It had to be some kind of magic. Not dark magic, the good kind. The kind that fairy godmothers had.
And my mother had it too.
We watched in awe as she added several not-so-tasty ingredients to a giant bowl and mixed them together. We were entranced as she kneaded, allowing the day’s frustrations to work the dough until it was perfectly smooth. We waited in anticipation as she covered it with a cloth and it magically grew and transformed. And then, after a half an hour or so in the fiery oven, we had the lightest, fluffiest, most delicious bread on earth. Mmmmmmm magic.
Even as I learned the basics of cooking in my 4-H club, the combinations of ingredients seemed like a mystery. Reading recipes was like following a map to a secret treasure.
One false step and you might find yourself in a pit of hungry crocodiles. Or worse, eating salty, rock-hard cookies.
Other days luck was on our side and we found the delicious “buried treasure.”
Maybe this explains my excitement over the Cook’s Illustrated Cookbook from America’s Test Kitchen that I bought on sale a few weeks ago. It definitely explains why I bought an extra to share here on the blog. I love this treasure of a book.
They test their recipes over and over again to find out what works best.
They give you all of the hints to make sure it works every time. And then they tell you why it works!
Maybe it’s still magic. It sure tastes like it. But if it is, this cookbook is the kind of magic that invites you in and hands you a wooden-spoon-shaped wand and initiates you to the club.
So whether you fancy a treasure hunt through the 2,000 recipes in this impressive tome, or you’re looking for a few (thousand) magic tricks to add to your dinner repertoire, this is the perfect book.
And because I love you, it’s also the perfect giveaway.
Enter below, and watch here to find out who wins on August 10th!
This giveaway is sponsored solely by me.
