Inside the Test Kitchen

Branching Out With Inside the Test Kitchen

My little chef and I are enjoying branching out and trying new recipes as he perfects his culinary skills. He has started experimenting a bit with some of his own cooking ideas, and when I saw Inside the Test Kitchen, Tyler Florence’s latest cookbook, I thought it might be a good resource for both my son and me.

Inside the Test Kitchen: 120 New Recipes, Perfected is a unique cookbook. It is bound like a large moleskine notebook, even complete with an elastic band that wraps around it. It takes you inside Tyler’s own test kitchen, where he breaks down traditional ideas and experiments with ingredients and techniques.

The recipes feature recognizable ingredients, so this is not a cookbook that goes over my head at all. Typical of Tyler Florence’s style, many of the meal ideas have a southern influence and remind me of things my grandmama cooked for our family, only bumped up a notch:

• Parker House Rolls with Parsley-Garlic Butter
• Bourbon Peach Cobbler
• Wayfare Tavern’s Fried Chicken
• Updated Cranberry Sauce with Celery-Walnut Salad
• Pork Chops with Creamed Kale and Fennel-Apricot Salad.
• “Shrimp and Grits” Risotto
• Caramelized Brussels Sprouts with Pancetta
• Classic Black-Eyed Peas with Ham Hock

And, there are favorites like:

• Pork Carnitas Tacos with Tomatillo Salsa Verde
• Roasted and Grilled Mexican Corn
• Paella Risotto
• Spaghetti and Meatballs
• California Avocado Eggs Benedict

There are 120 recipes in all, so our meal planning with this book has expanded tremendously.

Tyler’s handwritten notes are scattered throughout the pages of the book, giving readers extra cooking tips and insight. I LOVE that there are color photographs on every single page and for every single recipe. This is almost a must for me in a cookbook, as I am a visual learner, and it gives less experienced cooks an idea of what everything should look like as you go.

Although you might not think of this as a kid’s cookbook, because my son is really passionate about cooking, Inside the Test Kitchen is right up his alley. Tyler even says that his kids often help out in his test kitchen, and he advises that “there are no bad ideas.” I need to be more confident in my cooking, and I’m so happy that my son is already confident in his at such a young age; he’s not afraid to experiment.

The publisher provided a review copy of Inside the Test Kitchen.