Notes about Recipes in this book

• Classic cheddar cheese ball

  • jenmacgregor18 on February 13, 2022

    super simple. I used an extra sharp white Vermont cheddar. delicious. We all really enjoyed this. I want to try the blue cheese & wine version next.

• Port wine–blue cheese ball

  • jenmacgregor18 on December 26, 2022

    This was good, but we loved the cheddar cheese version. I'd make that one the next time.

• Cheddar cheese rounds

  • kbrooks on April 29, 2025

    Great cookie/cracker. Cheesy,zesty, rich.

• One-minute salsa

  • kbrooks on April 29, 2025

    Great salsa for all kinds of dishes.

• Ultimate spicy beef nachos

  • kbrooks on April 29, 2025

    Terrific nachos! Adjust the jalapeños to your level of preferred heat. Serve with One Minute Salsa on pg.11.

• Foolproof deviled eggs

  • kbrooks on April 29, 2025

    These really are foolproof and delicious.

• Green goddess dressing

  • kbrooks on April 29, 2025

    Tasty and versatile.

• Marinated tomato salad with olives and white beans

  • kbrooks on April 29, 2025

    Nice with heirloom tomatoes. Added chopped chives.

• All-American potato salad

  • ramsaycrew on July 16, 2024

    Used Sous Vide potatoes, mini cukes instead of celery. Lots of sources of salt so think ahead. Great salad.

  • kbrooks on April 29, 2025

    Wonderful potato salad. Vary it with sweet pickles instead of dill; or white wine vinegar, omitting pickles.

• Chicken noodle soup

  • wcassity on May 01, 2026

    Perfect classic recipe. Made homemade stock and egg noodles. Added chopped celery root with the other veggies. Did need some extra MSG - added a dash of Vegeta.

• Pittsburgh wedding soup

  • kbrooks on April 29, 2025

    Perfect Pittsburgh Wedding Soup. Added a splash of white wine and extra parmesan.

• All-American beef chili with kidney beans

  • cthdawn on November 02, 2013

    used v8 spicy juice, penzeys chili 9000 in addition to chili powder that was called 4. i like tomatoes and used fire roasted muir glen

  • Lisentric on June 15, 2025

    Same recipe as in the Test Kitchen Cookbook. Plenty of heat.

• Green beans amandine

  • Lisentric on June 15, 2025

    Cooks Country and America's Test kitchen are the same recipes. This is excellent!

• Dilly peas and carrots

  • Lisentric on February 16, 2026

    Sauce took longer to thicken than indicated. Peas turned dull green. I would thicken first next time and add peas at end so they stay bright and crisp.

• Crispy baked potato fans

  • kbrooks on April 29, 2025

    The best! Easily doubled.

• Cowboy beans

  • kbrooks on May 06, 2025

    Really good beans. Hours to cook, but very little hands on. Flavors are well balanced. Made exactly as written.

• Classic tuna salad

  • kbrooks on May 03, 2026

    I make this for myself as husband won't eat tuna. It's a classic tuna salad;perfectly balanced ingredients/flavors.

• Tuna melts

  • kbrooks on May 07, 2026

    I make this for myself as husband doesn't like tuna. Love the flavors- this isn't your run of the mill tuna melt.

• Buffalo and blue cheese chicken salad

  • jenmacgregor18 on May 26, 2022

    I like this one, but because of the strong flavors, I prefer it more as a dip or appetizer than a sandwich or lunch entree. I did add some extra hot sauce, celery and 3 green onions chopped. I couldn't find the onion rolls suggested. went with brioche & toasted the buns.

• Sloppy Joes

  • BethNH on May 20, 2017

    I have no idea why I had a hankering for Sloppy Joes. I can't remember the last time I had them but decided it was time to make them from scratch. This recipe is delicious. It's not overly sweet or tangy. It's delicious with a nice tomato flavor. It's got just a bit of a kick to it due to the Mexican chili powder I used and the teeny bit of hot sauce. My husband liked it so much he ate the extra with chips as though it was dip.

  • jenburkholder on January 25, 2023

    My son requested Sloppy Joes so I figured Cook's Country would have a good recipe. This turned out to have too much straight tomato flavor - I ended up adding in a little Worcestershire and more sugar. It was fine after I doctored it up and I enjoyed it, but won't necessarily repeat.

• Stromboli with salami, capocollo, and provolone

  • kbrooks on April 29, 2025

    Very good Stromboli. Serve with warm marinara sauce for dipping.

