America's Test Kitchen - General Discussion

[annzeepark914]

I've always liked Julia. She doesn't seem to be snarky, like somebody else on the show. Haven't seen the extensions but I wish she had a really good hairdresser & clothes consultant.  

[Janc]

screenshot: 

[freddi]

I still have not seen these recent episodes -- I watch Create for both shows, so the current season takes a little longer to get over there.  So thank you for the photograph.  I have to agree that whoever styles Julia and Bridget generally is not doing them any favors at all.  A more relaxed style would suit them fine, as it did when they had more of a supporting role.  They have seemed over-coiffed ever since they became the main hosts.  

[Yeah No]

Well, this explains why on the intro to the new season of ATK, Julia's hair is in a pony tail, meanwhile the episodes still show her with the short hair.  That had been confounding me for weeks.  I was going to bring it up here but then I saw the new Cook's Country episode and realized she had extensions.

I hate them too, but I did like the way Bridget looked on that episode.  Her face looked much better than I'd seen her in recent years.  On her the makeup changes were a good thing.  She had been looking puffy and pasty-faced for a few years.  In fact Mr. Yeah No and I wondered if she was having medical issues.

I know this is probably an unpopular opinion but I don't like the new intro to CC nor do I like the new music (not arguing that they needed new music, just not that music).  It looks like either they or the producers want the two of them to look like twins between the outfits and the hair.  I don't know why but I preferred both of them the way they were years ago, both in style and in personality.  I agree that they both feel over-styled or over-produced or something.

[dubbel zout]

I saw an episode of the new CC season, and I agree with everyone on Julia's extensions. However, I don't watch this for grooming tips, so I don't care what she does. 

I also don't like the new theme music.

That aside, the brisket they made looked AMAZING. I wish they'd told you where to buy a whole brisket. Can you get it at the supermarket? Do you need to order it special from a butcher?

I was surprised how (relatively) easy the whole thing was, especially for CC/ATK. There's no way I'll ever be able to do this, but feel free to invite me if you do! 

[Bastet]

3 hours ago, dubbel zout said:

That aside, the brisket they made looked AMAZING. I wish they'd told you where to buy a whole brisket. Can you get it at the supermarket? Do you need to order it special from a butcher?

The flat cut is readily available at supermarkets here, but I'm not sure about a whole (I've never looked for one, but it seems as if something that large would catch my attention).  A quick internet search suggested Costco, Smart & Final, and Whole Foods as sources for whole brisket, but I'm sure even in areas with those stores it varies as to if and when it's stocked.  I checked the website for my local Whole Foods out of curiosity, and whole brisket is a suggested search term, but only the flat cut was listed when the available results were brought up.  

[biakbiak]

I have a friend who is a butcher at Whole Foods and they usually get the whole brisket and break it down so if you ask they will sell it to you if they have them and they will order them for you.

[Terrafamilia]

I'm missing the old CC theme music. And I don't really care for bluegrass usually.

[StatisticalOutlier]

Y'all watch the intro?  I FF right past it, and watch the whole thing on 1.3 speed.

I don't know if it's a current episode, but they did a tasting of peanut butter and picked the Skippy that has sugar in it.  Now, they were doing crunchy, and I've never tried Skippy crunchy, but every peanut butter I've tried that has sugar in it tastes terrible to me.  Like granola cereals that pile on the sugar.  They taste unnatural.

I couldn't believe Bridget picked that one.

I'm not a foe of sugar; in fact, I love the stuff.  I'm happy to put a pile of it on shredded wheat, and like my tea so sweet it makes my teeth hurt.  But peanut butter with sugar in it is strictly for mousetraps as far as I'm concerned.

[annzeepark914]

Do they do still have that banjo strumming 3 times to bridge the change in time/scenes?  That was like fingernails on a blackboard for me. 

[Bastet]

That crunchy peanut butter taste testing was one of my favorites, because her reaction was exactly mine: I buy one that is just peanuts and salt, but what I really like is the Skippy.

In fact, since then, I have gone back to Skippy; I hardly ever eat peanut butter anyway, so I am perfectly content with the small amount of extra sugar and oil I am consuming per year in exchange for the taste I want when a peanut butter toast (or spoonful of peanut butter straight from the jar) craving hits.

