Cook's Illustrated

March/April 2013

Automatic Drip Coffee Makers

The success of our favorite—but very pricey—Dutch automatic drip model spurred the launch of new rivals. Could any brew a great cup with less pain to our wallets?

Beets with Lemon and Almonds

Our simple method saves time, intensifies flavor, and even yields a beet-enriched sauce.

Best Chicken Parmesan

What good does it do to create a crisp crust on this Italian American standard if it turns soggy as soon as it’s sauced? We wanted a juicy cutlet that kept its crunch.

Fluffy Omelet

It’s like a soufflé in a skillet—or would be if we could figure out how to keep it from collapsing before it got to the plate.

Foolproof Spaghetti Carbonara

An overload of fat makes a smooth, stable sauce for this classic Roman pasta. But could we dial back the fat and still have a velvety consistency?

Hearty Spanish-Style Lentil and Chorizo Soup

To achieve authentically deep, complex flavor in this hearty soup, we had to turn down the flame.

Lemon Chiffon Pie

We love the elegant simplicity of lemon chiffon pie but found the gelatin used in most recipes difficult to work with. We use a combination of cornstarch and gelatin to get a creamy pie and add a burst of lemon flavor by tucking a layer of lemon curd beneath the chiffon. Our graham cracker crust adds just a hint of flavor and is a crisp contrast to the soft and fluffy filling.

Modern Beef Burgundy

Most recipes for this French classic require you to stand at the stove tediously batch-­searing beef and sautéing vegetables. But what if the whole operation could move to the oven?

No-Knead Brioche

We’d make this rich, incredibly tender bread a lot more often if we didn’t have to spend 20 minutes kneading in perfectly room-temperature butter.

Roast Butterflied Leg of Lamb with Coriander, Cumin, and Mustard Seeds

Roast leg of lamb can be difficult—it cooks unevenly and is hard to both flavor and carve. We take another approach: Leave out the bone and bring on the bloom (of spices, that is).

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