This is not our favorite "Cook's" cookbook. The recipes are solid and can help you scale down a dish that normally takes 3 hours into 30 minutes. However, there's nothing adventurous in here at all and very few vegetarian dishes. We just don't use the book all that much. ( )

One of my most-used cookbooks. "Quick" in this book doesn't mean microwaved in a minute. It means under 60 minutes. Most of the recipes I use seem to take between 20 and 40 minutes. The editors of Cook's Illustrated have taken truly terrific recipes and tested for the best shortcuts that maintain a high-quality result (for example, jarred roasted red peppers instead of home-roasted red peppers). I regularly turn to this book when I'm out of ideas and everything I've tried has been a hit with the whole family. ( )