American Classics: More Than 300 Exhaustively Tested Recipes For America's Favorite Dishes by Cook's Illustrated Magazine

  • Quick chicken stock

    from American Classics: More Than 300 Exhaustively Tested Recipes For America's Favorite Dishes American Classics by Cook's Illustrated Magazine

    • Categories: Stocks; American
    • Ingredients: chicken legs; chicken wings; bay leaves
    show

  • Show all Recipes...

Notes about this book

  • Eat Your Books

    2003 International Association of Culinary Professionals Award Winner

Notes about Recipes in this book

  • U.S. Senate navy bean soup

    • IowanCorn on February 03, 2025

      Tasty, although rather than following the long cooking time on the stovetop, I made it in an electric pressure cooker. To do so, I cut the water amount in half, and put everything together at the beginning. It worked out nicely.

  • Cobb salad

    • mharriman on July 28, 2019

      We liked this salad. It was straightforward and easy to put together at the end of a very busy, hot summer day. I used rotisserie chicken meat, omitted the bacon, and used chives from our herb garden. The chives gave the salad a visually festive touch. The homemade EVOO, mustard, and red wine vinegar dressing was just right. We also liked the crumbled Roquefort cheese topping. Served with a French baguette.

  • Candied sweet potatoes

    • IowanCorn on November 29, 2024

      An easy and tasty recipe. Basically a one pot dish, with just the right amount of spice and sweetness, and with the sweet potatoes not over- or underdone. A keeper for the holidays.

  • Fried green tomatoes

    • Acarroll on June 02, 2024

      Solid recipe. Used our deep-fryer.

  • Red beans and rice

    • Sfphotocraft on June 12, 2018

      Perfect Red Beans and rice, the rice tips are helpful for fluffy southern style rice. Very New Orleans taste!

  • Oven-roasted spareribs

    • nadiam1000 on July 05, 2017

      Used this oven method for some baby back ribs, more than the ingredients. I had a barbeque seasoning and a sampler of 4 Heinz BBQ I wanted to try. Made 3 racks and they came out tender and flavorful without the grill.

  • Best roast turkey

    • IowanCorn on November 29, 2024

      The turkey remained juicy, a gorgeous brown color at the skin and well flavored, as promised, but the turning the bird at the 45 minute mark then the next two 15 minutes was interesting. It is easier to use a wad of paper towels as written so the turkey doesn't slip on you. If you're going to do this as written, better truss the bird with butcher's twine as shown, as having the legs and wings tied to the body made turning the bird much easier. I didn't have a container big enough for the the brining, so I skipped that step but the turkey didn't dry out either, so it may not be as necessary as explained.

  • Broiled salmon with mustard and crisp potato crust

    • springandfall on December 02, 2017

      Had no potato chips on hand, so substituted Japanese rice crackers. It worked well. A good, straightforward recipe.

  • Pan-fried trout

    • louie734 on January 03, 2015

      Nice and easy in the cast-iron skillet.

  • 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.

  • Fried oysters

    • mharriman on July 14, 2018

      My go-to recipe when I’m in the mood for fried oysters. It’s easy and quick, and I like the idea of putting the coated oysters on a rack before frying them. That keeps them from sticking. Served with roasted red garlic potatoes and a green salad.

  • Sloppy Joes

    • Sfphotocraft on June 12, 2018

      Delicious and easy Sloppy Joe recipe. Adding brown sugar is a nice addition to the recipe that most recipes don’t have.

  • Cranberry nut bread

    • IowanCorn on December 24, 2022

      This is my go-to recipe for cranberry nut bread! I like the flavor of orange juice with the cranberries, and it has just the right amount of nuts for a good crunch. I highly recommend this recipe if you're looking for gift giving or holiday dinner.

  • Apple crisp

    • louie734 on November 13, 2024

      This is the ultimate, classic apple crisp. I add oats, usually by swapping out 50% of the nuts, which usually are walnuts. I never peel the apples, instead I cut wedges, then cut the wedges crosswise into thirds, so the peel is in small squares. Apples of choice this year were Macs.

You must Create an Account or Sign In to add a note to this book.

Reviews about this book

This book does not currently have any reviews.

  • ISBN 10 0936184558
  • ISBN 13 9780936184555
  • Published Jun 02 2005
  • Format Hardcover
  • Language English
  • Countries United States
  • Publisher Cook's Illustrated
  • Imprint Cook's Illustrated

Publishers Text

2003 IACP Award Winner! American Category!

The Best Recipe: American Classics, the fourth title in the Cook's Illustrated The Best Recipe cookbook series, continues the Cook's Illustrated quest for the Best in providing foolproof recipes for America's favorite dishes. The editors of Cook's Illustrated, known for their obsessive recipe, cookware, and technique testing, tested thousands of recipe variations to yield these 220 versions of American classics. Recipes include regional dishes (gumbo, cioppino, Philly cheese steaks, Boston baked beans), down-home dishes (chicken pot pie, smothered pork chops, tamale pie, ranch dressing, buffalo wings) as well as updated restaurant classics (waldorf salad, Parker House rolls, banana foster).

Also included are dozens of equipment recommendations and ingredient testing results. This volume is sure to provide cooks of all abilities with what they want--a comprehensive collection of the best recipes that help to define classic American cuisine.

Other cookbooks by this author