Giveaway
20 Oct 2011

GIVEAWAY: Cook’s Illustrated Cookbook

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Cook's Illustrated Cookbook Giveaway

The Cook’s Illustrated Cookbook features 2,000 of the magazine’s greatest hits—hits that belong in the repertoire of any cook who cares about recipes that work. When Christopher Kimball launched Cook’s Illustrated in 1992, he envisioned a cooking magazine unlike any other—one where a mad-scientist approach to developing recipes would result in dishes that would never disappoint.  These recipes have now been gathered into a landmark cooking reference that spans appetizers, soups, salads, pasta, poultry, meat, yeasted breads, cookies, cakes, and much more.

In addition to foolproof recipes, the book highlights the test kitchen’s most ground-breaking work, such as why you should reach for a skillet rather than a wok when stir-frying; the best way to thaw meat; how to accurately test meat for doneness; why you should brine beans for best results; and more. With 2,000 recipes spanning every dish you’d ever want to make, the Cook’s Illustrated Cookbook will keep both novice and practiced cooks cooking for a lifetime and guarantees impeccable results.

“Cook’s Illustrated Cookbook” Giveaway

I have ONE copy of the Cook’s Illustrated Cookbook to give away to ONE gas•tron•o•my reader. To qualify for the giveaway, please leave a comment with your name and email address in the appropriate fields, and your answer to the following question: What is your favorite cookbook? For two more chances to win, follow me on Twitter (@GastronomyBlog) and/or on Facebook. Then, leave additional comments on this post to let me know.

I’ll be using a random number generator to choose the winner. All entries must be received by Friday, October 28, 2011 at midnight PST. Good luck! ** The contest is over. The winner is Kristin. Congrats! **

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242 thoughts on “GIVEAWAY: Cook’s Illustrated Cookbook”

  1. Hi Cathy;

    Through all the years, my standby cookbook has been the original Joy of Cooking. I would love to win the Cook’s Illustrated cookbook! Hope you are well and everything is good!
    xx
    Lizzy

  3. I have a fondness for Cook’s Illustrated Soups, Stews, and Chilies. It got me through a long, cold New England winter.

  4. I have to say Joy of cooking as well! My folks were great cooks, with a diverse library, but if I have a question – that’s the book I hit first!

    And OH, their quick wheatflake/oatmeal cookies, when made with fresh orange rind. Stunning!

  5. It’s tough choosing only one cookbook but I’m going with How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittmann.

  7. Well it may sound boring, but Joy Of Cooking remains an invaluable standard. But a Cooks Illustrated cookbook might replace. Every recipe they do is quintessential.

  8. AHH I love Cook’s Illustrated magazine! I have a zillion of them and love how the recipes always work and everything is so clearly explained.

  9. I had an original Joy Of Cooking from my mother. That had seen better days, so I got one of the 75th anniversary additions! Also, not sure if it counts, but the Food Network Magazine is actually a really good source of recipes! Thanks so much for having this great giveaway.

  10. Oh goodness I don’t think I have a favorite cook book. lol I’ve been mostly getting recipes from online. =)

  11. Hello!

    The Good Housekeeping Cookbook has been my kitchen bible since I moved into my first real apartment. I love it! But by no means do I use it exclusively, so I’d love to win this copy! *crosses fingers*

  13. How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman! Alternatively, the Momofuku cookbook is stunning and delicious.

  14. My favorite book is actually the America’s Test Kitchen (same people as cooks country). Made my wedding cake from a recipe in there. The coconut cake. So good! Almost everything else in there is amazing too. Very easy to follow. Hope this one is just as great.

  15. I love the Barefoot Contessa by Ina garten and I also love the heart of the Home book by Susan Branch.

  16. My current favorite is Ad Hoc at Home. It’s not the one I’ve cooked from the most, but I just love to flip through the pages and imagine I’m cooking from it 🙂

  18. My favorite cookbook is one my Aunt made for me when I got married. It contained many family recipes passed down from several generations.

  19. My favorite cookbook right now is Feeding the Whole Family by Cynthia Lair. So delicious and healthy!

  21. My favorite cookbook is the Complete America’s Test Kitchen cookbook. Everything we’ve made in it has been amazing. We’re excited to see what new recipes are in this one!

