anybody else pick up CooksCountry 1st issue?

[angelamaria]

i had to make an emergency grocery run for sugar this am and saw this. it's made by the Cooks Illustrated folks but has a "country" or downhome slant. i picked it up thinking it might be good for potlucks etc where "new" or "exotic" recipes don't generally go over well (not where i am anyway). the cover has a basket of strawberries, the lead titles are
Crunchiest Ever Fried Chicken
S'more Brownies and More
Best Ranch Chili
Blue-Ribbon Apple Cake
Tasting Italian Dressing (a taste test)
Easy Pot Roast (a slow cooker recipe)
Christmas Cookie Party (with never-fail dough)
Prize-Winning Potato Casseroles
Rating Slow Cookers
Low-Fat Chocolate Pudding

i liked the brownie and chili recipes just looking at the index and i really enjoy CI so i am sure this will be a good magazine.

[claire797]

I looked through it at Barnes and Noble the other day and was impressed. I didn't buy it because it seemed a bit pricey for the number of recipes. However, I probably will break down and buy it now that you've mentioned it on the board ;). It's a fun little magazine -- Cook's Illustrated version of Taste of Home. I really should have bought it based on the brownie recipes alone.

[funniegrrl]

Yes I bought a copy because there were some specific recipes I wanted to try. I still find the Cook's Illustrated writing style a bit uppity and smug for my taste, so I don't know that I'd subscribe. And, I was irked that they considered chocolate pudding made with anything less than 2% milk unacceptable. :P But, it's worth looking at.

[MISSINDI]

Saw it at Barnes & Noble tonight and succumbed ... what else is new? $38 worth of magazines, and I won't even get into how many I subscribe to. Geesh. :D

[MISSINDI]

Recipe Index:

Main courses
Beef Barley Soup with Mushrooms
Beef Tortilla Casserole
Corned Beef Hash
Country-Style Pot Roast with Gravy
Southwestern Pot Roast
Creamy Shells with Peas and Bacon
Extra-Crunchy Fried Chicken
Fried Fish with Pickled Jalapeno Mayonnaise
Grilled Flank Steak with Garlic-Parsley Sauce
Honey-Glazed Pork Loin
Lemony Chicken and Rice
Ranch Chili

Starters, Salads, and Side Dishes
Baked Cheese Grits
Cheesy Mashed Potatoes
Mashed Potatoes with Pepper Jack and Bacon
Green Bean Succotash
Greens Beans with Bacon and Onion
Green Beans with Mediterranean Flavors
Orange Green Beans with Buttered Cashews
Iceberg Lettuce with Blue Cheese Dressing
Jalapeno Cornbread
Alsatian Potato Casserole
Creamy Potato Casserole
Italian Potato Cake
Mashed Potato and Herbed Cheese Bake
Potato, Spinach and Sausage Casserole
Red Cabbage Slaw
Roasted Corn
Roasted Red Pepper Soup

Desserts
Best Christmas Cookies
No-Fuss Icing
Blue Ribbon Apple Cake
Basic Brownies
Frosted Brownies
German Chocolate Brownies
Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies
Pecan Pie Brownies
S'Mores Brownies
White Chocolate and Peppermint Brownies
Chocolate Whipped Cream
Cookies & Cream Ice Cream Pie
Ice Cream Bonbons
Ice Cream Cupcakes
Rainbow Sherbet Surprise
Mexican Chocolate Pudding
Orange-Kissed Chocolate Pudding
Sea Foam Candy
Strawberries with Balsamic Vinegar

[Middydd]

Originally posted by claire797
Cook's Illustrated version of Taste of Home. I really should have bought it based on the brownie recipes alone.

That was my thought exactly. Cook's Illustrated meets Taste of Home!!

I bought it for the apple cake recipe. I'd had a dry apple cake from a commercial bakery the day before and had been thinking of apple cake improvements since. Their recipe sounds really good.

[valchemist]

could someone tell me about the White Chocolate and Peppermint Brownies? no need to type it up. I just am interested... are they chocolate brownies with white chocolate chunks? or are they white chocolate brownies? and what is the source of the mint flavor?

just curious! I can't bake them since I am dieting so that is why I don't need to see the recipe.

[claire797]

Originally posted by valchemist
could someone tell me about the White Chocolate and Peppermint Brownies? no need to type it up. I just am interested... are they chocolate brownies with white chocolate chunks? or are they white chocolate brownies? and what is the source of the mint flavor?

just curious! I can't bake them since I am dieting so that is why I don't need to see the recipe.

Val, I don't remember what the white chocolate and peppermint brownies looked like but I do remember looking over the recipes and thinking they looked very good and unusual. I'll probably buy the magazine today if I make it over to B&N.

