I have three experience with CI. One is a "Fix it and forget it" cookbook my mom got me--basically casserole meals for the stovetop, oven, and slow cooker. Mostly fattening meat eater fare, so I don't use it much. The recipes I've tried have been OK, not out of this world and their version has never been my definitive one, despite what they claim. I guess mom got it for me so maybe I would make some of those dishes when the 'rents visit, it's really more their style of eating. I watch their show on PBS and enjoy it, but again, mostly meat stuff so not for me. I recently tracked down their blueberry scones recipe because I like fresh fruit in scones but don't like how they get all mushed up. The America's Test Kitchen show I watched on the scones had a folding technique for incorporating the berries. The recipe had all kinds of other fru fru stuff, like grating the frozen butter, freezing the dough for 5 minutes halfway through, etc. The scones turned out OK, kinda doughy, and not any better than any other recipe I have tried, except the folding part about the fruit. The third experience I had was having pumpkin cheesecake at a friend's house, and it was absolutely out of this world, by far the best I have ever had. I normally don't even like it!! She gave me a copy of the article she got the recipe from. Their fussy technique of pressing the pumpkin puree between paper towels to remove some of the liquid really did make a difference it that case. When they review brands, they only review a smattering of the options available. On the plus side, at least they try to be innovative and helpful, and the recipes are not over shadowed by personalities.

Semi-sweet is NOT the same as bittersweet, at least in the West Coast where artisanal chocolatiers hold sway with chocolates that go upwards of $85/lb. Bittersweet is becoming the "gourmet chocolate of choice" in America but not elsewhere, where sweet dark and extra dark mostly rule. The reason chocolate sweetness varies all over the place is that the US government's FDA standard mandates the cacao content and milk/fat percentages for different chocolate types, but NOT the sugar amount. So, if Hershey's wanted to label their semi-sweet chips as bittersweet chips, they are breaking no laws because the entire category of "Bittersweet" covers anything that isn't Unsweetened, Sweet, Milk Chocolate, or White Chocolate. The reason one needs to be careful is that the Bittersweet category has the widest range of cacao solids allowed: anything from 35% to 99% cacao solids by weight. Obviously, baking with a chocolate that has 40% cacao solids is going to be very different than using one that has 80% or 90% cacao solids. Chocolate is "heavy" in texture and the more you use, the harder it is to get the texture of your dish to "lift up" and become light/fluffy rather than fudgy/solid. So in reality, most semi-sweet runs about 50% sugar. Most bittersweet runs about 35% sugar. Gourmet bittersweet can be much, much less sweet than that. The vanilla in almost all commercial chocolates, BTW, heavily masks cacao "terroir" flavor, with lecithin and sometimes paraffin used to give lesser quality chocolates the 'smoothness' of the expensive conching process. Info above was taken from the Ghirardelli website, linked below: Here is a link that might be useful: What goes into which chocolate type

I'm not sure what this unmentioned demographic is, but both I and my adult (and out of the house) kids love Cooks Illustrated. I'm a happy subscriber to the magazine and the online resource. What I enjoy is that they tell you the whys and why nots behind what to do as and what not to do. What they tried that didn't work. Learning these things has made me a better cook beyond what I do just with their recipes. Kimball's tone can be a bit annoying on the TV show but it's obvious he's deliberately playing the role of the foil. He's skeptical, he's questioning, he wants an explanation, he warns "when I tried to do xxx at home, it was a disaster." Don't take it too seriously, he honestly couldn't be that much of a jerk. Even if he is, his shtick provides a bit of tension to make the shows more interesting. One of the things that shows their openmindedness is that that they're not afraid to chase down and recommend an easy (even if off-beat) solution to a missing flavor or appearance component. Like when they sometimes recommend sauteing tomato paste or mushrooms or anchovy paste to give a dish a glutamate (umami) flavor jolt. Not too many have found that bandwagon, it works great. The Cooks Country routine is a little too Ah Shucks, Ma and Pa Kettle for me, but I do like the other show.

