The America's Test Kitchen Quick Family Cookbook: A Faster, Smarter Way to Cook Everything from America's Most Trusted Test Kitchen

I was bitten by the America's Test Kitchen bug only last year. I am very appreciative of the thought and care that exhaustively goes into each recipe to make sure it is reproducible for the home cook. I own the America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook, the Healthy Cookbook, and the Baking Cookbook so I wasn't completely sure that I wanted to add another binder to the mix. After reading all the glowing reviews, my resolve broke and I purchased this one.I'm a healthcare worker with two children under two. My husband works long, odd hours. I sometimes feel uninspired when it comes to feeding all of us quickly. This book, with its promise of meals that come together within 45 minutes with prep time included, really seemed to fit the bill.The book's sections include: getting started; appetizers and snacks; soups and stews; salad for supper; sandwiches, pizza, and calzones; casserole favorites; pasta; poultry; meat; seafood; vegetarian mains; dinner off the grill; eggs for dinner; pressure cooker; kid friendly; simple sides; quick baked goods; cookies and bars; shortcut desserts; and the quick pantry and appendices.The book is a five metal ring binder. The rings of the binder have to be pulled apart in order to assemble the cookbook. ATK has perpetuated the same awkward design of the previous binders in the series and included a bunch of organizational tabs in the back of the binder. I have no idea why they make the reader assemble the cookbook, but it is a clumsy process. Guard your fingers! With the emphasis to detail that ATK puts on its recipe writing process I find it ironic that they perpetually drop the ball on cookbook design. However, the cookbooks stays open to whatever page you are cooking fromz.I love the inside front cover of the binder with its Last Minute Sides recipes. I plan entrees a week in advance, but sides are sadly neglected until the last minute. This section delightfully covers everything from couscous to black beans.I also really enjoy the feature "Putting (insert food) To Work" interspersed through each chapter. For example, "Putting Cheese To Work" is a full page spread under appetizers which lists 5 foolproof and often ingenious ways to utilize cheese as an appetizer. Try goat cheese with pink peppercorns and herbs, spicy whipped feta, queso fundido, brie and jam phyllo cups, or herbed ricotta spread. Other included feature convenience foods include but are not limited to tortellini, precooked rice, hard-cooked eggs, peanut butter, cooked shrimp, and deli meat.ATK takes a lot of heat for recycling recipes. You can easily buy three of their books and end up with twenty recipes that repeat in all three books. My advice is to look carefully at the ATK library to determine your cooking needs before ordering all of their books. You only need a handful of their books.Want a few recipe winners? Try the saltimbocco spaghettic with sage, chicken, and proscuitto, oh my! Want something for a chilly evening? The New England seafood casserole fits the bill. Need to satisfy a dessert craving? Go for the apple dumplings with cider sauce.Who should avoid this book? People on a diet and people with an aversion to convenience products should steer clear and bear in mind that quick does not always equate with healthy when you are streamlining time on home recipes. Also, avoid if you don't like recycled recipes and own all the other books. I plan on getting lots of happy use out of this book.

I pre-ordered this book along with two others ( The Science of Good Cooking (Cook's Illustrated Cookbooks)  and  The America's Test Kitchen DIY Cookbook ), fully expecting those other two to be what got me most excited. I own a bunch of America's Test Kitchen's other books, and I love that I always seem to get exactly the advertised result from their recipes, plus I understand why.As it turns out, I've used this book to the exclusion of the others! I have a toddler, a baby on the way, and not a lot of time most nights - having this book around has really reduced the amount we eat out.So far we've made:* Loaded Baked Potato Soup, p. 41* Roast Beef and Blue Cheese Panini, p. 73* Baked Gnocchi with Tomato and Basil, p. 97* BLT Pasta, p. 132* Quick Jambalaya, p. 233Some of the recipes in the book require using convenience ingredients - precooked rice, rotisserie chicken, things like that - but I tend to batch cook stuff in advance anyway, so having some shredded chicken in the freezer isn't a big deal. With either the convenience ingredients or premade, all of the recipes so far have come in around or under the advertised times for me, which is important. (For my husband, the soup took a bit longer than advertised, but he doesn't often cook, so he spent a lot of time looking for things in the kitchen, prepping very slowly, etc. - but he got in the kitchen and cooked! Woo!)If I have any criticism, it's that some of the recipe yields seem a little light. The jambalaya in particular says it should feed 4 to 6, but filled four bowls with rather light portions. That's not enough for me to drop a star - most of the recipes have been right on.

Quality was as described and great but I feel like it’s missing tabs. Otherwise it’s great.

This was my first dip into the America's Test Kitchen waters, and I have to say it was great! I love to cook, and am always trying to find new ways to do things, new recipes and good meals to serve my family. I didn't realize this was a 'quick' recipe book, all of the recipes are geared to be completed in 45 minutes or less, so they call for things like rotisserie chicken and other shortcuts. I simply replace the 'convenience' ingredients as desired. The book has great variety in types of recipes, does a great job of explaining techniques, and I love the helpful tips in which products to use or when to NOT skip a certain process or ingredient. I had recently come to the conclusion that I didn't really need cookbooks anymore when I could go to the internet for almost any recipe, but the ATK Quick Family Cookbook has changed my mind. It was fun to read, the recipes were reasonable and tasty, and the extras made it worth the purchase. I would definitely recommend this to a friend (already have), and will be looking forward to trying more recipes and cookbooks from ATK in the future.

A wide variety of recipes, some of which include time-saving "hacks", often using premade ingredients to cut down on prep time.The cold sesame noodles were really good. I substituted breaded chicken strips for extra crunch and make it even easier.

I own several ATK cookbook's and this one is far and away the BEST, most referenced cookbook. I like high quality meals, with good variety and fresh ingredients that can be cooked on an average weeknight. This cookbook combines ATK's knack for finding the most flavorfull way to cook a dish, with shortcuts that are realistic for busy people on weeknights. A lot of recipes do call for things like jarred pasta sauce and other shortcuts which I'm fine with. They give recommendations for their favorite brands for the various short-cut ingredients. I can honestly say I've never made a bad recipe from this cookbook and I am working my way through almost every recipe. I even made something new that I hadn't tried before from this cookbook when my in-laws came to visit. Needless to say, it turned out perfectly. Thanks ATK!!

I found this book to be a good all round cookbook. It touches on many items and would be pleased to give or get it as a gift, of course if I did not have a copy already. A good breakdown of items and lots of tips.

Move over Betty Crocker, America's Test Kitchen is elbowing in on the cookbook rack and crowding the first place slot. It's neck and neck to the mix-master and oven.

You can't have too many recipes. They are always a source for ideas and tips.

This cookbook is wonderful for delicious fast meals for my family. My kids love everything we have tried so far!