nearly 450 recipes in all. You can start off with his Cream of Roasted Tomato Soup or Winter Red Cabbage Salad with Bacon and then follow with a main course of Beef Tenderloin with Marsala and Balsamic Vinegar or Braised Tuna with Ginger and Soy. Pastas, beans, and grains dishes - Squash and Sage Ravioli; Barley with Spinach, Parsley, and Chives; and Marinated White Beans - provide intriguing accents. And Sauted Green Beans with Lemon and Walnuts, Baked Carrots with Maple Syrup and Nutmeg, and Rustic Country Bread make perfect accompaniments. For deserts, you can indulge yourself with The Best Angel Food Cake, Buttermilk Fruit Cobbler, or a simple dish of poached Peaches with Ginger. Throughout, Kimball elucidates kitchen procedures - butterflying a chicken, for instance, or dicing an onion - with more than 200 beautifully rendered step-by-step illustrations. And he also provides lucid guidance on what kitchen equipment you need and what you can live without - a microwave oven is optional, but good knives are essential - including brand names, model numbers, and prices. From recipes to techniques to equipment, here is a one-volume master class in American home cookery, a cooking school in print for beginners and experienced cooks alike.Read More