  23. I don’t have a “favorite” cookbook, per se, but a huge collection of receipes I’ve collected from dozens/hundreds of websites over the years, printed and put into several 3-ring binders. I also use receipes handed down on 3×5 cards from my mother, grandmother and great-grandmother.

  24. I have so many favorites! Out of all of them, though, I think my favorite is Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything. Aside from having good, solid recipes, I use it as a reference for all of my cooking questions.

  25. Cathy, I own this cookbook, so please don’t count my comment in the contest. I just wanted to tell everyone that this cookbook very well may take the place of “The Joy of Cooking” as the all-around cookbook that anyone will need.

    Cooks Illustrated has always been a cut above in regards to instruction. Their no-frills, bare bones, “just the facts ma’am” approach to cooking instruction is all you need to get it done right in the kitchen.

    For those of you who don’t win, I highly suggest picking this book up or putting it on your Christmas list this year. This book will rise to the top of your list of most used cookbooks. That’s a guarantee.

  26. My fave cookbook is The Best New Recipe from Cook’s Illustrated! All recipes are tried and true. For a niche cookbook, Bruce Weinstein’s The Ultimate Ice Cream Book has tons of no-fail recipes. Can always count on it.

  27. Hard to pick just one cookbook, but if I had to, Mark Bittman’s “How to cook everything”. Thanks for doing the giveaway.

  28. I’m also following you on Twitter now (my handle is @HanaasKitchen). Great blog! Glad you’re doing the giveaway otherwise I might not have found it 🙂

  29. Super hard to choose! — but I love D’Artagnan’s Glorious Game Cookbook. At home I eat a lot of venison, and of course, how can you go wrong with paté, foie gras, and terrines??

  30. I love the Sunset Cookbook and the Italian cookbook The Silver Spoon – I doesn’t dive into technique, but has great ideas for fresh, everyday recipes.

    I just started to follow you on Twitter, too! @bnrsso

  31. I used my Fannie Farmer cook book so much the first decade I was married to teach myself the basics of cooking that it is now in 3 pieces & missing half the cover. I now have a large collection from old to food network stars but I’ll always love that one

  33. Nigel Slater’s ‘The Kitchen Diaries’. I’m definitely the most intrigued by cookbooks published in the UK and Australia. My current favorites include anything published by Murdoch or 4th Editions, and particularly the new little series by Quadrille “New Voices in Food”.

  34. These days I mostly use the internet to find recipes, but a couple favorite books I have, are Cooking Light’s big recipe books, and a small fundraiser recipe book from my grandmother’s sorority in the ’60s. My favorite comfort-food spaghetti recipe comes from there, submitted by my grandma’s best friend. : )

  37. Great blog–I am glad I found you, and am following you on Twitter now too:) My favorite cookbook these days is Yotam Ottolenghi’s Plenty. The recipes are just astoundingly creative and delicious!

  38. My favorite cookbook is 1080 recipes by Simone and Ines Ortega. It is the bible for Spanish cooking!

  39. Currently I am loving using Alton Brown’s I’m Just Here for More Food for baking. I also use my ATK cookbook a lot for dinner ideas.

  43. Following on Twitter

    P.S. Aria is the best hotel in Vegas. I always buy the Aria scent sticks from the gift shop before I leave!

  51. Picking a favorite cookbook is like picking a favorite kid! I love them each in their own way. I turn to The Joy of cooking for lots of basics, Madhur Jaffrey’s world vegetarian for interesting and exotic side dishes (and my favorite naan recipe), Mosewood is super kitchie, Silver Palate has my favorite chicken liver pate and walnut bread recipes – I can’t possibly choose!

  52. My favorite cookbook HANDS DOWN is the Art of French Cooking. I received it as a Christmas present last year from my boyfriend and I was immediately thrust into the world of French Cooking. It has completely changed the way that approach cooking, not only because the food is absolutely amazing, but it also serves as a schoolbook. It’s taught me techniques I would probably only find in a French Culinary school. THE BEST Scrambled Eggs EVER.

  57. favorite cookbook is an old joy of cooking that my aunt gave me… 🙂 …love cooks illustrated too.