• Ham and cheddar stromboli

  • kbrooks on September 09, 2024

    Easy peasy. Made this with homemade pizza dough (Mark Bittman's recipe), Serrano ham and extra sharp cheddar. Marinara sauce on the side for dipping.

• Pepperoni pizza stromboli

  • kbrooks on May 03, 2026

    This is the third Stromboli recipe I have made from this book. It definitely didn't disappoint.

• Fluffy diner-style cheese omelet

  • kbrooks on April 29, 2025

    Increased the cheese to 3/4 cup. Otherwise made as written for a perfect fluffy cheese omelet.

• Loaded baked potato diner-style omelet

  • kbrooks on April 29, 2025

    Delicious variation on the preceding cheese omelet recipe.

• Biscuits and sausage gravy

  • dbuhler on June 08, 2024

    This is my go-to biscuits and gravy recipe and I've been making it for well over a decade. I used to make both the biscuits and the gravy from this recipe but now I mainly just make the gravy, and it is so much more flavorful than any other country gravy recipe I've ever tried. It was a challenge for me to find ground fennel but it's so so worth it as it really adds a lot flavor to the gravy.

• Cranberry-orange nut bread

  • wcassity on November 01, 2020

    Easy, classic, delicious - disappeared the day I made it!

• Beer-batter cheese bread

  • luolili on February 17, 2018

    This recipe is amazing! This is my family's go-to recipe for a bread to go with chili.

  • kbrooks on September 10, 2024

    Terrific quick bread. Made it with extra sharp cheddar. The flavor is wonderful.

• Beer-batter bread with smoked Gouda and bacon

  • kbrooks on November 30, 2024

    A winner and easy to make. Wonderful smoked cheese flavor. I used 5 slices of bacon instead of 8 and that was plenty. Great toasted as well.

• All-purpose cornbread

  • ecasey830 on January 01, 2026

    Very good basic cornbread

• Skillet macaroni and cheese

  • Lisentric on June 15, 2025

    Sauce was a little runny. Added some rye breadcrumbs on top and baked a little longer and was perfect.

• Skillet macaroni and cheese with ham and peas

  • Lisentric on June 15, 2025

    Sauce was a little runny. Added some rye breadcrumbs on top and baked a little longer and was perfect.

• Easy meat lasagna

  • kbrooks on April 29, 2025

    Made this with ground beef and sweet Italian sausage. Great dish for potluck.

• Skillet lasagna with sausage and peppers

  • chawkins on July 28, 2014

    Very good. Much lighter than my regular lasagna and much easier. Great for summer when you don't want to turn on the oven. Unlike most other skillet lasagna recopes, this one uses regular lasagna noodles, not the no-boil ones. I used fresh tomatoes from the garden rather than the canned ones.

• Tamale pie

  • kbrooks on April 29, 2025

    You can use ground turkey or chicken in place of the ground pork. And almost any canned beans will work. I increased the cheese to 2 cups.

• Chicken pot pie with corn and bacon

  • dbuhler on February 01, 2024

    I have been making this dinner for years, it's a family favorite! I have made a couple of tweaks over the years, one is I switch out the chicken breasts for equal amount of shredded rotisserie chicken, and I increase the chicken broth to 2 and 1/2 cups, everything else I leave the same. I've made this with both the pie dough topping and the biscuits and recently my family has been a big fan of the parmesan biscuits. I have no need to find any other pot pie recipe...this is it for us!

• Parmesan biscuits

  • dbuhler on February 01, 2024

    These are delicious! For a while I was just making the regular buttermilk biscuit topping for a chicken pot pie recipe, but recently tried the parmesan variation and they are fantastic! I usually have to make a double batch because everyone loves them so much!

• "Un-stuffed" chicken breasts with Dijon, ham, and Gruyère

  • kbrooks on April 29, 2025

    This sauce is incredible! I use Black Forest ham and panko crumbs instead of crushed Ritz crackers.

• Skillet chicken Parmesan

  • Lisentric on June 15, 2025

    Very good, fresh basil made it pop!

• Apricot-glazed chicken breasts

  • karen_qgq5kp on May 20, 2026

    It's a 3 step recipe - brown chicken on stove, mix and heat up sauce, then bake. We used skinless chicken breasts even though the recipe calls for skin on. Tasty and easy!

