Cook's Country: Best Grilling Recipes

Cook's Country: Best Grilling Recipes features more than 100 recipes for those who like to cook outdoors using a charcoal or gas grill. There are recipes for: real BBQ (items cooked low and slow), steaks, burgers, chops, ribs, poultry, roasts, seafood and side dishes...just about everything you can put on a grill. Also included are recipes for accompaniments such as sauces, butters, salsas, relishes, mayonnaises and pickles. Besides the recipes, the book is filled with tips and tricks for successful grilling as well as an introduction that covers a range of topics that include: lighting the grill, tools and how to avoid mistakes.

This is a great cookbook. I loved that each recipe has directions for both gas and charcoal grills. Many of the recipes also include an explanation of the recipe's (or ingredient's) origin and the steps the editors took to arrive at this particular recipe (usually through testing, testing and more testing.)

I loved all of the sidebars that were scattered throughout the book. These feature techniques with great photos, shopping and product suggestions, as well as lots of other interesting tidbits of information.

While I loved this cookbook, it might not be for everyone. Those interested in cookbooks with lots of glamorous food photos may find it a little lacking. This one is pretty light on photos compared to others I've seen. It is, however, heavy on explanations. It would be perfect for those interested in recipe origins, techniques and ingredients. Of course, anyone looking for some awesome grilling recipes to try out this summer will not be disappointed. With all of the testing that goes into each of the recipes, you can be sure it's going to work the first time.

The one thing missing is a dessert section. I know that some dessert can be made on the grill so I would love to have seen some recipes included in this book.

A great cookbook would not be complete without a great index. I find that I really don't appreciate an index until a book has a limited one or a badly organized one. For me, it's invaluable when it's done right; next to useless when it's done wrong. In this book, it's done right. You can look up recipes by their names, by the main ingredients or by the type of dish it is. For example, I can find the recipe for "All-American Potato Salad" by using its title, under the potato listing, or with the other Salads. Priceless.

With the nice weather just around the corner, this cookbook will be well used in this household.

Recommended.

For more information about this book, please visit, America's Test Kitchen Bookstore website. For recipes and other cool stuff, visit America's Test Kitchen website or Cook's Illustrated website.

I'd like to thank those nice people at HarperCollins Canada for this book.

Cook's Country Best Grilling Recipes by the Editors at America's Test Kitchen, America's Test Kitchen, ©2009. ISBN 9781933615424(Uncorrected Proof), 244p(including index).