• Sharongrondin on January 21, 2012

  My cookbook is from 2008. It is The Best Cover & Bake Recipes from the Editors of Cook's Illustrated. The Recipes seem to be the same.

• TessParson on October 13, 2010

  I actually have on my bookshelf the first edition of this book published in 2004. Wonder if the recipes are the same in the 2006 edition?

Notes about Recipes in this book

• Baked cheese grits

  • rivergait on April 24, 2013

    Add sausage and red pepper (one of the variations) for an entree.

• Baked grits with sausage and red pepper

  • rivergait on January 11, 2014

    As a California girl, I had never eaten grits. Ta-Da! Found it's just like the polenta I love. This is a great make-ahead of cooked grits with cheese. Tabasco is important. The sausage (which was crumbled Italian, not breakfast links) and diced red pepper is a variation in the book.

• Baked macaroni and cheese

  • PinchOfSalt on January 18, 2013

    substituting milk for the chicken broth works. All 2 percent milk for all the milk and broth works very nicely too. Have made this with different mixes of cheese, including all cheddar. It's a crowd-pleaser every time.

• Baked rice casserole

  • kbrooks on April 27, 2025

    Not going to make again.

• Baked rum-raisin French toast casserole

  • kbrooks on May 03, 2026

    Great brunch recipe.

• Baked ziti with crumbled Italian sausage

  • aeader on March 17, 2024

    Faster and easier than my usual baked ziti recipe. I would have preferred more sauce, but DH thought it was great.

• Breakfast strata with sausage, mushrooms, and Monterey Jack

  • kbrooks on April 27, 2025

    This is a go-to when we have overnight guests. Always a hit.

• Butternut squash rice casserole

  • cookbookaddict2020 on April 29, 2020

    To be fair I am making this with a quarantine pantry, so no fresh sage: I've subbed dried sage, dried thyme and dried oregano. I'm halfway through it, and I don't think it's going to be worth my precious pint of quarantine ricotta, so I'm not going to add that. It's basically a butternut risotto, which is fine. I doubled the squash, added lots more parmesan, and a bunch of cooked Tuscan kale, and I think it will be a nice comforting rice dish, nothing too exciting.

• Candied sweet potato casserole

  • levered on November 20, 2018

    No pecans, so No topping

• Cauliflower casserole

  • kbrooks on April 27, 2025

    This is a favorite. Very rich.

• Cauliflower gratin with ham and cheddar

  • kbrooks on April 27, 2025

    Lovely variation on the cauliflower casserole recipe.

• Chicken and sausage gumbo

  • eve_kloepper on March 30, 2014

    I used goose fat for the roux, and therefore didn't need chicken skin to render fat. Used boneless, skinless chicken thighs. Recipe is too soupy. Use 4 cups stock instead of 6. I added frozen okra, one 12 oz. bag frozen. Next time use double amount of okra.

• Chicken cordon bleu casserole

  • kbrooks on April 27, 2025

    Each time I make this it gets rave reviews! And much easier to assemble than traditional cordon bleu.

• Chicken paprikash

  • robin_h_p on October 14, 2012

    Works in the InstaPot pressure cooker. I added an extra 0.5 cup of water before sealing it to cook, to make sure it would not dry out.

• Chicken tagine with olives, zucchini, and honey

  • Laura on August 09, 2011

    Page 203. This is a variation on the Chicken Tagine with Olives and Lemon recipe on the previous page, which does not include the zucchini or the honey. Made this variation because I had zucchini that needed to be used. I also used boneless chicken breasts rather than the bone-in chicken thighs. As a consequence, I cut way back on the cooking time. The chicken came out perfectly and we enjoyed the flavors of the sauce. Next time I would make the original recipe and not bother with the zucchini -- there are better ways to prepare that vegetable. Served it over jasmati rice and with a side of steamed spinach.

• Coconut cardamom rice casserole

  • kiradog on January 17, 2026

    page 262

• Country captain chicken

  • eve_kloepper on April 12, 2013

    Very nice and very adaptable. Used Chicken Tenders and Andouille sausage instead of chicken thighs, since that's what I had on hand. Also used mango in brine, worked perfectly.

• Creamy chicken and rice casserole with peas, carrots, and cheddar

  • Kiyah on August 30, 2012

    This is comfort food, creamy and full of subtle flavor from the cheeses. lemon and spices. Much better than something you'd throw together with canned soup, but the drawback is that it takes much longer. You won't make this after work, unless you want to invest an hour and a half into it. It's well worth it if you do have the time.

  • rivergait on April 30, 2013

    Kind of 1940's casserole, but much better...with homemade bechamel sauce, odd instructions for rice cooking timetable...resulting in a rich, really good dish.

  • Liz_Young on June 19, 2022

    Very pretty casserole. I agree with the other commenters about the taste and the time involved. If I were going to make this again, I would use more chicken and more vegetables, and less rice. But...I have so many recipes I want to try that I probably won't make it back to try a second version of this.

• Easy meat lasagna with hearty tomato-meat sauce

  • kbrooks on April 27, 2025

    Easy dish to make ahead for company.

• Hoppin' John

  • kbrooks on April 27, 2025

    Regular New Year dish. I cook dried black-eyed peas instead of using frozen.

