Perfect Vegetables: A Best Recipe Classic by Cook's Illustrated Magazine

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    • Categories: Dressings & marinades; Vegetarian
    • Ingredients: tarragon; store-cupboard ingredients
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    • Categories: Dressings & marinades; Vegetarian
    • Ingredients: lemons; mint; shallots; honey
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    • Categories: Side dish; Vegetarian
    • Ingredients: baby artichokes; dry mustard; ground cayenne pepper
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    • Categories: Side dish
    • Ingredients: artichokes; shallots; dry white wine; thyme
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    • Categories: Side dish; Vegetarian
    • Ingredients: artichokes; canned tomatoes; dry white wine; rosemary
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    • Categories: Side dish; Vegetarian
    • Ingredients: rice vinegar; hoisin sauce; soy sauce; fresh ginger; sesame oil; asparagus
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    • Categories: Side dish; Vegetarian
    • Ingredients: limes; fresh ginger; cilantro; asparagus
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    • Categories: Side dish; Vegetarian
    • Ingredients: roasted red peppers; parsley; asparagus
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    • Categories: Stir-fries; Side dish
    • Ingredients: oyster sauce; soy sauce; sesame oil; dry sherry; peanut oil; red peppers; asparagus; fresh ginger
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    • Categories: Stir-fries; Side dish
    • Ingredients: dry sherry; soy sauce; sesame oil; fermented black beans; peanut oil; asparagus; fresh ginger; scallions
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    • Categories: Stir-fries; Side dish; Vegetarian
    • Ingredients: soy sauce; maple syrup; dry sherry; peanut oil; asparagus; scallions
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    • Categories: Side dish; Vegetarian
    • Ingredients: balsamic vinegar; asparagus; Parmesan cheese
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    • Categories: Side dish; Vegetarian
    • Ingredients: scallions; fresh ginger; sesame oil; soy sauce; limes; honey; asparagus
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    • Categories: Side dish
    • Ingredients: mascarpone cheese; prosciutto; asparagus
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    • Categories: Side dish; Vegetarian
    • Ingredients: sesame seeds; tahini; oranges; rice vinegar; soy sauce; fresh ginger; sesame oil; asparagus
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    • Categories: Salads; Appetizers / starters; Vegetarian
    • Ingredients: asparagus; shallots; cornichons; capers; tarragon; mesclun; eggs
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    • Categories: Salads; Appetizers / starters; Vegetarian
    • Ingredients: red peppers; asparagus; shallots; sherry vinegar; spinach; goat cheese
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Notes about this book

Notes about Recipes in this book

  • Master recipe for oven-fried sweet potatoes

    • louie734 on March 26, 2013

      The best, the only way to enjoy successful sweet potato fries. We've made these countless times, sometimes tossed with spices before roasting, and sometimes exactly as the recipe instructs.

  • Garlicky oven-fried sweet potatoes with chipotle mayonnaise

    • louie734 on March 26, 2013

      The only true alteration in this variation is the addition of a yummy dipping sauce.

  • Master recipe for candied sweet potatoes

    • louie734 on March 26, 2013

      Stupid good. Yum.

  • Assertive greens with kielbasa

    • Laura on December 05, 2011

      Pg. 142. This is really good and fairly simple to prepare.

  • Stuffed bell peppers with spiced lamb, currants, and feta cheese

    • Laura on November 05, 2012

      Pg. 195. Overall, I would rate this ok, but not great. I have to admit that I had 16 oz. of ground lamb when the recipe called for 12 oz. Due to inattention on my part, I did not increase the spices and other ingredients accordingly, so that may have had an impact on the overall flavor. I used 4 fairly large red peppers and I found that the cook times were way too short -- the peppers were still fairly tough after the recommended 30 minutes of bake time. I think you could easily increase the cook time to 45 minutes. The cashews did not add much and I would skip them next time.

  • Master recipe for creamed corn

    • Lindalib on September 15, 2012

      Excellent. So much better than canned creamed corn. We did not use shallots or any substitutes. It still was tasty. Next time, we'll try shallots. Also, we only used 4 ears of corn instead of 5 and cut down on the heavy cream. However, we should have used less cream. It was a bit liquity so we added corn starch. This was the cook's fault, not the recipies'.

  • Broiled eggplant with herbed goat cheese

    • Lindalib on September 13, 2012

      Easy and delicious. Doesn't taste like eggplant. The eggplant and goat cheese mix flavors tended to meld into something unique. Best to spread goat cheese mix by pressing with fingers, as a tool was difficult to use and tended to cause tearing of the eggplant.

  • Mashed sweet potatoes with sesame and scallions

    • Lindalib on October 31, 2014

      Unusual flavors and (new-to-me) cooking method,, but these were really good. If you prefer your sweet potatoes more savory than sweet, this is a recipe to try.