[annzeepark914]

On 9/21/2019 at 8:23 PM, Terrafamilia said:

Error.

Edited September 26, 2019 by annzeepark914

[buttersister]

My brother, the peanut butter lover, grew up on Skippy and Jif, but even he’s gone to Kirklands’s organic creamy. I cook with that pb, so no added sugar and junk oil for me. I know ATK pushes taste over other factors, but add sugar or extra salt/fat to anything and watch what people who grew up with it think. Disappointing. If I still thought they were the harbinger of the best these days.

[biakbiak]

5 minutes ago, buttersister said:

but add sugar or extra salt/fat to anything and watch what people who grew up with it think.

Yeah imitation vanilla still wins blind taste tests, sense memory is a hell of a thing.

[BigBingerBro]

10 hours ago, annzeepark914 said:

Do they do still have that banjo strumming 3 times to bridge the change in time/scenes?  That was like fingernails on a blackboard for me. 

Nope, it's now a more melodious riff taken from the new opening tune.

[Yeah No]

I actually liked the "pasta fazool" recipe and felt it wasn't too different from my Italian grandma's, down to no tomatoes and just a little tomato paste.  I don't remember adding that much basil though.  She just put a little.  I liked the idea of pureeing one of the cans of beans in the food processor.  Grandma used to mash some of them with a potato masher after putting them in the pot, but this works too.  I remember I got used to eating it with a smoky taste because when I used to make it back in the day it wasn't so easy to find pancetta, plus I was relatively poor and it was expensive in the Italian delis, so I just used regular American smoked bacon.  I think I'm going to make this recipe. 

Oh - And I just remembered this - Grandma used only one can of broth and one can of water.  Somehow that seemed like the right proportion so it didn't taste too chicken-y.

Edited September 27, 2019 by Yeah No

[AllAboutMBTV]

Back to peanut butter briefly: I buy Skippy Natural Super Chunk "peanut butter spread." It does have sugar and palm oil but no high-fructose corn syrup. And it's very crunchy.

I need to try Cook's Country's drop meatballs.

[dubbel zout]

I used to buy Jif to bake with, because years ago ATK said it gave a stronger peanut flavor, but now I just use Skippy Super Chunk for everything. I hate stirring in oil, and I also don't like the thinner consistency of natural peanut butters.

Loved Bridget's air quotes around "two hours and fifteen minutes" when referring to the cooling period for the food processor coffee cake. For a cake like that, I don't know why you can't eat it almost as soon as it's out of the oven. All you really need it to do is set a bit so it doesn't break/collapse when you remove it from the pan, if you even want to do that. Warm coffee cake is a delight!

[biakbiak]

I wonder if they used to have a rule about visible tattoos, I noticed two of the new chefs have visible sleeves. Hawaiian Mac salad is way to sweet for me but I will make the fried chicken.

[Mondrianyone]

I think we're several weeks behind on the new season.  I saw Julia's much-discussed extensions for the first time last week.

This past weekend they did a Chicago thin-crust pizza, which looked very good to this native-born NYer who thinks that Chicago deep-dish is a crime against humanity.  Coincidentally, I just got around to replacing our last broken pizza stone with a bigger new one, and I was thinking of christening it with this recipe.  Has anyone here tried it yet?

BTW, I really like Bryan Roof, the chef who demoed the pizza.  He has a great sense of humor, and I always want to make everything he cooks.

[BigBingerBro]

I hate the new opening to Cooks Country.  It just doesn't have the same appeal.  I know things need to change and evolve, but I would have much preferred they kept the same style music.

I'm surprised that they are still using an audience for the taste-test segments.  They always mention that the studio audience taste-tested the item they are showing.  I wish they would show a  bit of that.

[annzeepark914]

3 hours ago, Mondrianyone said:

I think we're several weeks behind on the new season.  I saw Julia's much-discussed extensions for the first time last week.

This past weekend they did a Chicago thin-crust pizza, which looked very good to this native-born NYer who thinks that Chicago deep-dish is a crime against humanity.  Coincidentally, I just got around to replacing our last broken pizza stone with a bigger new one, and I was thinking of christening it with this recipe.  Has anyone here tried it yet?

