Cook's Illustrated Magazine Special Issue: Make-Ahead Dinners (2014): Eight Complete Menus, Every Component of Which Can Be Made Ahead

  • Rustic caramelized onion tart with walnuts and blue cheese (page 5)

    from Cook's Illustrated Magazine Special Issue: Make-Ahead Dinners (2014): Eight Complete Menus, Every Component of Which Can Be Made Ahead Cook's Illustrated Magazine Special Issue

    • Categories: Pies, tarts & pastries; Appetizers / starters; Main course; Cooking ahead; Entertaining & parties; French; Vegetarian
    • Ingredients: bread flour; instant yeast; onions; walnuts; blue cheese; scallions
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  • Simple lasagna with hearty tomato-meat sauce

    • Rinshin on July 16, 2021

      A solid, easy to make Italian American model version using ricotta very similar to 1960’s Betty Crocker version with small curd cottage cheese that I normally use. This version uses fresh basil in the filling whereas Betty Crocker uses dried oregano. I like both versions but this recipe is certainly more saucy. I precooked noodles for 5 minutes because I wasn’t sure noodles would soften enough with just baking. Used 1/3 Italian sausage and 2/3 ground chuck for making meat sauce instead of meatloaf mix.

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  • Published Jan 01 2014
  • Format Magazine
  • Page Count 64
  • Language English
  • Countries United States
  • Publisher America's Test Kitchen

Publishers Text

Take the stress out of dinnertime.

Whether you’re entertaining guests or making dinner for just the family, putting a meal on the table can be stressful and, given today’s often overstuffed schedules, just plain difficult. But not anymore. Here are eight complete menus that can be made ahead; all you have to do is a little reheating or final cooking, and dinner is on the table. From holiday feast to wintertime barbecue, upscale dinner to casual weeknight meal, each menu is composed of fail-safe make-ahead recipes that have been fully tested in our test kitchen until they work the first time—and every time. With these menus, you, too, can relax and enjoy dinner.

Easter Dinner for 12
Our make-ahead menu relieves holiday stress but doesn’t do so by cutting any favorite recipes. Our centerpiece Slow-Cooker Holiday Glazed Ham is an almost completely hands-off affair. Creamy Mashed Sweet Potatoes and Ultimate Green Bean Casserole need only a simple reheat. And no one would ever suspect that Icebox Strawberry Pie and freezer-safe Flourless Chocolate Cake were made in advance.

Indoor Barbecue for 6
Just because the grill is stored away for the winter and the skies are threatening snow doesn’t mean that you can’t have a picnic. We let our Overnight Broiled Kabobs marinate overnight before popping them under the broiler at the last minute. Plus, you can prepare the side dishes, Quicker Boston Baked Beans and Basic Creamy Coleslaw, and dessert, chewy Blondies, days ahead.

Additional complete make-ahead menus include: Weeknight Mexican Fiesta, Elegant Chicken Dinner, Italian Night, Family Favorites, Saint Patrick’s Day, and French Favorites. Make the entire meal, mix and match entries, sides, and desserts from various meals, and do it all in advance. That’s dinner, made easy.