Missindi, thanks for typing up the index. The non-sweet titles sound like things we eat all the time, so it will be nice to have new recipes for old favorites. The desserts sound a little more interesting.

Funniegrl, that's interesting that you found Cooks' Country as smug as CI. CI can come across that way, but from my quick look-over, it seemed Cook's Country was really trying to be down with us country folk. ;). Now I really need to buy it :).

[joanieb]

Val, the White Choc. & Peppermint Brown recipe is "the test kitchen's perfect recipe" w/6 oz. white choc. chips sprinkled over the out-of-the oven pan o'tastiness, softened & spread, and 1/3 c. chopped peppermint candies sprinkle o'er the top. The brownie article is authored by Jack Bishop, and Julia & Bridgette from PBS's Am. Test Kitchen have contributions as well. Their basic premise is a reader offers a recipe query and the Cook's Country staff develop a basic recipe w/variations. There are also reader contributions to "When things go wrong in the kitchen," "Thanks for the memories," and a reader "Recipe Contest."

Sucker that I am, I saw this Friday nite at the grocery store (which does NOT carry Cook's Illustrated, surprisingly) and just had to get the premier issue.

Joanie

[valchemist]

thanks, joanie. they sound great.

[Bawstinn]

I purchased it as well, just for the slow cooker pot roast! Although, at a quick glance there were a lot of good recipe there. I always end with tough meat and tasteless gravy, and this article promised to fix that!!!??!!

How could I resist! :D

[claire797]

I bought it a few days ago and read it cover-to-cover. I have to say, the layout, type-face, pictures and overall design made it quite a fun read. Since there really weren't any ads, there was more actual content than I expected and it was well worth the $5.00 for the recipes, tips and anecdotes. I'm definitely going to subscribe.

Bawstinn, let me know if you make that slowcooker pot roast. I'm going to make it after I make the ranch chili :).

[valchemist]

you can get a free trial issue here.

http://www.cooksillustrated.com/cookscountry/

(it is one of those things where you get a free issue and then they send you the bill and if you don't want it, you write cancel on the bill.)

[valchemist]

also, the s'more brownie recipe is on that link.

[Molli526]

Thanks for the link Val :)

[Little Bit]

Couldn't resist buying this,and I really liked the reader query/magazine response aspect of it.

I'm not sure I'm wild about a lot of the recipes, but maybe that's just my food preferences expressing themselves. :)

The sugar cookie recipe did sound nice though, I may give it a try. I keep thinking I ought to make decorated cookies at Christmas time, but never actually do it.

[claire797]

Originally posted by Little Bit


The sugar cookie recipe did sound nice though, I may give it a try. I keep thinking I ought to make decorated cookies at Christmas time, but never actually do it.

What? You mean that ranch chili didn't appeal to you? ;)

The sugar cookies are intrigueing. Let me know how they turn out if you make them. Also, didn't you love how they laid out the the winning decorated sugar cookie ideas? Some of them I'd seen before, but some were really cute. CI recently asked readers to send in their favorite cupcake decorating ideas, so hopefully the next issue of Cook's Country will feature cute cupcakes along with the "picnic salads" they're also looking for.

[Little Bit]

Originally posted by claire797


What? You mean that ranch chili didn't appeal to you? ;)



Oh, no. Far be it from me to *ever* criticize anyone's chili. :) (It's all, always, 'absolutely delicious' even when I find it inedible. ;) )

Actually, the potato/sausage casseroles just didnt' grab me at all. Guess we just don't eat that combination or something. I will say though, that I don't cook with sausage much, or bacon either, just to avoid the salt and fat. Maybe I've lost my taste for that much indulgence.

[valchemist]

what is wrong with the ranch chili or does anna (little bit) just not like chili and I was unaware of that?

[Little Bit]

Val,

For what it's worth, I was just joking around. :) I truly don't remember the chili recipe, but I do know that chiliheads tend to defend their preferences with strong words. ;) (Only criticise someone's chili when you WANT to make a disturbance, ok? Trust me.)

[angelamaria]

ok the most important question i have after looking at this magazine cover to cover 4 times is--did ANYONE find the darn rooster? am i blind? it is seriously seriously driving me nuts.
i made the basic brownie recipe and it was too cakey and not chocolately enough but maybe i cooked them too long. they were good, i just like kind of chewy brownies.
i have the ranch chili bubbling away right now - i will keep you all posted.
that rooster is in my dreams - **** a doodle doodling away in some very tiny area of that magazine...;)
eta this board edited my rooster sound but i am sure you know what i was trying to spell - it never occurred to me to think it was naughty! sorry!

