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Thanks so much for providing the fry sauce ingredients, Iguessnot!

 

They're locking down their recipes as much as they can because they want people to buy their cookbooks.  I feel your pain, I really wanted to make their Caramelized Onion Jam, but could only find a recipe 'adapted from' the ATK recipe.

 

Oooh, I have that recipe!

Edited by photo fox

All, I appreciate the frustration with ATK's marketing strategy, believe me, but please remember it's copyrighted material. I'd prefer to not even have mentions of PMing for recipes visible in the thread. If someone says they have a recipe, please just PM them and ask. By the same token, if you're looking for a recipe, please just ask if anyone has it, and if someone does they can PM it to you.

 

I'm probably being nitpicky, but I just don't want the site to get in trouble.  Thanks in advance.

Recipes are largely excluded from US copyright law.  In a nutshell, a guiding principle of copyright law is that not only must a work be original, the creative portions of the work must be able to be separated from the utilitarian/functional aspects of the work (this is how a design on a t-shirt can be copyrighted, but not the article of clothing itself).  Courts have consistently ruled the list of ingredients and the utilitarian directions for preparing the dish (chop this finely, stir this in at that time, reduce to this heat, etc.) are excluded from copyright protection.  The guideline offered by the U.S. Copyright Office is:  “Copyright law does not protect recipes that are mere listings of ingredients….. Copyright protection may, however, extend to substantial literary expression—a description, explanation, or illustration, for example—that accompanies a recipe or formula or to a combination of recipes, as in a cookbook.”

 

So, you are generally within your legal rights repeating not only the ingredients but the directions of individual recipes, and should just stay away from replicating entire books or "expressive elaboration" within a recipe (a story of how it came about, things that are creative suggestions rather than functional directions, such as a pairing, a plating technique, etc.). 

 

For any person or entity wanting to take caution to the extreme out of uncertainly whether anything within the directions is protected by copyright law, an easy fix would be to list the ingredients as written (because that will never violate copyright law) and then describe how to put them together in your own words rather than those found in the original recipe.

  • Love 5

I love America's Test Kitchen, and I've picked up a lot of interesting tips and tricks from them, but I've yet to make one of their recipes simply because they have so many ingredients and so many steps to their recipes.  It's intimidating, but there are a few recipes where their advice seems like it would work out well.  I've a couple that I'm determined to try out in the near future.

 

However, I wonder if ATK was the inspiration for 'The Anal Retentive Chef' from Saturday Night Live.

 

https://screen.yahoo.com/anal-retentive-chef-mothers-day-000000641.html

I find the ATK/CC recipes fall into two categories for me: easy but takes a long time (mostly inactive time, but time nonetheless) or reasonably quick but uses a shit ton of dishes, pans and ingredients (most of their Asian/South Asian recipes fall into the latter category). There are a few exceptions, like their Maryland Crab Cakes recipe come to mind, that are delicious and relatively painless to throw together. Most of my fav ATK recipes are the former and therefore are deemed "weekend meals" when I have more time to cook and I then eat leftovers all week.

  • Love 4
Most of my fav ATK recipes are the former and therefore are deemed "weekend meals" when I have more time to cook and I then eat leftovers all week.

 

Same here. ATK is not my go-to for fast weeknight meals. To be fair, their aim is to get the best possible recipe, whatever that entails. I do wish they'd streamline things a bit, though, especially when it comes to pots and pans.

Huh, Melsw, I've made that lentil and chorizo stew a few times and loved it. Nothing meh about it. I wonder if the brand of chorizo is a factor.

I have been enjoying Kenji lopez-alt's recipes from serious eats lately (he used to work for CI). Pressure cooker chicken pho twice in a week. Super - yum.

 

Your right, chorizo does seem to vary widely from brand to brand. I bet it makes a huge difference. I also love Kenji...especially Food Lab! If I remember correctly, Kenji was one of the authors of the game changing vodka/pie crust recipe from ATK.

I really need to say something about tonight's rerun - but then, aren't they all reruns?  Chris and the wild rice.  Jack was accurately describing how wild rice traditionally is harvested in Canada and the northern midwest.  They mentioned MN a lot but left out WI completely.

 

Well, CK imho completely humiliated himself by dismissing the method as "disney-like" and "do you believe in the tooth fairy" comments 5-6 times.  Native Americans did in fact, and still do, use canoes to float through flooded ride beds, beating the tops of the grasses with sticks or oars and the grains fall into the canoe.  Fuck U Chris Kimball. 