  60. America’s Test Kitchen and Cook’s Country provide some of the best recipies I have made! I would love to be the winner!

  61. Thank you for this opportunity! My favorite cookbook is “Food to Live By” (Earthbound Farm’s Organic Cookbook). Loaded with gorgeous pictures, amazing recipes, and sprinkled with classic cooking tips! My boyfriend is a chef-wanna-be and if I win this book I will be giving it to him for Christmas!

    Good luck everyone!

  62. I Love my 1975 edition of Joy of Cooking, but I might like Great Good Food by Julee Rosso even more the last few years. Maybe it’s because I know the recipes so well in JoC and still have to refer to GGF.

  63. The one I wrote for my family and friends with recipes from my grandparents and mom, called “Recipes from the Farm and Family”. Nothing beats the family recipes! And now I have a cook book to show for it. Most of the recipes are from the Italy.

  64. My favorite cookbook is the Betty Crocker New Picture Cook Book. It was my mom’s cookbook and has a 1961 copyright. It has great basic tips.

  66. Thomas Keller’s Ad Hoc at home is my current favorite.

    I’ll be following you on Twitter (flissplumeria).

  67. Asking me what my favorite cookbook is, is like asking me what my favorite child is. But if I had to choose, it would probably be an old, Italian cookbook that my grandmother sent me from Italy over a decade ago. The food is regional for Liguria, which is where we’re from. Wherever I go, however much time goes by, I have a part of our family’s heritage with me, via these recipes.

  68. My “currently” favorite cookbook is America’s Test Kitchen Family Cookbook. I would love to have another one of their cookbooks!

  72. I love so many cookbooks, but perhaps my favorite is my first: Julia Child’s The Way to Cook. Thank you for this opportunity to win another that I will most likely cherish as part of my cookbook collection if I win!

  74. My very first cookbook was the Pillsbury Cookbook, published in 1989. The cover is taped to the binding at this point and the pages all yellowed, but it basically taught me how to cook. Right now, my favorites are Urban Italian from Andrew Carmellini and The Flavor Bible from Page and Dornenburg, which is a dictionary of food parings!

  78. My all-time favorite is my newest one, Cook’s Illustrated “The New Best Recipe”. It’s invaluable!

  83. I don’t have a favorite cookbook! I need a good one. I tend to collect individual recipes from a variety of sources – I’ve never found ONE fave – maybe this one will become IT!!

  86. My favorite cookbook is the American Test Kitchen Family Cookbook. It is my go to cookbook!

  90. I don’t have a favorite cookbook yet, I’m hoping to make the Cook’s Illustrated my favorite! Joy of cooking gets the job done, but honestly I just thumb through my Cook’s Illustrated mags on a regular basis.

  91. Although I love Cook’s Illustrated The Best 30-minute Recipe, my favorite cookbook has to be Cakes from Scratch in Half the Time by Linda West Eckhardt and James Baigrie. My sister got this book about five years ago and the progression of birthday, holiday, and any day cakes it’s produced for my family since has been unbeatable.

  92. I love OnCooking by Susan Labensky and Alan Hause – step by step to becoming or cooking like a professional chef. Super thick and sells for a bargain! Love it.

  95. My favorite cookbook is “The Soul Of A New Cuisine”, by Marcus Samuelsson. It’s more than a cookbook. It is also one of the most culinarily diverse cook books out there.

  96. Wow! So many cookbooks…so little time. I must say my favorite is River Road Recipes by Junior League of Baton Rouge. Thanks for the chance to win the Cooks Illustrated Cookbook!

  97. I don’t really have a “favorite” cookbook just yet, but I know any A.T.K. recipe is my favorite.

  99. I love my good old-fashioned “Better Homes and Gardens” cookbook. There’s something about teh red and white gingham cover that makes me feel warm and fuzzy.

  102. I really like Nourishing Traditions, but I love my recipes from all the issues of cook country kitchen and cook’s illustrated magazines.

  103. My favorite is the Best Recipe from Cook’s Illustrated. It always seems to be the one I come back to for recipes.

  109. My favorite cookbook is the first one I was given at a bridal shower in 1969….Better Homes and Garden Cookbook. I still consult it for everything from deviled eggs to italian meatballs. I love your magazine! websites! and TV shows. I have more of your shows saved on my dvr than any other show!!