• Chicken and rice with spring vegetables

  • ethedens on April 17, 2025

    This was good but a bit bland. Some sesame oil and gochugaru perked it up. 3.75/5

• Modern chicken Divan

  • dbuhler on May 13, 2024

    This is a family favorite! I've served it with rice pilaf and egg noodles and it's wonderful with both! I don't cook down them liquid as much as called for because we like it a bit saucy.

• Easier chicken and dumplings

  • essquare on November 21, 2022

    Family favorite. Made it without the sherry and with dried parsley (3 tsp) added with bay leaves. Still delicious.

• Pepper steak

  • jenmacgregor18 on May 27, 2015

    The sirloin steak tips worked well in this and were tender. Froze steak for 15 minutes to make slicing easier. Because I was afraid the beef would become tough, instead of boiling the meat with cornstarch-sherry-broth mixture, I added cornstarch mixture to the peppers and boiled until thickened. Then I added the meat and simmered a few minutes until done. Added 1 tsp of Worcestershire sauce.

  • Lisentric on August 26, 2024

    I made this recipe and the steak was very tender -- I cut it thin as indicated. I found this to be a very tasteful and enjoyable meal.

• Salisbury steak

  • kbrooks on February 21, 2026

    A winner! I had crimini mushrooms, so used those instead of white mushrooms. Used ruby port. This is easy and fairly quick. Very flavorful,.

• Simple pot roast

  • PinchOfSalt on November 09, 2013

    Made this with a big (4.5 pounds) hunk of chuck roast and some homemade beef broth (no chicken broth). This is a very nice rendition of traditional American pot roast - no foreign influences here! The recipe is, overall, very easy to make, no fussiness until you get to the last step and are told boil down the liquid twice (the second time after adding some wine). It would be a good choice for someone who doesn't want to fuss or someone new to cooking who wants good results and a stress-free experience.

• Sunday-best garlic roast beef

  • louie734 on January 21, 2019

    Made for the 2 of us with a 3+ lb top sirloin roast (“spoon roast”?), skipping the 4 hour rest. Instead I let it sit for about 30 minutes at room temp while making the garlic oil. Seared on 3 sides, 5 minutes each, remaining cook time was about 25 minutes. Served with baked potatoes & roasted carrots. Between the garlicky roast, the tasty au jus, the perfectly pink meat, this was a winner. Perfect doneness, wonderful leftovers, the perfect thing to have in the fridge at the start of a busy week. Can't wait to do this again.

• Chicago-style Italian roast beef

  • TaffyDeb on January 12, 2020

    This is a very easy, quick and yummy recipe for a sirloin roast. Flavors are bold and the meat is cooked to perfection. Clean-up is a snap, too, with minimal in the prep and only a roaster pan and a V-stand to clean after, (I was able to clean them whilst the meat rested!) Cook's Country Chicago-style Italian roast beef is ready in under 3 hours, (and that is a big estimate for prep. and includes side prep). My only suggestion, next time I may cut back on the black pepper and/or red pepper flakes as they seem to overwhelm the other more subtle flavors, but the Handsome Hubby didn't mind at all!

• Port-braised short ribs

  • Lisentric on June 15, 2025

    Sauce is delicious.

• Classic meat loaf with brown sugar–ketchup glaze

  • kbrooks on May 03, 2026

    Delicious! Packed with flavor.

• Jucy Lucy burgers

  • kbrooks on April 29, 2025

    A winner!

• Smothered pork chops

  • kbrooks on April 29, 2025

    I make this with 1-1/2" pork chops and increase cooking time to 45 minutes to 1 hour.

• Tennessee whiskey pork chops

  • mfto on December 29, 2011

    I do not own this cookbook but got the recipe online at Serious Eats. These are unbelievably delicious pork chops. I used Makers Mark. Have no idea if that made a difference.

  • BethNH on April 03, 2015

    A delicious marinade/sauce is made with whiskey, apple cider, cider vinegar and seasonings. After a couple of hours marinating the chops are briefly fried before the reserved sauce is added to the pan. The sauce decreases to a glossy, sticky substance that coats the chops nicely when they are added back to the pan. I'd cook the chops just a bit longer next time before removing them from the pan but otherwise the recipe was wonderful. The sauce had lots of flavor and the chops were very moist.

• Old-fashioned roast pork

  • jenmacgregor18 on February 16, 2017

    This is a project and certainly isn't low-fat; but it is absolutely delicious. We made this for several years now. In the fall, we host a special get together with friends before the holiday season would get too busy. This was the roast we'd serve, along with the cider-vinegar braised onions and mashed potatoes. My dad said it reminded him of the roasts his mother used to make, back in the day.