There was a new run of Cook's Country this year, but my local PBS chose not to carry it (in favor of constant reruns of it and ATK) so I had to watch them online.  I signed up with a throwaway email I never look at so I don't know if they've been pestering me to subscribe.  Does anyone know when the next season of ATK starts?

Edited by Totale

America's Test Kitchen

 

Comfort Food Revisited
Season 15, Ep. 1501 

 

http://www.americastestkitchen.com/episode/447-comfort-food-revisited?ref=Episode_feature_26

 

Test cook Dan Souza uncovers the secrets to the Best Chicken Stew. Next, equipment expert Adam Ried reviews 13 by 9-inch metal baking pans in the Equipment Corner. Then, test cook Bridget Lancaster shows host Christopher Kimball how to make the ultimate Cream Cheese Brownies.

 

 

Almond Cake and British Scones
Season 15, Ep. 1502

 

http://www.americastestkitchen.com/episode/448-almond-cake-and-british-scones?ref=Episode_feature_25

 

Test cook Bridget Lancaster shows host Christopher Kimball how to make the Best Almond Cake. Then tasting expert Jack Bishop challenges Chris to a tasting of supermarket orange juice. And finally, test cook Julia Collin Davison uncovers the secrets to making the ultimate British-Style Currant Scones right at home.

 

Pork Tenderloin Dinner
Season 15, Ep. 1503

 

http://www.americastestkitchen.com/episode/449-pork-tenderloin-dinner?ref=Episode_feature_24

 

Test cook Bryan Roof uncovers the secrets to the perfect Broiled Pork Tenderloin. Then equipment expert Adam Ried reviews wine savers in the Equipment Corner. And finally, test cook Julia Collin Davison shows host Christopher Kimball how to make the best Rice and Lentils with Crispy Onions.

 

Beefing Up Mexican Favorites
Season 15, Ep. 1504

 

http://www.americastestkitchen.com/episode/450-beefing-up-mexican-favorites?ref=Episode_feature_23

 

Test cook Dan Souza shows host Christopher Kimball how to make Mexican-Style Grilled Steak at home. Next, tasting expert Jack Bishop challenges Chris to a tasting of dark chocolate. Then, man on the street Doc Willoughby learns about tacos with chef Alex Stupak of Empellón Cocina. And finally, test cook Julia Collin Davison uncovers the secrets to the ultimate Shredded Beef Tacos.

 

Pasta Rustica
Season 15, Ep. 1505

 

http://www.americastestkitchen.com/episode/451-pasta-rustica?ref=Episode_feature_22

 

Test cook Bridget Lancaster uncovers the secrets to Rigatoni with Beef and Onion Ragu. Then, equipment expert Adam Ried reviews colanders in the Equipment Corner. Next, tasting expert Jack Bishop challenges host Christopher Kimball to a tasting of white beans. And finally, test cook Julia Collin Davison shows Chris how to make perfect Pasta with Pesto, Potatoes, and Green Beans.

 

 

Sweet on Custard and Cookies
Season 15, Ep. 1506 

 

http://www.americastestkitchen.com/episode/452-sweet-on-custard-and-cookies?ref=Episode_feature_21

 

This video segment is not yet available. Each new episode is available to AmericasTestKitchen.com members as soon as it first airs on public television and is available two weeks later for free viewing by nonmembers.

 

Test cook Julia Collin Davison shows host Christopher Kimball how to make Latin American-style Flan at home. Next, equipment expert Adam Ried reviews cookie presses in the Equipment Corner. And finally, test cook Bridget Lancaster uncovers the secrets to the ultimate Chocolate Crinkle Cookies.

  • Love 1

I watched the Pasta Rustica episode today and the Beef and Onion ragout (pasta genovese) is the first recipe from this season that I think I'm going to try out soonest.  Oddly, when I just put "pasta genovese" into Google at least half the recipes returned were some version of the pasta with pesto, green beans and potatoes shown in the second half of the episode.  It sounded OK, but there's little fresh basil around now and what there is is expensive, I might try that one in the summer.  Nothing else really appealed from the first few episodes of this season.

Edited by Totale

This is the recipe I use. I originally started years ago with a perfectly meh Bon Appetit recipe that I changed over the years with input from my bread baking fanatic mother-in-law, who gave me some pointers.  Using half bread flour instead of all AP gives the crust a good chewy texture. You can use all AP but I much prefer using half and half. Letting the dough rise slowly overnight gives it much better flavor than just doing a room temp quick rise. This dough freezes really well.