  110. My favorite cookbook is my own handwritten one filled with recipes from my Hungarian mother and grandmother.

  111. Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan…so many recipes that absolutely become staples in your kitchen! One of the best wedding gifts I received.

  114. Toss up between the joy of cooking, mastering the art of french cooking and america’s test kitchen complete cookbook. who can decide?!?!?!? that’s why i’d love yet another one to add to the mix 😉

  115. Right now my favorite cookbook is Cook’s Illustrated’s The Best Recipe. I really do consult it before I cook something new to find out what works and what didn’t in a recipe. Four stars!

    I already “liked” you on Facebook. I just followed you on Twitter @juliamaddoxnyc. Thanks!

  116. What a hard question – I collect Cookbooks! I used to have them contained to a 7 foot tall bookcase, I am 2 shelves beyond that now… About 7.5 Yards!

    I have tons of ethnic cookbooks, but if I am doing everyday “home cooking” I have books I use the Farm Journal’s Country Cookbook, and cross reference it with the Joy of Cooking, or Better Homes and Gardens (despite their horrible index and their use of crappy ingredients).

    I don’t believe in just using one cookbook. I like to compare the same recipe in three or more cookbooks, find out what the “base formula” is, and note common “variations” and then decide for myself what “variations” I want to use or come up with.

  117. I have so many cookbooks, but the one I actually use the most is this old multi volume Encyclopedia of Cookery from the 60’s or 70’s that my mom gave me. Best banana bread recipe ever!

  118. The NY Times is good because it has many very good bread recipes. But very high on my list is my fairly new, but quite used already Complete ATK TV Show 2011 Cookbook. I make the ciabatta bread almost 2×wk. I get rants/raves for the French Onion soup that starts by baking onions for 2½ hrs. The Beef Bourgandy is always a huge hit as are the Chocolate Chip Cookies which start w/ browned butter.

  120. ” Bull Cook and Authentic Historical Recipes and Practices ” by George Leonard Herter and Berthe E. Herter.First published in 1960 this cookbook has recipes from “Swedish Muskrat” to a “Portuguese Recipe From Before the Time of Christ for an Anchovy Cracker and Bread Spread”.Chapters included such as “Why it is Impossible for Modern Women to Bake Well” and ” In Case of a Hydrogen Bomb Attack You Must Know the Ways of the Wilderness to Survive” There is a whole section of classic drinks in this book such as “The Terrible Shame” and methods for making alcohol and wine such as a recipe for Carrot Wine. Wanna know how to clean a turtle ? It’s in there. A recipe for “Titty sauce Yams” ? It’s in there.
    I am absolutely serious. There is no stranger more entertaining informative book of historical (and hysterical) recipes in existence. Never mind that some of it is opinionated speculation. There are are some reals gems in this book.

  123. My favorite cookbook is the “MOOSEWOOD COOKBOOK”. Love it and have turned several friends on to the many fine recipes. thank for the giveaway offer.

  124. my favorite cookbooks are: my great grandmothers betty crocker cookbook. The most useful are anything from America test kitchen. :O)

  125. I can’t pick just one, but ones I use the most are Better Homes and Gardens Cook Book, Southern Living One Dish Meals, and several of the America’s Test Kitchen yearly cookbooks.

  126. I think my favorite cookbook is Irene Kuo’s The Key to Chinese cooking. I finally found recipes for some of my favorite dishes from when I visited China.

  127. I have a Joy of Cooking Book so old the binding has completely fallen apart. Have a huge collection of books for foods from other cultures. I know by the sounds of it that this book would be a great go to book, especially since it’s put together by people who have really done their homework. Thanks for this opportunity. Good luck everyone:)

  128. I don’t have any cookbooks right now, I just search online. Cook’s Country is my favorite TV show ever and I would LOVE this to be my first cookbook!

  129. Gotta go with Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Even if some of the recipes are a bit “fussy,” the technique you pick up is pretty great. Also, basically everything in it – terrines! roast duck! sauce Béarnaise! – sounds delicious.