BTW, I really like Bryan Roof, the chef who demoed the pizza.  He has a great sense of humor, and I always want to make everything he cooks.

Jon Stewart said that Chicago deep dish pizza is really "pizza casserole". 

[mishy]

On 10/7/2019 at 8:52 PM, BigBingerBro said:

I hate the new opening to Cooks Country.  It just doesn't have the same appeal.  I know things need to change and evolve, but I would have much preferred they kept the same style music.

I'm surprised that they are still using an audience for the taste-test segments.  They always mention that the studio audience taste-tested the item they are showing.  I wish they would show a  bit of that.

I know you aren't the only one who has mentioned this but am I the only one who doesn't care about the opening music? If I've recorded the show I just fast forward to the segment and if I am watching live it doesn't even phase me enough to hit mute.

I do agree though that I would like to see a little background on the audience testing on Cooks Country if they are going through the trouble of having them there. My preference for whatever reason is to see Bridget in the tastings on ATC or CC, I don't know why but sometimes Julia irritates me.

[Mittengirl]

Am I the only one who can’t remember which blond host is which?  Bridget is the one who used to have shortish hair, right?

[Mondrianyone]

23 minutes ago, Mittengirl said:

Bridget is the one who used to have shortish hair, right?

Other way around.  Julia's the one who used to have short hair.  Bridget's has always been on the longish side.

[StatisticalOutlier]

I loved Bridget's horror at choosing the reduced fat kettle chips.  I'd feel the same way, except Jack explained that they sling the fat off in a centrifuge--it's not like they add a bunch of sugar to make up for taking out fat, which really should be a crime.  Besides, I thought fat wasn't the devil any more.

I'll quibble with their arithmetic, though.  They said she could eat 40% more chips because they have 40% less fat.  I think she can actually eat 66.666% more chips.  Here's my work:

Assume 100 units (of fat or whatever) is normal.  40% less than that is 60 units.

To get back to 100 units...

60x = 100

x = 100/60

x=1.666

I'm not sure she should know this, though, considering how excited she was when she thought she could eat 40% more. 

On 10/7/2019 at 10:28 PM, annzeepark914 said:

Jon Stewart said that Chicago deep dish pizza is really "pizza casserole". 

Except it has a bunch of dough, much of it undercooked.  I love the stuff, but I'm an outlier because I generally don't like any toppings other than cheese and sauce on my pizza, so the dough is prominent, and I like it rare.

[BigBingerBro]

The Hawaiian Macaroni salad looked really good.  I am definitely going to try it.  I didn't care for the new lady that presented it with Julia.  She seemed to tick all the boxes for pulling in a "younger" audience.  I miss Becky, I hope she's still there.

[MerBearHou]

16 minutes ago, BigBingerBro said:

The Hawaiian Macaroni salad looked really good.  I am definitely going to try it.  I didn't care for the new lady that presented it with Julia.  She seemed to tick all the boxes for pulling in a "younger" audience.  I miss Becky, I hope she's still there.

I felt the same way about the new young lady.  She has no warmth and literally said “yeah” like a teenager would when Julia asked her something.  She added nothing positive to the show IMO.  She does have chicken carving skills, but they all do.  

[dubbel zout]

Here in NYC the CC episode was spice-rubbed steaks, among other recipes. I never quite understood why you'd take an excellent piece of meat and junk it up with other flavors. I do, of course, but I'd save a spice rub for a lesser cut. I want to taste beef!

Bridget tested bacon, so of course she was in heaven. Jack said there was a ringer in the bunch, and she asked, somewhat horrified, "It's not turkey bacon, is it?" Hee. I love her total disgust for turkey bacon. It's not bacon!

The other recipe was bacon burgers, with the bacon processed to a paste and mixed in with the hamburger that way. An interesting method, but not one I'm going to ever try. Though the burgers looked delicious with blue cheese and caramelized onions. Hamburger is one style of beef I don't mind adding things to, though it shouldn't become a dumping ground.

[sheetmoss]

On 10/14/2019 at 7:37 AM, dubbel zout said:

The other recipe was bacon burgers, with the bacon processed to a paste and mixed in with the hamburger that way. An interesting method, but not one I'm going to ever try.

