Cook's Illustrated

At Cook's Illustrated, our test cooks are dedicated to testing and retesting recipes 20, 30, sometimes 50 times until we come up with a recipe that will come out right the first time -- and every time -- you make it. And each issue of Cook's Illustrated is 100% ADVERTISING FREE, so you get unbiased and objective information on every page. As we like to say at Cook's Illustrated, "We make the mistakes so you don't have to."

Cook's Illustrated

DICE GAME

QUICK TIPS

The Magic of Roasted Chicken Wings • Forget frying. After a stint in the oven, the best part of the bird emerges fall-o_ -the-bone tender, with exceptionally savory, golden-brown skin.

Hawaiian Oxtail Soup • In this Chinese-influenced local favorite, spicy-sweet aromatics perfume a rich broth brimming with pungent greens and meaty knobs of its signature ingredient.

HOW BEEF CAME TO EVERY HAWAIIAN TABLE

Mom’s Alu Parathas • To make these scrumptious Punjabi flatbreads, wrap fragrant spiced mashed potatoes in delicate dough, roll the parcels into thin rounds, and griddle them with ghee.

A Hands-Off Way to Sear Shrimp • For tender, succulent, spotty-brown shrimp, let your broiler do the work.

A Love Letter to Simple Fried Rice • Tap into the sheer joy that is tender-chewy, delicately seasoned, twice-cooked rice.

Pescatarian Pantry Pasta • Oil-packed tuna stars in the gutsy weeknight savior that is spaghetti al tonno.

Why You’ll Love Roasted Kale • Just 10 minutes in the oven unlocks a variety of vivid textures in the brassica.

The Starchy Secrets to Cooking Potatoes • Starch is the key to the fluffy, crispy, creamy textures that make potatoes so good. The trick is harnessing it to your advantage.

Treat Yourself to Matzo Brei • Broken-up matzo cooked with eggs is Passover comfort food. It also happens to be one of the easiest, heartiest, most versatile scrambles you can make.

MATZO: THE ULTIMATE JEWISH FOODWAY

The Best Yogurt Is Homemade • DIY yogurt has an incomparably fresh, milky taste—and it’s entirely customizable. Whether you like it mild or tart, creamy or lean, our foolproof method has you covered.

The Chicest French Tart Shell • This crisp, elegantly slim, and shockingly simple pâte sucrée crust should be in every baker’s back pocket.

Do You Need a Smart Oven? • “Smart” countertop ovens use technology to take over cooking for you—or guide you step by step. Are any worth buying?

All About Heirloom Beans • These vibrant, flavorful legumes give new meaning to the phrase “cool beans.”

A BEAN FOR EVERY POT • Fascinated by the large array of heirloom beans available in stores and online, we purchased 12 different varieties from three leading purveyors. Our choices represent a diverse sample of beans—with different flavors, textures, and styles—that can be substituted in some of our favorite recipes. We brined and rinsed the beans before simmering them. We tasted them plain, taking note of their flavors and textures. Here, we’ve compiled notes from our tasters as well as recommendations for how to use each variety. Because they’re so different, we chose to forgo our traditional ranking system and instead listed them alphabetically.

INGREDIENT NOTES

KITCHEN NOTES

EQUIPMENT CORNER