  • jenmacgregor18 on October 07, 2019

    I tried this in the instant pot. I left garlic out of dry rub, because I didn't want to burn it- seared the pork, then added garlic and then the cup of apple cider as the cooking liquid. (might be able to get away with 1/2 cup of cider...) could only add 1 onion because of the size of my roast. so, I ended up sauteing the rest of the onion later to serve with the roast. 90 minutes under high pressure. let natural release for 15 minutes, then quick release rest of pressure; but allow to rest with lid on for 1 hour so meat can rest in cooking liquid. strained cooking liquid & defatted same. turned out well.

  • PinchOfSalt on November 06, 2023

    Substituted 1/3 as much dry herbs for the fresh and Stonewall Kitchen Apple Cinnamon jelly for the plain apple jelly. (Plain apple jelly was difficult to track down in my area.) This is a semi "make-ahead" recipe in which you roast the pork on one day and finish the recipe on another. So, even if the roasting step take longer than indicated in the recipe, there's only a small, pretty much fixed, amount of time needed to finish the recipe on the day you'll be serving it. Be sure to use a roasting vessel that is not much bigger than the roast or you may run the risk of losing the juices. Very, very, tasty, a nice fall meal accompanied by roasted winter squash and blanched green beans, and economical to boot. I would have given the recipe 5 stars instead of 4 if it hadn't called for an ingredient that was (surprisingly, I'll admit) difficult to source locally.

• Herbed roast pork tenderloin

  • kbrooks on April 29, 2025

    This is really really good. I use a flavor rub from Bruce Aidell's Meat Cookbook before spreading the butter herb mixture on the meat.

• Creamy chipotle chile sauce

  • Acarroll on January 27, 2024

    I was looking for a way to use leftover chipotles in adobo and this was perfect. I didn't have sour cream so I doubled the amount of (vegan) mayo. I also doubled the amount of chipotle, garlic, and cilantro. Was perfect served with crab cakes.

• Black bean chili

  • kbrooks on April 29, 2025

    Wonderful chili,made as written.

• Smothered pork chops

  • kbrooks on April 29, 2025

    Rubbed chops with a spice rub from Aidell's Meat cookbook. This is really yummy served over mashed potatoes.

• Peanut blossom cookies

  • dbuhler on March 26, 2023

    These were delicious, and the best version of this type of cookie I've tried. They are super flavorful and very soft. I used KA AP flour and didn't make any high altitude adjustments. I made mine into bear paws by using a Ghirardelli milk chocolate melting wafers and small milk chocolate chips. My kids loved these and I will definitely make them again!!

• Lunchbox brownies

  • Grywhp on August 29, 2011

    These turned out great. Added about 1 teaspoon of instant espresso powder. Very moist and the chopped nuts on top made a nice sort of crust.

• All-season peach squares

  • wcassity on August 19, 2013

    Terrible. A waste of fresh summer peaches. The peach was gummy and merely sweet, no fresh summer fruit taste or texture.

• Blue ribbon apple cake

  • Lunacran on February 22, 2020

    Delicious did not have sour cream do I used low fat plain yogurt worked great Also used 6 Golden delicious apples

• Strawberry poke cake

  • wcassity on August 19, 2013

    Delicious. A big success with kids and adults. Very homey - not fancy looking in the pan, but very tasty. The cake, two kinds of strawberry sauce and homemade whipped cream make it a complete dessert. Very refreshing for summer, eaten cold right out of the fridge.

• Strawberry-rhubarb pie

  • Lisentric on May 26, 2024

    Page 534

• Icebox Key lime pie

  • dbuhler on March 26, 2023

    I love this pie! It is so easy to put together and it is an awesome version of key lime pie that doesn't need to be baked (crust needs to be baked, but the filling sets in the fridge) which makes it perfect for summer, and it doesn't have any eggs, so there are no concerns about consuming raw eggs. This has an intense lime flavor that has just the right amount of sweetness. I used regular limes, but key limes can be used. I've made this filling before to fill eclairs and cream puffs, but this is my first time making as a pie. I made it for a work potluck for my husband and it received rave reviews! It set perfectly and it wasn't too gelatinous...just smooth and creamy! I will definitely make this again!

• Blueberry crumble

  • kbrooks on May 03, 2026

    Hard to go wrong with a crumble. Totally depends on the quality of the fruit. I make this when my farmers market has fresh blueberries.