Available for Kindle. There’s a certain irony …
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Modernist Cuisine (and the subsequent books on related topics)
I have long liked La Varenne Pratique, but as a great third choice after working under a great line cook or going to a really great cooking school, nothing beats YouTube for me.
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He does irritate, but as one born in New England who has, for many years, lived in other places, the insularity of the show’s tastes is obnoxious. I have a brother and sister in law in Somerville who just will not eat spicy food. Also, ATC’s equipment tests are probably valid for the things they sample and try, but they never try the things to which I gravitate. Ditto for their taste tests. And lastly, just to pile on, classic recipes are classic for good reason. Sure, you you can make them faster, finding ways to streamline classic techniques. Why? Making a proper stock or mille feuille does take time and attention. Incorporating these elements into recipes deserves respect. It shows in the results. Most shortcuts ATC takes change the result. I am not saying it is better or worse, but it is decidedly different.
The other night I celebrated a cool evening with a bouef Bourguignon loaded with shortcuts. Was it really good? Yes! Was it the same as my favorite time-suck recipe? Not close.
Honor the tradition!
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I so agree with this comment!
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For me it’s the shudder/grimace he would make in the early days anytime something had even a hint of chili/spice. Grow up, man.
Nowadays with Milk Street (and presumably by popular demand), he has come around to flavor enhancers like gochujang and chili crisp. 
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The books that have been my How To books that I’ve used the most are a Junior League Atlanta Cooknotes cookbook I’ve had since 1992, Molly O’Neill’s NY Cookbook I’ve owned since 1998, and a Good Housekeeping cookbook I’ve had since around 2000. The Good Housekeeping cookbook includes a lot of variations and explanations.
I have a Junior League cookbook from Lafayette, GA and a Junior League cookbook from San Antonio that I used a lot for “how to” in the late 90s and early 2000s.
I enjoyed Bittman’s How To Cook Everything for a while, but haven’t used it in 10 years.
From around 2010 until 2020, if I needed help with cooking meat or poultry, I was reading online articles on SeriousEats and threads by fourunder on CH.
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I have a Maryland Junior League cookbook which is my go-to for special, regional recipes.
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Me too. His voice on the radio even without the bow tie images, his intro letters from Vermont, his tone in writing and in speech…combination of fake-folksy and sort of (to me, at least) condescending know it all…Cooks Illustrated with him was kind of "let’s keep it simple folks, we don’t need those herbs and spices and global ingredients) to me.
I’m not low key and understated but I can be even less! Ha ha.
and I haven’t yet mentioned his marketing schemes, until now…
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I also liked Samin Nosrat’s Salt Fat Acid Heat, but not enough to watch the shows or purchase the book.
I learn something new from Judy Rodger’s Zuni cookbook as well as from Paula Wolfert’s cookbooks every time I pick them up, and I’ve used all of those cookbooks extensively since they were published years ago.
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Yes, I find the Milk Street recipes more interesting and complex. I can get some Milk Street recipes every week for free from my Boston Globe subscription. I wouldn’t pay extra for them.
I live in Somerville and we love spicy food from many geographic areas worldwide. We also highly dislike New England insularity, which fortunately has changed somewhat over the last decades. I grew up in NC, lived in Northern California and Spain for 15 years, and have really enjoyed the changes in food and ingredient availability in the Boston area.
I love complex and complicated and diverse ingredients, so CI didn’t appeal to me. When I want/need fast and easy, I do it. Otherwise, I prefer “project” cooking!
Recipes on the Milk Street tv show are free on the website for that season at least, possibly more.
In their Baking book, this was on clear display for their “Southern Cornbread” recipe. They acknowledge that it’s supposed to use white cornmeal and little-to-no sugar (correct!) but then they say they are going to use yellow cornmeal and sugar, and they make a mush with boiling water before baking it in a cake pan if that’s what you have… it’s just upsetting to even type out. When it was published in their magazine, Kimball wrote, ’ Unlike its sweet, cakey Northern counterpart, Southern cornbread is thin, crusty, and decidedly savory. Though some styles of Southern cornbread are dry and crumbly, I favor this dense, moist, tender version. Cornmeal mush of just the right texture is essential to this bread. ’
My digital copy shows this as the cornbread, but hopefully it as just a layout mistake and this is the Irish soda bread....
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I use Best of Cook’s Illustrated for baking and American-type foods if I need a recipe. Otherwise, lots blogs, especially for Asian.
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I found Samin’s show not very helpful, but I found the first half of her book quite good. Basic, but good.
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Even without the wrong photo, yikes.
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I’ve made her tahdig rice recipe a few times; has been a success each and every time.
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I sure didn’t intend for the “Let’s kick Christopher Kimball in the 'nads” hijack to take off, but yes, his condescending know-it-all attitude was really aggravating, especially since I didn’t think he knew that much to begin with!
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I think Samin Nosrat’s show (weren’t there only four episodes?) was a great starter, and she has such a fun personality you just want to hug her (at least I do). Spawn2 sees her at Berkeley Bowl pretty regularly but manages to suppress the urge to fawn all over her. It’s a good thing I don’t go shopping with them, or I might not be able to control myself.
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