Lidia Bastianich  on her PBS show Lidia's Kitchen, has made  a pancetta paste for the base of a sauce

1 minute ago, sheetmoss said:

Edited November 7, 2019 by sheetmoss

[dubbel zout]

I've made a pancetta paste for pasta e fagioli, and it's delicious. I like to keep my hamburger simple, that's all.

[letusprocrastinate]

On 10/9/2019 at 2:38 PM, Mittengirl said:

Am I the only one who can’t remember which blond host is which?  Bridget is the one who used to have shortish hair, right?

Here a month late...

Julia's voice is lower-pitched than Bridget's.

[Florinaldo]

The 20th Anniversary special aired on our PBS station last night, and I managed to miss it. Thankfully, it's available on the ATK Web site and I have started to make my way through it. I am kind of surprised by the selection of recipes voted on by the viewers.

I had a good laugh at Bridget's pizza sliding off the stone and falling down the back of the oven. I had the same thing almost happen to me once as I was working too quickly and not being careful enough.

I think there are more bloopers in the rest of the episode,

It's also amusing how they edited out the reverse shots of Kimball in the old clip excerpts.

Edited November 21, 2019 by Florinaldo

[MerBearHou]

The Anniversary video was fun to watch.  Great recipes and top 20 choices with longtime ATK friends.  

[biakbiak]

Thanks for the heads up I am recording it on Friday.

[AllAboutMBTV]

For anyone looking to make Cook's Country's Drop Meatballs, I'd use 92% lean beef not the 85% they recommend. Because the meatballs cook in the sauce instead of being browned first in a pan, all the beef fat stays in the sauce. I skimmed most of it off but would definitely use leaner beef next time -- and there will be a next time as the meatballs and sauce were very good and very easy (with a shocking minimum of bowls and pots used).

[Sharpie66]

While watching the anniversary show, I thought that they should cook Chicago thin crust, and here I read that they already have! I’ll have to look up that clip, because I love our thin crust much more than the deep dish. The cracker-like crust, the sweeter sauce, add some cheese and sausage (pronounced “sahh-sage,” please), slice it party-style in squares, and it’s perfect. 

[annzeepark914]

2 hours ago, Sharpie66 said:

While watching the anniversary show, I thought that they should cook Chicago thin crust, and here I read that they already have! I’ll have to look up that clip, because I love our thin crust much more than the deep dish. The cracker-like crust, the sweeter sauce, add some cheese and sausage (pronounced “sahh-sage,” please), slice it party-style in squares, and it’s perfect. 

Ohhh...love that Chicaaaahgo accent (esp during that recurring skit on SNL featuring George Wendt, Chris Farley and other funny characters). Da Bears!

[biakbiak]

Watched the anniversary special and I understand the reason but it was weird for a 20th Anniversary show and not have any mention of Chris. That said since I don’t particularly like Chris I enjoyed it.

[chessiegal]

Similarly, when Chris is pitching other cooking shows on Create, he never mentions ATK.

[dubbel zout]

Things didn’t exactly end with hugs and kisses, so I’m not surprised neither side mentions the other.

[biakbiak]

17 minutes ago, dubbel zout said:

Things didn’t exactly end with hugs and kisses, so I’m not surprised neither side mentions the other.

As I stated I am aware of the reasons but it was just so glaring in a retrospective special when he was such a pivotal part of the organization for most of those years.

[Ms Lark]

While the Anniversary show was fun, I kinda got the feeling it was a big infomercial for the cookbook. The top 20 recipes were a bit of a surprise, not what I expected.

Didn't miss creepy ol' Kimball at all. Him and his my-super-sensitive-palate-is-too-delicate-for-spicy-foods. Meh. Glad he's gone and I don't watch Milk St. either.

[annzeepark914]

3 hours ago, Ms Lark said:

While the Anniversary show was fun, I kinda got the feeling it was a big infomercial for the cookbook. The top 20 recipes were a bit of a surprise, not what I expected.

Didn't miss creepy ol' Kimball at all. Him and his my-super-sensitive-palate-is-too-delicate-for-spicy-foods. Meh. Glad he's gone and I don't watch Milk St. either.

How could I miss the anniversary show??? But, I did.  And, my thoughts exactly re: Kimball. I used to say, back when I first started watching ATK and saw him, that the Chris Kimball Creature was always my blind date...a wussy lookin' nerd with a self-conscious smirk on his mug when I opened the door. Blech! 