  133. I just received The New Comfort Food by Saveur as a gift and am loving it so far. I also love the stories and recipes in Bon Appetit Y’all can’t wait to try the recipes.

  134. Hi. My go to is the Good Housekeeping-my old red checked one that I purchased after I married in ’65 had to be
    replaced several years ago. Often now use Paula Deen’s but for real know how, Cook’s recipes. Would love cookbook. Thanks for contest.

  135. Joy of Cooking is always a standby; but I also get ideas from food blogs and of course, Cooks Illustrated! 🙂

  137. America’s Test Kitchen Cookbook. I’ve tackled so many dishes in there I was scared to death to try before.

  140. You know my name! You know my e-mail, but here it is again (weezermonkey at gmail). I already follow you on Twitter. 🙂

    As for my fave cookbook, I have none…because I have no cookbooks. All the more reason I need this. LOL.

  141. Every cookbook that I buy becomes my favorite for a few months. I continually go back to my Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook for simple, practical recipes.

  142. My parents gave us The Joy of Cooking when we were married, 42 years ago. I now have about 150 more cookbooks since then, but The Joy is my “go to” when I stumble on a new cooking problem. Another cookbook that never gets back on the book shelf is America’s Test Kitchen’s Family Cookbook. Love this one and the corresponding t.v. shows.

  143. My fave is my first cookbook, the Moosewood Cookbook I got in the late 70s.
    It taught me more about food and veggie food more than any other has. It also has a charm, if not actual “innocence,” that occasionally summoned feelings of nostalgia for simpler times in my life.

  144. My favorite cookbook is any by Ina Garten, aka Barefoot Contessa. Everything I make from her books is great. They are simple and straight forward, with easy to find ingredients. Americas Test Kitchen is written in much the same way, but I own none yet.

  148. I would say that my favorite cookbook is The Barefoot Contessa Paris cookbook. It was the first “real” cookbook I ever got and helped demystify the cooking process for me. I love it!

  149. My favorite “traditional” cookbook would be like Claudia (above) – the good old red and white check Betty Crocker cookbook that was my nana’s.

    But truth be told, however, its my mom’s recipe box, which I inherited, filled with every family favorite that I treasure closest to my heart –
    WOW – I’d really love to win and start cooking from the new giveaway cookbook!!

  151. I have a lot of favorites but my “go to” books lately have been Barefoot Contessa series and Pioneer Woman. Also my entire library of ATK yearly companion books.

  158. The Kind Diet by Alicia Silverstone. It has changed my life AND the way I view food. Not to mention the recipes that help transition to a cruelty-free diet. I heart Cher!! =)

  160. My favorite cookbook is the ATK Family Cookbook. But recently I’ve been reaching for Andrea Nguyen’s Into the Vietnamese Kitchen quite often to make stuff for special family gatherings:)

  161. I use a weight watchers cookbook from 1996. It is simple and healty but I would love a copy of yours.

  162. Does it count if I already follow you on twitter??

    My favorite cookbook is The Essential Vegetarian Cookbook. Close second, The Sweet Life in Paris, if you can call it a cookbook.

  163. Though I’m not a vegetarian, my favorite cookbook is Rebar, from a small restaurant in Victoria, BC. Lovely!

  164. My favorite cookbook is the first one I got when I was 6, Fanny at Chez Panisse. I thought pesto was the coolest thing ever!

  165. Hmm, there are so many cookbooks I love, but if I have to choose one to share it would be a cookbook I bought years ago for my dad when I was a kid. It’s called “Dad’s Own Cookbook” and the recipes are great and always come out delicious!

  166. my fav cookbook is any one of the annual Cook’s Illustrated books – I have them back to 1993 (which I think is the first year), and look forward to each new one coming out!

  168. The first cookbook that I ever actively purchased was Cook’s Illustrated Slow Cooker Revolution. I read the magazines religiously, but up until that one, there hasnt been a cookbook that was completely worth my time and money. Now, I want the entire Cooks Illustrated series! Thanks for your giveaway!

