Use this book and you will make wonderful pies! Our family loves the apple pie and the chocolate cream and the banana cream. But the best thing is the crust recipe. You'll get a reputation for really knowing how to make pies! This is a succinct little book at a minimal price. My only surprise is that they did not use Clearjel as a thickener. It's Great!

By following the directions in this book, I made my first successful pie after numerous semi-failures. Not only is the book thorough, it tells which ingredients work best (i.e. a combination of butter and shortening for a tender and tasty crust), and why one method is better than another. The pie recipes include a number of types. I want to try them all.

We love to entertain, and the biggest issue is having too much to do on the big day.The ideal meal, in our minds, starts with a couple of fabulous appetizers (along with a nice glass of wine). The "hitch", however, is that a couple of knockout appetizers often takes a half day's time. This little gem of a book is fully meets our needs: the Green Goddess Dip & Crudites, Honey-Baked Brie Wrapped in Phyllo, Cocktail Crab Cakes, and Warm-Spiced Pecans with Rum Glaze are all easy, make-ahead dishes and are "lick the plate" good.

Not bad for less than [price]!

This is a small book (95 pages) that hits all the important points. It starts with the theory of Ice Cream, why do most recipes for home have eggs, why is it important to chill the mixture before putting it in an ice cream maker.

Most important: how hot must you heat the mixture (as measured with a thermometer, no ambiguous 'until done' instructions here), and how hot is TOO hot.

There aren't a lot of recipes here. A few examples and variations so you can understand the theory and techniques. So if you are looking for a collection of vast numbers of recipes (and you already know the theory and how to make ice cream) then this isn't for you. But if you are new to making ice cream and have yet to learn WHY the things the recipes call for are in there then this is for you.

A book to learn the theory from and apply it to all the recipes you find elsewhere.

As Cook's Illustrated readers would expect, this book deconstructs ice cream making with every detail you could want. I'd get this book first, then get a book with a zillion recipes. You can use the techniques in this book to adapt and perfect recipes from any other source.

I've never been moved to write a review before, but after my first successful batch of ice-cream (following many miserable failures) - I decided that I must share my joy.

First of all, this is a lovely little hard bound book. It will take up a tiny space on your shelves - and, most importantly, it is easy to hold with one hand while you are fastidiously stirring custard with the other.

Texture had been a problem for me since I recieved my Cuisinart ice-cream maker for Christmas. I've had some batches that just wouldn't freeze - some with so much cream that they left a buttery film of fat on the spoon and one unfortunate creation that went directly from machine to garbage disposal. Believe it or not I was following recipes. But some are very general in describing how to know when something is done, like how thick a custard should be. It was actually very liberating to have the very specific and exact temperatures given by this book.

The introduction and Master Vanilla Recipe are priceless. As are the explanations of correct temperatures and proportions.

I have to admit that I've been egg phobic in my recipe hunting. So many recipes call for an obscene amount of eggs and the thought of six to eight eggs in a pint of ice cream gives me the heeby geebies. The authors have tested many milk/cream/egg/sugar proportions to come up with the best flavor and best texture. Early in the book they explain the purpose of egg yolks in ice cream to emulsify the dairy fat. This is especially important to home made ice cream since we won't be using chemical emulsifiers like commercial brands. What was helpful for me was the section on them trying different amounts of eggs to get the right texture - without that eggy taste.

There are also some very nice illlustrations of what the egg yolk and sugar mix should look like after beating them, and some handy tips like how to peel hazelnuts.

I highly recommend this book AND a digital candy/oil thermometer (I got mine from Williams Sonoma - but Amazon.com may have one too). I was literally stunned by the silky texture of my Hazelnut Gellato and how quickly it froze to 'soft-serve' texture - and the flavor! It was all I could do not to eat the entire batch right from the machine!

i love this book becase i has the best guide lines on how to make the best pies i made a great pie the best i had in my life. it is a great cook book and i think that it sould be more of a cook book than a book ...i may sound like i am pojest with cook books but i like to cook!

I've had this book for awhile, and finally decided to try it out. I followed the recipe for Beef Stew with Mushrooms, Bacon, and Pearl Onions ( and yes I tweaked it some, cause I can...), and it still came out great.

This book offers sensible information about the qualities that make a stew a stew. It offers a general format for making a stew, and I found the recipes to be flexible. I added some extras to the above recipe, and still enjoyed my end-product very much.

I initially made this purchase, because of the quality of product and information that Cook's Illustrated has provided me over the years. I find that the information is precise and simple enough to improve anyone's cooking level. C.I. will help you simplify the choices made in purchasing items ranging from cookware and appliances, to cookbooks and various food items/products. Thank you.

I normally am an advocate of any book or magazine published by Cook's Illustrated magazine. Unfortunately, this series of books are too small and the print too tiny to be practical. You have to hold it very close to your eyes to read it which makes it totally impractical for putting in your cookbook holder to refer to while cooking. Since the pages are so small, the recipes span several pages which isn't great for the cookbook holder either! I find it ironic that the subtitle says " An illustrated step-by-step guide to perfect potatoes every time.". There are only 8 illustrations in this particular book.

If you have ever tried to make a potato salad or french fries you will find that the process may sound simple, yet without a few tried and true methods you may end up with less than desirable results. This is the beauty of Christopher Kimball's books. He not only tells you which potatoes work best in each recipe, he explains the proper method for cooking and storing them. You will find a great secret on page 50 when making potato salad. You will also enjoy the descriptive writing these tiny treasures are so famous for. The only thing I would add to this book is the idea of serving the baked sweet potato with butter and maple syrup. If you are tired of boring baked potatoes, this is the book for you. I also recommend The Best Recipe by the same author.

I found this book rather disappointing. Let talk about the size of this book. It is slightly larger than a larger post card. It has lots of illustrations, so it has less space for recipes. The recipes, and information are helpful, insightful, and useful, but there are not very many recipes. The folks at Cooking Illustrated are always top notch when it comes to content, but the packaging of their material lacks in this book. I was hoping for a book to be filled with salads, salad dressing recipes, and more. This book did not deliver to those expectations.

Book Too Tiny Reviewer: A reader from Erie, CO United States I normally am an advocate of any book or magazine published by Cook's Illustrated magazine. Unfortunately, this series of books are too small and the print too tiny to be practical. You have to hold the book too close to your eyes to read it which makes it totally impractical for putting in your cookbook holder to refer to while cooking. I like the recipes but it would be nice if I could read them without straining by eyes.