Edited November 25, 2019 by annzeepark914

[dubbel zout]

18 hours ago, biakbiak said:

18 hours ago, dubbel zout said:

Things didn’t exactly end with hugs and kisses, so I’m not surprised neither side mentions the other.

As I stated I am aware of the reasons but it was just so glaring in a retrospective special when he was such a pivotal part of the organization for most of those years.

I wouldn't be surprised if the settlement included some sort of nondisparagement clause, and everyone just decided saying nothing was the easier option.

[Bastet]

On 11/20/2019 at 4:05 PM, Florinaldo said:

The 20th Anniversary special aired on our PBS station last night, and I managed to miss it. Thankfully, it's available on the ATK Web site and I have started to make my way through it. I am kind of surprised by the selection of recipes voted on by the viewers.

I find it very hard to believe that of all the recipes, ATK viewers would vote vegan buffalo cauliflower bites in the top 20.  If it's a flavorful substitute for chicken wings, fine.  But a top 20 recipe in the show's history? 

In showing viewers in their home kitchens, they went for gender and racial diversity, but utterly failed at any sort of economic diversity; while airing on public television, this clearly came across as a show watched by people of means.

I thought it was a little lackluster for a 20th anniversary special, but the little behind-the-scenes glimpses we got were nice.  They're all so dorky, it's fun.  I was also amused by the editing out of Chris -- works for me!

I thought the shrimp scampi recipe looked really good when it first aired, but never got around to making it.  Now that it's the number one recipe, I'll have to make that some time next month. 

[AllAboutMBTV]

However the Top 20 Recipes were selected, I think I'm right in noticing that NONE of them involved an outdoor grill. I have a friend who works on the show and have pleaded for fewer grilling segments as I live in an apartment and grills are a no-go. While I'm not uninterested in grilling techniques as such, they're not anything I'm going to practice any time soon. If ATK wants to occasionally have a couple of Very Special Episodes on Grilling (or Cooking With Kids, which I'm surprised they haven't done), great! I just won't watch those. (Also, I have to laugh at the repeatedly repeated steps of wire-brushing the grill and then greasing the racks with oiled paper towels.)

Nice to see Adam and Jack get a chance to cook for once. They should do that semi-regularly; it would be an easy enough segue from whatever they're testing/tasting to a recipe.

[chessiegal]

I recorded the anniversary special and just watched it. I didn’t think it was an infomercial for their cookbook. They publish tons of books every year, so of course they would have one for this. I subscribe to all their websites with a bundle package so I have access to all their recipes. I have more than enough cookbooks. I’m glad they reminded me of the tortilla soup. I have leftover rotisserie chicken, and it would be nice to make something other than chicken tetrazzini or chicken noodle soup with it.

I’m going to try the shrimp scampi. I love it but haven’t tried theirs.

[Florinaldo]

5 hours ago, Bastet said:

I find it very hard to believe that of all the recipes, ATK viewers would vote vegan buffalo cauliflower bites in the top 20.

That's one of those "winners" that threw me, as well as the tofu one. I was however pleasantly surprised by the high ranking of the creamy cauliflower soup, a great approach to rehabilitating a vegetable taht is often taken for granted (I amp up my version by adding either cumin, coriander or turmeric, or even all three).

4 hours ago, AllAboutMBTV said:

I have a friend who works on the show and have pleaded for fewer grilling segments as I live in an apartment and grills are a no-go.

I agree. Outdoor grilling recipes are more at home on their Cook's Country show.

No real bloopers in the rest of the episode after the sliding pizza one, except that the edit of the giggles fit in the sticky buns clip was perhaps a bit more extended than in the original broadcast. They both turned beet red!

I liked that the special reminded me of some repices I have not made in quite a while and others I set aside thinking "one day". Well, that day has now come for these!!

6 hours ago, Bastet said:

this clearly came across as a show watched by people of means.

Isn't that simply a reflection of reality? Foodies are usually people with a minimum level of disposable income.

[biakbiak]

50 minutes ago, Florinaldo said:

as well as the tofu one. I

I make their mapo tofu fairly often and think it’s delicious.