The Complete Cook’s Country TV Show Cookbook
Cook’s Country isn’t just a magazine full of recipes, although you certainly will get plenty of those. The staff explains techniques – and the reasoning behind them – to make you a more skilled and confident cook. You’ll also learn some history about a wide variety of dishes and ingredients.
The recipes are for foods that you’d actually like to eat and the recipes are easy to follow and produce good results. Ultimately, there’s no replacement for hands-on experience in the kitchen. The more you cook, the more confident you become and the more success you have. A reference like Cook’s Country is a great companion for the journey.
If you like to try your hand at making a diverse array of dishes from around the world, then you’re going to like this magazine. It’s not uncommon to find recipes for Cuban sandwiches, Gobi Manchurian, and pasta alla puttanesca all in the same issue.
The editorial team does a fine job of balancing entrees with appetizers, soups, desserts, and beverages. I’ve noticed that most, but not all, of the recipes reflect the nature of the season in which they’re published. This helps when shopping for some of the harder-to-find fresh ingredients and putting together the right side dishes.
I respect a magazine that is willing to come right out and say that they don’t recommend a certain product (or only recommend it with reservations) from a major manufacturer. Unfortunately, this level of honesty is so rare in the publishing industry these days. Cook’s Country can do this and avoid conflicts of interest altogether because there is no advertising anywhere in this magazine. I appreciate that I can trust what they’re writing in their reviews without wondering whether they’re fluffing up a certain product to maintain or attract advertising revenues.
Cook’s Country lends itself particularly well to printed form because of its oversize format and brilliant photography. I just don’t think it would be the same reading it on my phone or even my computer. I keep the latest copy in a drawer in our kitchen and read it while I eat breakfast or have a late-night snack. There’s something about reading this while I’m in the kitchen that motivates me to cook something new.
I still subscribe to a variety of printed magazines because of how they help remind me to slow down. Ever since I was in middle school, I’ve always enjoyed looking forward to receiving my next issues and reading them while I relax for a bit. With this magazine in particular, it’s nice to have a printed copy to bring to the grocery store when I’m shopping for ingredients.
Everything I have made from this magazine has exceeded my expectations. The articles frequently include details about how the test kitchen failed dozens of times before getting the precise result they were looking for. You definitely get the impression that a real, live person has made the recipes and dialed them in.
One of my favorite things about Cook’s Country are the pre-perforated recipe cards from the dishes covered in the issue. You can save your favorites and curate a personal collection without having to save the whole magazine.
I credit Cook’s Country for taking my culinary skills up a couple of notches and for giving me the inspiration to try new dishes that are now in regular rotation in our home. It puts a smile on my face when I stop by the mailbox on the way home from work and see my copy waiting for me. In addition to subscribing yourself, considering gifting a subscription to that fledgling cook in your life in exchange for a future dinner invitation.