  • Stir-fried asparagus with black bean sauce

    • lorloff on August 28, 2021

      I made this using very good imported Chinese rice wine instead of sherry and used imported Szechuan black bean paste. I also added fresh sliced shiitake mushrooms. It had great flavor. Will make again. Highly recommended

  • Cauliflower gratin with ham and cheddar

    • Emily Hope on December 03, 2010

      Nice way to use cauliflower in a main dish. Could not bring ourselves to use all cream--used mostly milk and 1/4 cup cream. Added an extra tablespoon of flour in the roux to compensate (don't know if I'd do this again). Made the florets too big (bigger than they said), which wasn't ideal--do them smaller next time. Maybe more cheese in the sauce? Maybe slightly more sauce?

  • Roasted kohlrabi with crunchy seeds

    • eve_kloepper on February 06, 2012

      I love kohlrabi anyway, and this is a first rate recipe. Utterly delicious and easy to prepare.

  • Sauteed potatoes with rosemary and garlic

    • eve_kloepper on May 26, 2013

      fantastic, even with less oil than asked for. will definitely become a standard in my house.

  • Master recipe for braised green beans

    • jenmacgregor18 on April 02, 2018

      I made this years ago and I remembered we did like them. I tried them again and wow, for such a simple dish, they're great. The shallot is sauteed in olive oil & it lent a little sweetness. I used oregano rather than thyme and vegetable bouillon instead of chicken this time. And I added a little butter too. I made them ahead for Easter potluck and they reheated very well.

  • Master recipe for roasted carrots

    • jenmacgregor18 on May 14, 2018

      straightforward & quick. they use baby carrots. heed their advice to be sure to buy a bag with no extra moisture inside, if that's even possible. i tried; but they all were a little damp. I dried them off as best I could; but the carrots really never caramelized. They recommend against using regular bagged carrots ("too woody"). I may try just the same.

  • Asparagus, red pepper, and spinach salad with goat cheese

    • Analyze on March 09, 2019

      We really like this recipe! I've made it twice now. You make a vinaigrette that's tossed with spinach for the bottom layer of the salad. Atop that is a layer of sauteed bell pepper, asparagus, and shallot that's tossed with the rest of the vinaigrette. Then you sprinkle that with goat cheese. So the presentation is nice, and the flavors are yummy.

  • Spicy sauteed shredded zucchini or summer squash with anchovy

    • CynthiasCooking on September 09, 2020

      I made this only because I had a lot of zucchini coming out of the garden that wanted to be used, and also happened to have some leftover anchovies from a previous recipe. My assessment was that I wasn't going to be drawn to make it again, but I liked it enough that I'd make it again if I needed to use up anchovies and had some zucchini at hand. My husband thought it tasted weird but agreed that he'd be happy enough to eat it again if we were using up anchovies and zucchini. I'd like to wring the zuc a little drier and run the pan a little hotter, which I think would be a slight improvement next time. With the anchovy I expected it to have a sort of Italian taste, but instead the combination of the pepper and the anchovie was reminiscent of some Thai flavor combinations I've experienced.

  • Broiled eggplant with sesame-miso glaze

    • breakthroughc on March 20, 2023

      The glaze was delicious in this dish. Easy recipe to serve eggplant on it’s own, My eggplant stuck to the sheet pan so next time I will use a piece of parchment paper,

  • Master recipe for steamed artichokes

    • breakthroughc on May 24, 2021

      I make this recipe every spring when I get artichokes in my produce box,. It works great, but you will have to add water several times and watch your pan carefully as it easy to boil it dry. I heat the tea kettle to have hot water to add handily.

  • Mustard tarragon vinaigrette

    • breakthroughc on May 24, 2021

      I like this as a dipping sauce for artichokes. I add 2 Tablespoons mayonnaise to thicken it up and make it creamy. Dried tarragon works fine.

  • Cabbage and red pepper salad with lime-cumin vinaigrette

    • Njacovina on February 13, 2021

      I've made this as written a few times and really like it. Today, I added 2 T mayo and thought it was even better.

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  • ISBN 10 0936184698
  • ISBN 13 9780936184692
  • Published Jul 01 2005
  • Format Hardcover
  • Language English
  • Countries United States
  • Publisher Cook's Illustrated
  • Imprint Cook's Illustrated

Publishers Text

The test cooks at Cook's Illustrated are hard at work, testing thousands of vegetable recipes in order to bring you the very best techniques and flavor combinations. This summer, the results of a full year of work in the test kitchen will be available in the upcoming Best Recipe Series cookbook, Perfect Vegetables.

Inside Perfect Vegetables you'll learn how to prepare and cook the wide array of vegetables now available in markets--everything form artichokes and asparagus to winter squash and zucchini. Included are 300 recipes (all are new to The Best Recipe Series) for favorite versions of all-American classics such as twice-baked potatoes and glazed carrots, as well as more unusual recipes such as stir-fried green beans and roasted beets. You'll find more than 200 hand-drawn illustrations demonstrating cooking techniques in step-by-step detail, dozens of equipment testings and blind tastings of supermarket ingredients, and 16 pages of full-color photographs.



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