• Potato and egg casserole with bacon and cheddar

  • psarrett on February 13, 2024

    Amazingly light and fluffy; really good!

• Shepherd's pie

  • Omsafeeya on February 16, 2020

    Made with 2 lb of lamb. Drained the fat. No peas. No eggs in the mash

• Shepherd's pie with ground lamb

  • kjwright on July 07, 2011

    Excellent, excellent filling in this recipe. The topping is very good as written, though also enjoy the potato topping with nutmeg and cayenne added to taste.

• Short ribs braised in red wine with bacon, parsnips, and pearl onions

  • kbrooks on April 27, 2025

    Wonderful braise. Added carrots to the cooked garnish but otherwise made exactly as written.

• Simple pot roast

  • Liz_Young on November 18, 2024

    This was delicious!

• Skillet beef Stroganoff

  • kbrooks on April 27, 2025

    This is outstanding!

• Skillet chicken and couscous with fennel and orange

  • eve_kloepper on December 01, 2023

    Excellent one pot dish. Made this because I needed to use up some fennel,. Will definitely make again.

  • aeader on December 30, 2024

    Very good, and doable on a weeknight. I used 6 thighs, 2 fennel bulbs and an extra carrot. My only issue was that there was too much liquid at the end and the couscous was a little soggy. I'd decrease the chicken broth to 1 cup next time and decrease the cayenne to 1/8 tsp. Used 2 tsp dried cilantro (added when the couscous went in) because I didn't have fresh.

  • AllieTaylor on February 11, 2025

    This was excellent! Only one (sort-of) sub: didn’t have quite enough orange juice so made up the difference in chicken stock (used the full combined amount of 2 cups and it was fine). Recommended! Start to finish took about 2 hours (15 mins extra was my fault — should have been 1 ¾ hours). Will definitely make again and tell others about it…

• Skillet jambalaya

  • Laura on January 30, 2011

    This was easy to prepare and quite tasty, however it lacked the spiciness that I want in a jambalaya, even with the suggested addition of 1/4 tsp of cayenne -- not nearly enough. If it were spicier, I'd give it more stars. We were out of tabasco sauce, so we sprinkled it liberally with Sriracha, but tabasco would have been a better flavor accompaniment.

• Sopa seca

  • jvozoff on July 03, 2023

    This comes together very quickly and is delicious. I add chorizo, black beans, ground turkey, hamburger … whatever is on hand seasoned w/a bit of taco seasoning. A family favorite.

• Spanish-style braised lentils with sausage

  • PinchOfSalt on March 11, 2013

    Made it without the chicken broth (substituted water) and without adding salt. Used smoked sweet Spanish paprika (what I had), organic green lentils (365 brand, which claim to be a US-grown version of Puy lentils) and half the amount of kielbasa (from my meat CSA, it was what I had). Delicious and very quick/easy/unfussy to make. In other words, a perfect cool weather weeknight meal! The lentils were so flavorful that the 8 oz. of kielbasa was entirely sufficient. Definitely a keeper, and one might also claim that it is healthy given that the kielbasa was very lean.

  • aeader on January 02, 2025

    This was a winner for us. Easy and doable on a weeknight (total time about an hour, but most of it is hands-off time). I was able to prep a salad wash the dishes while it simmered. I cut 10 min off the first simmer for the lentils and they were ready. I served it over rice, but would have been nice with a piece of crusty bread. Family member who "doesn't like lentils" went back for seconds and asked me to make it again.

  • kbrooks on April 27, 2025

    This also works with bratwurst. Add a splash of dry sherry.

• Pot roast with mushrooms, tomatoes, and red wine (Stracotto)

  • kbrooks on April 27, 2025

    A lot of time and ingredients. Disappointing results.

• Stuffed shells with vodka-tomato cream sauce

  • kbrooks on May 03, 2026

    I've only made the lush lovely sauce which I used on potato ricotta gnocchi.

• Tamale pie

  • Rebeccajwj on April 30, 2022

    This is very yummy. I used a combo of chili powder and red hatch chili powder So it was hotter than probably they intended :-) but the flavors are very nice together.

  • kbrooks on April 27, 2025

    Very tasty. Really important to simmer the filling until liquid is evaporated or it. will be soggy . I use pepper jack cheese.

• Turkey and wild rice bake with dried cherries and pecans

  • aeader on October 23, 2022

    This was a bit time consuming to prepare, but it was delicious and makes a lot. I didn't have boil-in-bag rice so cooked 1c white rice separately from the wild rice. I sliced a 2lb boneless turkey breast as the recipe suggested in lieu of cutlets. I found that the sauce didn't thicken much even after 15 minutes at a strong simmer. I added it all anyway, fearing the rice would be soggy but it came out perfect. I baked in a 9x13 pyrex pan and it was filled to the very top with the sauce/rice mixture but luckily sauce didn't bubble over. Salt is added at multiple steps in this recipe, but I still found it a little undersalted at the end, so would probably salt the rice mixture more heavily next time. I would definitely make this again.

• Weekday scalloped potatoes

  • kbrooks on May 03, 2026

    Tasty basic scalloped potatoes.