 

3/4 cup warm water (105°F to 115°F)
1 teaspoon honey
2 teaspoons instant yeast
1 cup bread flour
1 cup all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil
3/4 teaspoon salt

 

Place all ingredients in stand mixer fitted with dough hook. Process on low until dough comes together, then continue kneading for 6 minutes or until dough is smooth. Transfer dough to large oiled bowl; turn to coat dough. Cover with plastic wrap (I press it down on dough's surface and up sides of bowl, ensuring it won't come loose as dough rises), place in refrigerator. Let dough rise 24 hours. Punch down dough. Divide into 2 equal balls.

  • Love 2

I made the White Chicken Chili recipe a few nights ago--the one that takes 3 poblanos, 3 anaheims, and 3 jalapenos, plus 3 pounds of chicken breasts. I was disappointed with the flavor. For all the peppers, and all the steps involved, I expected a deeper, more complex flavor. But in the end, it sort of tastes like chicken breast cubes in salsa verde. Which of course makes sense when you look at the recipe, but it's just not what I was hoping for. 

I made the Rigatoni with Beef and Onion Ragu from a few weeks ago and was very disappointed - extremely bland, there was something offputting about the texture and i couldn't even taste the expensive pancetta I bought special for the recipe.  The homemade Rice-a-Roni from a couple of weeks ago came out great, was far more economical  and wasn't much more work than the boxed version, although I disagreed with Julia that the dried spices in the boxed version didn't taste very good - I've always liked the stuff.

This is the recipe I use. I originally started years ago with a perfectly meh Bon Appetit recipe that I changed over the years with input from my bread baking fanatic mother-in-law, who gave me some pointers.  Using half bread flour instead of all AP gives the crust a good chewy texture. You can use all AP but I much prefer using half and half. Letting the dough rise slowly overnight gives it much better flavor than just doing a room temp quick rise. This dough freezes really well.

 

3/4 cup warm water (105°F to 115°F)

1 teaspoon honey

2 teaspoons instant yeast

1 cup bread flour

1 cup all purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil

3/4 teaspoon salt

 

Place all ingredients in stand mixer fitted with dough hook. Process on low until dough comes together, then continue kneading for 6 minutes or until dough is smooth. Transfer dough to large oiled bowl; turn to coat dough. Cover with plastic wrap (I press it down on dough's surface and up sides of bowl, ensuring it won't come loose as dough rises), place in refrigerator. Let dough rise 24 hours. Punch down dough. Divide into 2 equal balls.

Do you use it to make a sheet pan pizza or smaller round pizza's?  What temp do you bake it at?  Thank you for sharing.

Do you use it to make a sheet pan pizza or smaller round pizza's?  What temp do you bake it at?  Thank you for sharing.

 

I like a crispy thin crust pizza, so keep that in mind! I have a round pizza stone that sits on the lowest rack of my oven. I preheat the oven and stone to 500F. I stretch out the dough into a round(ish) shape (maybe 12"? or perhaps a little larger but not much), put it on a wooden pizza peel that has been liberally coated with cornmeal. I add my sauce/toppings/cheese, then slide the dough off of the peel and onto the stone. I let it sit on the stone at 500F for 7-8 minutes, pull it out with the peel, let it rest for a couple minutes so the cheese isn't so molten, then cut. If I didn't have a peel and stone, I'd probably make the pizza on a baking sheet on a lower rack, still keeping the oven temp ripping hot.

I like a crispy thin crust pizza, so keep that in mind! I have a round pizza stone that sits on the lowest rack of my oven. I preheat the oven and stone to 500F. I stretch out the dough into a round(ish) shape (maybe 12"? or perhaps a little larger but not much), put it on a wooden pizza peel that has been liberally coated with cornmeal. I add my sauce/toppings/cheese, then slide the dough off of the peel and onto the stone. I let it sit on the stone at 500F for 7-8 minutes, pull it out with the peel, let it rest for a couple minutes so the cheese isn't so molten, then cut. If I didn't have a peel and stone, I'd probably make the pizza on a baking sheet on a lower rack, still keeping the oven temp ripping hot.

Thank you!

Here's a tip I got from a audio video forum. Using two flour tortillas, put a very thin layer of sauce and a scant amount of cheese on one tortilla. Lay the second one on top and top as usual. Cook at about 500F for 8 to 10 minutes. The two tortillas meld into a really nice thin crust. Great of those of us who have not jumped into dough making yet and an easy way to make individualized pizzas.

