Holiday Special Delivery: America's Test Kitchen v. Kimball

Cook’s Country  Cook’s Illustrated  America’s Test Kitchen

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.  For about 14 years we’ve made Cook’s Illustrated’s high-roast turkey (butterfly and brine the bird, then roast it at 450 on a broiler pan set atop homemade dressing.  It takes less than 2 hours and the dressing is bastedly divine).  This year, for the first time I let each child pick a recipe from our archive of Cook’s Illustrated and Cook’s Country magazines for us to make together.  Cara chose a cranberry-apple crumble that was to die for (Cook’s Country), Ethan and I made gingerbread cookies that really were worth eating (Cook’s Illustrated), and Anna and I made Quaker Bonnet biscuits that were pretty good.  In an egregious lapse of judgment, I elected not to serve said biscuits at Thanksgiving dinner itself (we had a lot of starchy sides already), thus giving my middle child yet another grievance for her tally.

In short, we are loyal fans of the America’s Test Kitchen conglomerate.  I love to cook, but I don’t get to do it that much anymore.  If I try a new recipe I want to be pretty sure it’s going to be good.  Enter these magazines.  Before the recipe you get a detailed description of what worked, what didn’t worked, and why.  I want to know that each ingredient and each step is worth it, and I’m not blanching carrots or roasting poblanos for no reason. 

So for our family at least, Christopher Kimball’s divorce from the Vermontian empire he’s created is big news, as is his new venture Milk Street.  Which was a leetle to close for comfort to the enterprise he left, according to ATK, which filed a suit alleging breach of fiduciary duties, corporate theft, interference with contract, and other goodies.  ATK has a site explaining Why we are suing Christopher Kimball.  Here’s the WaPo with 6 takeaways. 

Is it just me, or is there a terrific fact-pattern here?  You can get the complaint, a chronology, and emails there. Of course, this is from a woman constructed a long essay built around a lady entering a series of pie baking contests. 

‘Tis the season!

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