[madpots]

Thanks, val, for the free issue offer information. I have been trying to find a copy - guess it won't be too bad to wait 4 to 6 weeks - especially with all the magazines I get!

[cinnabun]

$38 worth of magazines, and I won't even get into how many I subscribe to. Geesh.

Now, that sounds just like me. Everytime I walk into a bookstore I walk out with a cookbook or cooking magazine. Don't even get me started on the things that I buy on the internet, ecspecially when it comes to Amazon.

[cinnabun]

I did buy this. Haven't had the time to really sit and look at it, I may try the pudding. I used to subscribe to CI, don't think I will start this one either just because of the number I subscribe to now.

[emptyspool]

Can someone post the recipe for Creamy Shells with Peas and Bacon? It has been raining here for 3 days straight with no break, either a constant drizzle or more and this sounds like the perfect comfort food to "weather out" the rest of this rain!!

[emptyspool]

Just bumping this up to see if anyone has the Creamy Shells recipe before I run errands today, may look for it myself. Sometimes we are late getting new arrival magazines down here, took forever for Everyday Food to show up on the shelves.

[MISSINDI]

Here you go.

Creamy Shells with Peas and Bacon, Serves 4
The peas cook along with the pasta, so there's one less pot to clean.

1 cup whole-milk ricotta
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 T unsalted butter, cut into several pieces
Salt and pepper
1 T extra virgin olive oil
4 slices bacon, cut into 1/4-inch strips
1 medium onion, chopped fine
2 medium garlic cloves, minced
1 pound small shells or penne
2 cups frozen peas
1 T lemon juice

Bring 4 quarts water to boil in large pot for cooking pasta. Place ricotta, Parmesan, butter, 1/4 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp pepper in bowl large enough to hold cooked pasta. Fry oil and bacon in medium nonstick skillet over medium heat until crisp, 6-7 minutes. Transfer bacon to plate lined with paper towels. Add onion to empty pan and cook until lightly golden, about 3 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Transfer onion mixture to bowl with ricotta mixture. Meanwhile, add 1 T salt and pasta to boiling water. When pasta is about 1 minute shy of al dente, add peas and continue to cook for 1 minute. Reserving 1 cup cooking water, drain pasta and peas. Add 1/2 cup cooking water and lemon juice to ricotta mixture and whisk until smooth. Add pasta and peas to bowl and toss to coat, adding more reserved cooking water as necessary to moisten pasta. Stir in crisp bacon and adjust seasonings with salt and pepper to taste. Serve.

[MISSINDI]

By the way, on the Ranch Chili, they mean "ranch" as in cowboys and horses and things, not "ranch" as in ranch dressing. Sounded kinda gross to me too before I actually looked at the recipe.

Many other good features in the magazine as well as the recipes. There's Top Picks on Bottled Italian Dressings (rating each); Ratings on various slow cookers; Buyer's Guide to Orange Juice; An Apple 101 lesson on the different types; how to skim fat from gravy; lesson on different kinds of cocoa powder; info on slow cooker timers; decorating ideas for Christmas cookies, and more.

There's a rooster on the cover of the magazine -- is that the one you're looking for?

[Jazzmatazz49]

I'm trying a trial subscription. I get CI, but their recipes are fairly bland, and I'm hoping this magazine has recipes closer to what we like. Is the writing style as preachy and does it go on and on and on and on like CI does? I don't know why I complain, I've subscribed for years. I've learned a lot of good techniques from them.:D

[MISSINDI]

No, I didn't find it as preachy as CI, and I know what you mean. I think what helps is that a lot of the articles are shorter, and there is a lot of reader involvement, i.e., there's a section where people write in and request a "lost" recipe, there's another section where people told their funny kitchen mishaps, another one detailing readers' kitchen shortcuts, etc., and I think that's going to help break down a litle of the tone that CI has.

There's one brownie recipe here:
http://www.cooksillustrated.com/cookscountry/

[emptyspool]

Thanks for posting the recipe....I went to a newstand today but they did not have the issue. This does sound like good comfort food and lower in fat than I might have thought. Thanks again.

[angelamaria]

no not the rooster on the front - read the note underneath the table of contents- they have hidden a very tiny rooster in the pages somewhere- the first several people who find it get a free year's subscription to the mag.
btw the ranch chili was very good- i have never had a pork based chili before.

[MISSINDI]

Originally posted by angelamaria
no not the rooster on the front - read the note underneath the table of contents- they have hidden a very tiny rooster in the pages somewhere- the first several people who find it get a free year's subscription to the mag.
btw the ranch chili was very good- i have never had a pork based chili before.

Now you got me wondering about it - I'll check it out when I get home. Figured the one on the front was a little too easy to spot, although sometimes when it's too easy, people miss it. ;)