This is only a test

"Best of America's Test Kitchen, 2007" (America's Test Kitchen, $35) recaps recipes developed this past year for the PBS television show "America's Test Kitchen," and Cook's Illustrated and Cook's Country magazines. (The company's mega-kitchen is located in Brookline, Mass.)

The text accompanying each recipe almost reads like a whodunit, with the author trying to solve the mystery of making Shepherd's Pie taste more beefy, or keeping Chicken Kiev's butter stuffing from leaking out during cooking.

The recipes are detailed and almost overly exacting. For instance, the editors tweaked Peanut Blossoms, the popular Pillsbury Bake-Off recipe where peanut butter cookies are each topped with a Hershey's Kiss.

The recipe calls for creamy peanut butter plus a cup of finely ground peanuts to boost the flavor. It also says to rotate the baking sheets front-to-back halfway during cooking to ensure even baking. And instead of sticking Hershey's Kisses on the cookies when they come out of the oven, you place them during the last two minutes of baking.

Both steps raise the risk of burned fingers. Casual cooks may wonder if the results are worth the hassle.

But if you are a meticulous cook and thrive on step-by-step details, the recipes are great. They include trouble-shooting tips on "Where things can go wrong," or "What you can do ahead of time."

The editors also rated such ingredients and equipment as all-purpose olive oil, canned enchilada sauce, no-boil lasagna noodles, muffin tins, frozen waffles and more. It's surprising to find expensive products aren't always best.

Sound bites

"Country Music Christmas" by Edie Hand and Buddy Killen (Broadway Books, $25), is a collection of Christmas recipes from country, gospel and "crossover" music stars, such as Ray Price (Good Times Classic Onion Soup), Barbara Mandrell (Do-Right, Outta Sight Christmas Turkey) and Alan Jackson (Chattahoochee Cornbread).

Besides the obvious tie-in with hit songs, each recipe is accompanied by the artists' Christmas memories. Willie Nelson tells how as a kid his family decorated a potted oleander bush because they couldn't afford a Christmas tree. Amy Grant remembers how her father would shoot mistletoe down from trees on the family farm. Billy Ray Cyrus tells of delivering clothing to families in need in the Appalachian coal mines (and his accompanying recipe is Achy Breaky Cake).

There are photos of the stars but not the recipes. A bonus: The book comes with a CD of Christmas songs.

The Deen of Southern cuisine