  • Love 2

This is the recipe I use. I originally started years ago with a perfectly meh Bon Appetit recipe that I changed over the years with input from my bread baking fanatic mother-in-law, who gave me some pointers.  Using half bread flour instead of all AP gives the crust a good chewy texture. You can use all AP but I much prefer using half and half. Letting the dough rise slowly overnight gives it much better flavor than just doing a room temp quick rise. This dough freezes really well.

 

3/4 cup warm water (105°F to 115°F)

1 teaspoon honey

2 teaspoons instant yeast

1 cup bread flour

1 cup all purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil

3/4 teaspoon salt

 

Place all ingredients in stand mixer fitted with dough hook. Process on low until dough comes together, then continue kneading for 6 minutes or until dough is smooth. Transfer dough to large oiled bowl; turn to coat dough. Cover with plastic wrap (I press it down on dough's surface and up sides of bowl, ensuring it won't come loose as dough rises), place in refrigerator. Let dough rise 24 hours. Punch down dough. Divide into 2 equal balls.

 

Thank you!  I can't wait to try it.  I've been craving a really good Taco Pizza for the longest time now, and now I've got an excuse to go for it.

 

Here's a tip I got from a audio video forum. Using two flour tortillas, put a very thin layer of sauce and a scant amount of cheese on one tortilla. Lay the second one on top and top as usual. Cook at about 500F for 8 to 10 minutes. The two tortillas meld into a really nice thin crust. Great of those of us who have not jumped into dough making yet and an easy way to make individualized pizzas.

 

That sounds interesting.  Thanks for sharing!  I could see whipping one up for a quick lunch sometime.  I be my kids'll be all over this idea.

...The homemade Rice-a-Roni from a couple of weeks ago came out great, was far more economical  and wasn't much more work than the boxed version, although I disagreed with Julia that the dried spices in the boxed version didn't taste very good - I've always liked the stuff.

 

I don't remember seeing ATK do Rice-a-Roni.  What season and episode was it from?  I'd love to try it.

Two of us ate it over three days, I think.  I have that problem with lots of ATK recipes as feeding six seems to be the norm.  Some stuff (anything with fish) really doesn't reheat well, and even if we're going for two days/four servings it's sometimes hard to translate the quantities.  Helps that I can put it away like nobody's business and am usually restraining myself.

'Tis the season, so I made the Cooks Country corned beef and cabbage yesterday. It's really good--the vegetables are almost as good as the beef. But I will admit that I don't make it exactly as directed. The recipe calls for using "corned beef," and doesn't include a curing process, so that implies that you are using the corned beef that is sold pre-cured, still packed with spices. (Or curing it on your own, of course, though no method is provided.) Around this time of year, the grocery store near me sells a kobe/wagyu corned beef, and it's what I've used every time. So the change I make is that I don't rinse the brisket first, and I just omit the spices the CC recipe calls for. I find the addition of peppercorns, all-spice, etc., unnecessary and even a little over-the-top. I added them yesterday just to try it, and ended up straining them out after an hour of cooking time because it smelled so perfumey. Maybe it would have been fine, but there was no lack of flavor or spice/herbal notes, so I will definitely not bother with the spices in the future.

That reminds me, I have an older Cooks Illustrated recipe (5 years ago maybe?) for making corned beef. As in buying beef brisket and corning it in the fridge over the course of a week. It is really fantastic. I thought about making it recently but beef briskets are outrageously priced these days, at least in these parts. I bought a high quality corned beef from a local grocery where they corned it themselves for a much cheaper price than the plain brisket.

That reminds me, I have an older Cooks Illustrated recipe (5 years ago maybe?) for making corned beef. As in buying beef brisket and corning it in the fridge over the course of a week. It is really fantastic. I thought about making it recently but beef briskets are outrageously priced these days, at least in these parts. I bought a high quality corned beef from a local grocery where they corned it themselves for a much cheaper price than the plain brisket.

 

Same, and I find that so strange. The corned version at the fancy grocery store was a dollar less per pound than the regular brisket--and the regular was not as high a quality of meat. It was not a difficult decision to skip the corning process myself and go with the one the store did for me.

 

For a minute I considered doing it on my own with chuck though, because I was googling to see if that would work and found a post from Michael Ruhlman who says he pretty much only uses chuck for corned beef now because brisket is leaner these days and way more expensive.