  170. My favorite is one that was put together of favorite family recipes years and years ago by my girl scout troop.

  172. I love the old fashioned Betty Crocker’s (from the 50s-70s) that my mother has. They’re classics!

  176. Love my old Betty Crocker. Still provides the basic structure for so many things I make. Great Good Food similarly provides a framework for a number of things I make. Joy of Cooking, one of the older ones, for answering some questions. My print Cook’s Illustrated magazines for a number of things I make again & again. Would love this cookbook as my new basic!

  178. Either my Joy of Cooking or Betty Crocker cookbooks. I don’t know where I would be without them!

  180. I like my 1956 Pilbury cookbook. I don’t really collect cookbooks, I collect recipes from everyone and everywhere.

  182. I recently purchased Slow Cooker Revolution by America’s Test Kitchen and it is my favorite.
    The recipes are easy to make and absolutely delicious!

  199. My favorite cookbook changes frequently, but a current fave is Forgotten Skills of Cooking. Great book!!

  205. The New Farm Vegetarian Cookbook, full of old hippy vegan recipes that are simple but satisfying. Soy Not Oi! was pretty good too. And all the Diana Kennedy books are awesome.

  207. Probably The Good Housekeeping Illustrated Cookbook, but in actuality it would be whichever cookbook is in my hand at the moment.

  210. America’s Home Cooking Comfort Food. Recipes on exactly that–comfort food. What could be better?

  212. When I left home my mom gave me her well-wourn copy of Talk About Good, cookbook from the Junior League of LaFayette LA. Everything in it is great.

  213. Although Adhoc isn’t the easiest cookbook to follow, it’s by far one of the more beautiful and rewarding.
    Crossing my fingers to win!! xx

  214. Followed you on Twitter! Oh and my fave cookbook is probably Martha Stewart anything…I know controversial but I’ve always loved her.

  217. The Complete Book of Baking, but lately I have been using America’s Test Kitchen online.

  218. My favorite all time cookbook is my grandmother’s little green tin recipe box (which I recently aquired). Currently, I’m also loving Alice Waters – Art of Simple Food.

  223. I like the Baking from My Home to Yours by Greenspan, because I can bake something in this book and it actually turns out edible.

  225. I was surprised to discover that I really loved to refer to the recipes in the Blue Ribbon Cookbook. I love to cook and I am a vietnamese girl that can (and enjoy) Asian food everyday but when I married Tom, who is from Indiana and adores his steak and red wine, I wanted to make good comfortable food that was not as time consuming as beautiful classic french dishes or easy as simple pasta dishes. My library is home to some greats: Zuni Cafe cookbook. Ina Garten. Alice Waters’s Simple Food, Jacque Pepin, Mark Bittman, Julia Childs…but Blue Ribbon meals have been my favorite to make!

  230. Hi Cathy!

    I love the ATK Family Cookbook. It is truly the rare cookbook that I know will give me a delicious recipe everytime.

    Angeli

  231. I don’t have any cookbooks, but go to Tastespotting.com for the cream of the crop recipes. I love pictures of food 🙂

  234. Love cookbooks with illustrations! My favorite has to be the Zuni Cafe cookbook – simple with explosive flavors!

  235. My current obsession is Ad Hoc at Home – surprisingly approachable, amazing recipes. I’m determined to cook my way through every recipe. A Cook’s Illustrated cookbook might actually replace the stacks of Cook’s Illustrated magazines on my bookshelf, though!

  236. I’ve been working my way through the Essentials of Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazen and have yet to be disappointed with a recipe

  240. Pingback: My Favorite Cookbook

  241. My favorite cookbook is The America’s Test Kitchen Family Cookbook (and their smaller volume Cooking for Two 2009), though I love all my cookbooks. I only have 5 and am cooking my way through all of the recipes. I love King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking especially for breads and oat-based desserts, Ben & Jerry’s dessert book for ice cream flavors, The Mixer Bible (the most hit or miss of the bunch, but some recipes are amazing) and Barefoot Contessa’s french book. I also have about 5-7 each of Cook’s Illustrated and Cook’s Country recipes. I’ve made over half of my recipes and maybe in another 5 years I’ll be done! Ah, and I LOVE perusing http://www.cooksillustrated.com and http://www.cookscountry.com for new recipes too!

  242. Oop- Meant to say I also have about 5-7 each of Cook’s Illustrated and Cook’s Country magazines 🙂 Love them!!!

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