had to chuckle when I called up the instructions .... where did the CHERRIES COME FROM? never mind, am just having a stroke .... Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars We prefer whole milk in this recipe, but 1 or 2 percent low-fat milk may be substituted. Do not substitute frozen cherries for the fresh cherries. 1. Adjust oven racks to lowest and upper-middle positions; place 12-inch skillet on lower rack and heat oven to 425 degrees. Line rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and place cherries, cut side up, on sheet. Roast cherries on upper rack until just tender and cut sides look dry, about 15 minutes. Transfer cherries to medium bowl, toss with lemon juice, and let cool for 5 minutes. Combine 2 teaspoons flour and cinnamon in small bowl; dust flour mixture evenly over cherries and toss to coat thoroughly. 2. Meanwhile, whisk eggs, 2/3 cup sugar, vanilla, and salt in large bowl until smooth and pale, about 1 minute. Whisk in remaining 1/2 cup flour until smooth. Whisk in cream and milk until incorporated. 3. Remove skillet (skillet handle will be hot) from oven and set on wire rack. Add butter and swirl to coat bottom and sides of skillet (butter will melt and brown quickly). Pour batter into skillet and arrange cherries evenly on top (some will sink). Transfer skillet to lower rack and bake until clafouti puffs and turns golden brown (edges will be dark brown) and center registers 195 degrees, 18 to 22 minutes, rotating skillet halfway through baking. Transfer skillet to wire rack and let cool for 25 minutes. Sprinkle clafouti evenly with remaining 2 teaspoons sugar. Slice into wedges and serve. 4. Adjust oven racks to lowest and upper-middle positions; place 12-inch skillet on lower rack and heat oven to 425 degrees. Line rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and place cherries, cut side up, on sheet. Roast cherries on upper rack until just tender and cut sides look dry, about 15 minutes. Transfer cherries to medium bowl, toss with lemon juice, and let cool for 5 minutes. Combine 2 teaspoons flour and cinnamon in small bowl; dust flour mixture evenly over cherries and toss to coat thoroughly. 5. Meanwhile, whisk eggs, 2/3 cup sugar, vanilla, and salt in large bowl until smooth and pale, about 1 minute. Whisk in remaining 1/2 cup flour until smooth. Whisk in cream and milk until incorporated. 6. Remove skillet (skillet handle will be hot) from oven and set on wire rack. Add butter and swirl to coat bottom and sides of skillet (butter will melt and brown quickly). Pour batter into skillet and arrange cherries evenly on top (some will sink). Transfer skillet to lower rack and bake until clafouti puffs and turns golden brown (edges will be dark brown) and center registers 195 degrees, 18 to 22 minutes, rotating skillet halfway through baking. Transfer skillet to wire rack and let cool for 25 minutes. Sprinkle clafouti evenly with remaining 2 teaspoons sugar. Slice into wedges and serve. 7. Adjust oven racks to lowest and upper-middle positions; place 12-inch skillet on lower rack and heat oven to 425 degrees. Line rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and place cherries, cut side up, on sheet. Roast cherries on upper rack until just tender and cut sides look dry, about 15 minutes. Transfer cherries to medium bowl, toss with lemon juice, and let cool for 5 minutes. Combine 2 teaspoons flour and cinnamon in small bowl; dust flour mixture evenly over cherries and toss to coat thoroughly. 8. Meanwhile, whisk eggs, 2/3 cup sugar, vanilla, and salt in large bowl until smooth and pale, about 1 minute. Whisk in remaining 1/2 cup flour until smooth. Whisk in cream and milk until incorporated. 9. Remove skillet (skillet handle will be hot) from oven and set on wire rack. Add butter and swirl to coat bottom and sides of skillet (butter will melt and brown quickly). Pour batter into skillet and arrange cherries evenly on top (some will sink). Transfer skillet to lower rack and bake until clafouti puffs and turns golden brown (edges will be dark brown) and center registers 195 degrees, 18 to 22 minutes, rotating skillet halfway through baking. Transfer skillet to wire rack and let cool for 25 minutes. Sprinkle clafouti evenly with remaining 2 teaspoons sugar. Slice into wedges and serve. *loud chortle*