No-Fail Zone: Cook's Illustrated

Isn't it refreshing in today's world when a [fill in the blank] does what is says it will do? A company that delivers on time, or a soap scum remover that actually removes soap scum. Well, the Cook's Illustrated brand is one of those promise keepers. America's Test Kitchen publishes Cook's Illustrated, and not only do they test every recipe thoroughly until The Best Version can be found, they also test equipment and brand-name ingredients in order to suggest purchases, similar to Consumer Reports.


My favorite cookbook of the bunch is their comprehensive (890 pages) Cook's Illustrated Cookbook: 2,000 Recipes from 20 Years of Recipes From America's Most Trusted Food Magazine (left). Normally I dislike cookbooks without photos, but this book does have occasional illustrations (hence the title). Also, I generally don't care about the science behind why this recipe is superior over all others, but some explanations can be insightful. Admittedly, some of their methods can be fussy: just their chocolate chip cookie or banana bread recipes are a bit more involved than most, but I have yet to find a recipe of theirs that does not come through. Ultimately, every recipe I have tried from any of the America's Test Kitchen venues (show on PBS, Cook's Illustrated magazine, Cook's Country magazine or cookbooks) is consistently good.

The great thing about this is, if you can read, measure, and generally follow directions, you're guaranteed to gain compliments on your finished products when you have the guidance of a Cook's Illustrated recipe. I just made the Cheese & Ham Impossible Pie from the February/March issue of Cook's Country and it was perfect, which I do not take credit for.

Magazine-aholic: Real Simple

Hi, my name is Linda and I'm a magazine-aholic. One rag that fuels my addiction is Real Simple.

Real Simple (RS) is one of the most aesthetically pleasing magazines around. The covers are not crowded with headlines in crazy fonts and the articles are laid out skillfully while the photography is not overly fussy or pretentious.

But, enough about it's looks-- it's also got brains too: RS has extremely useful and relevant content. It consistently covers wide-ranging topics, besides the requisite features on beauty products and fashion. The product reviews are varied (from vacuums to sports bras) and well thought-out, they don't shy away from covering money issues, and the recipes have an attainable ingredient list.


The "Life Lessons" segement icludes a manners advice column and a guest essay each month on varying topics that, coincidently, relate to life lessons. "The Guide" covers fashion, beauty, health, home, and money. A popular featurette they've had for years is "New Uses for Old Things" where they suggest uses for common products that aren't, maybe, obvious. For example: use an empty and cleaned ketchup bottle to pour pancake batter on the griddle, use a toothbrush to remove the silk from corn cobs, or snap a photo with your digital camera of the map you need to navigate in a strange city-- you won't let on that you're a tourist by taking out your atlas and it's less cumbersome.

What is refreshing about this women's magazine is that it's not condescending. Let's just say that there has never been an article about how to get, keep, or satisfy your man. The editors and writers accomplished what they set out to do 10 years ago: create a simple (but not simplistic) magazine that deals with real everyday issues.

The library subscribes to this magazine. The current issue may not be checked out, however we have plenty of comfortable seating. Older issues may be checked out for 2 weeks.
Find it in the catalog!
Checkout the Real Simple website