Cover & Bake

More than 200 Practical, Family-Friendly Recipes for Everyone's Favorite One-Dish Meals with Make-Ahead Tips for Relaxed Entertaining or Weeknight Dinners What's more American than a casserole? A hallmark of American practicality, casseroles can be assembled in advance and, since most are portable, they're perfect for a potluck dinner or church supper. They are also ideal for busy cooks who want to plan ahead. But lately, casseroles seem to have fallen on hard times. Taste has been sacrificed for speed as most modern recipes rely on an unappetizing list of high-fat convenience products. In Cover and Bake, the editors of Cook's Illustrated set out to revitalize the American casserole with the goal of combining simplicity and good taste. This wide-ranging collection, packed with illustrations, tips, and ingredient and equipment ratings, brings new life to our favorite comfort foods and details innovative ways for constructing more interesting casseroles and one-dish meals. not your mother's casserole What's the secret to making fresh-flavored casseroles ahead of time? The key is to store the sauce and other components separately and assemble just before baking. We've included a wide array of dishes-from Chili Mac (seen here) to Creamy Chicken and Rice with Peas, Carrots, and Cheddar-that you can prepare days, even weeks, in advance. Cook while you're away Can you really make company-worthy meals in a slow cooker? Slow cookers sound great but often produce bland, mushy meals. Ignore the recipes that came with your slow cooker. You must brown meats on the stovetop to build flavor. You also have to know which meats can endure a long cooking time and which can't. Let our well-tested recipes, like Chicken with White Wine, Tarragon, and Cream (seen here), turn you into a slow-cooker pro. dinner in a skillet How do you make a casserole in just one pan on top of the stove? Careful timing and rotating the ingredients in and out of the skillet make recipes like Skillet Lasagna (seen here) and Skillet Chicken with Potatoes and Rosemary easy enough for a busy worknight. We've designed our recipes so that pastas and other starches cook right in the sauces (hurray, no extra pots) and everything is ready at the same time. as easy as pie Is it possible to make a great pot pie without spending hours in the kitchen? Absolutely. Many toppings can be made ahead, and we've streamlined the recipes so that the fillings are simple. Choose from an array of savory toppings and fillings for dishes like Beef Pot Pie with Portobellos and Rosemary (seen here) and Salmon Pot Pie with Peas and Pearl Onions. Oven braises for hands-off cooking Can you really put dinner in the oven and forget it? Oven-cooked stews and braises are the original "cover and bake" dinners. The slow cooking tenderizes tough meats and marries varied flavors into a robust meal. Recipes such as Chicken Tagine (seen here) and Braised Lamb Shanks cook unsupervised in the oven, leaving you free to do other things. a souffle in a loaf pan? How do you take the guesswork out of delicate egg dishes? Easy recipes, including a Cheese Souffle that bakes in a loaf pan (seen here) and French Toast Casserole (which is assembled the night before), are perfect for entertaining, as long as you avoid the most common pitfall-overcooking. Our reliable recipes show you how to avoid curdled, grainy custards and dry, deflated souffles.Cook's Illustrated Magazine Editors is the author of 'Cover & Bake ', published 2004 under ISBN 9780936184807 and ISBN 0936184809.