  • Love 1

For a minute I considered doing it on my own with chuck though, because I was googling to see if that would work and found a post from Michael Ruhlman who says he pretty much only uses chuck for corned beef now because brisket is leaner these days and way more expensive.

 

Wow, that is genius. Thanks for the tip! For some reason, I never thought about using a different cut that can take the long braise. Next time I get the craving, I am going to try it with chuck!

  • Love 2

I made the Irish stew (CI Jan/Feb 2008) this past week along with the Irish soda bread. It has become an annual thing. I didn't use as much meat this time though. Lamb is expensive and there is still plenty with around 3lbs instead of the 4-4.5 of the recipe (beef works fine in this as well). I added about 1.5 lbs carrots and parsnips each. If you don't have the bone from the lamb you can add a little unflavored gelatin, but not too much or it'll turn into lamb and potato jello surprise when in the refrigerator.

They claim it serves 6. I don't know how they measure their serving sizes but you can feed a lot more that that - though it's good enough that you might not want to.

It's really good, just be aware it makes a boatload of rice.

I think the recipe needs a couple of adjustments. First of all I don't know why they used such long strands of pasta. I didn't think that looked appealing. Secondly although I used less onion than they used, the dish had too much of a steamed onion taste and texture. I'm thinking the large quantity of grated onion needs a longer cooking time but because the pasta has already browned, and the recipe didn't want the onions browned, the onions are shortchanged. The next time I attempt this recipe I'm sauteing those onions first and I'm browning them fully for good flavor.

MELSW, I used your Pizza Dough recipe a few days ago.  It was great!  Thanks for sharing it with us.

 

I'm so glad you liked it! I had pizza dough troubles for a while and finally settled on that recipe after much tinkering.

 

Has anyone tried the Thai Chicken Curry with Potatoes and Peanuts from ATK Season 15? I saved the recipe after seeing it on my local Create TV channel. It looks delicious but I don't know if I feel like fiddling with making their curry paste for results that are only "meh".

Has anyone tried the Thai Chicken Curry with Potatoes and Peanuts from ATK Season 15? I saved the recipe after seeing it on my local Create TV channel. It looks delicious but I don't know if I feel like fiddling with making their curry paste for results that are only "meh".

 

Quoting myself because I ended up making it this weekend. I couldn't find dried NM chilis that it calls for so I used dried pasilla peppers instead. The biggest difference is that my curry was brown instead of a vibrant orange color. Making the chili paste was pretty easy and I did it hours ahead of making the meal. That means the meal was able to come together in less than an hour in one pot with minimal bowls and utensils! The recipe says you can double the curry paste and freeze half for later. I think I will do that next time, as I really enjoyed it and will definitely make it again.

  • Love 1

I’ve been on a kick lately, working my way through a backlog of ATK and non-ATKrecipes I have been meaning to try. Last night I made Pasta Frittata with Sausage and Hot Peppers (ATK season 15- the current season so you can get the recipes free online). It was really, really good. You cooked angel hair pasta in a skillet with water and oil. By the time the water boils off the pasta is tender and sizzling in oil. The pasta forms a crispy crust and on top of that you pour 8 eggs, ½ lb. Italian sausage, garlic, parm cheese, and chopped cherry peppers. Cover, let set, flip it over, cook another couple minutes and that’s it. I would probably up the cherry pepper amount next time, only because I do not have the sensitive palate of Chris Kimball and I like a little more zing in my food.

Last night I made Pasta Frittata with Sausage and Hot Peppers (ATK season 15- the current season so you can get)...I would probably up the cherry pepper amount next time, only because I do not have the sensitive palate of Chris Kimball and I like a little more zing in my food.

 

Thanks for the report.  That recipe sounds good.

 

Although I appreciate Chris's palate.  I don't like 'hot' stuff either.

Are any of you volunteer recipe testers for CI or CC? Somehow I signed up for testing recipes that are going into Cook's Country several years ago. It's free, they send you an email link to the recipe they are thinking of publishing. You're under no obligation to test it, but I've found some real gems that are keepers, don't care if they publish them or not. I'm also a volunteer shopper if they are looking to see if a particular ingredient is readily available. I appreciate the amount of time and effort they put into developing their recipes.

 

I subscribe to the all inclusive online sites, plus have many of their cookbooks. They seem to be getting away from the "using every bowl and utensil you own" recipes lately.

  • Love 1

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