A taste of real French cooking—without spending all day in the kitchen.

Bistro Basics

Julia Collin Davison

Bridget Lancaster

Christopher Kimball

Jack Bishop

Steak House Dinners

Dressing Up Vegetables

We turn soggy nachos and candy-sweet sangria into serious party food.

Party Foods

Less is more when it comes to hearty soups.

Hearty Soups

We rescue two favorite vegetable dishes from the clutches of the cafeteria.

The perfect steakhouse dinner—salad with creamy blue cheese dressing and seared filet mignon—is often a fantasy. In the real world, the lettuce is limp, the dressing gluey or watery, the steak overcooked or not properly browned, and the sauce characterless. The test kitchen shows you how to solve each of these problems.

Chinese food at home (without a laundry list of hard-to-find ingredients).

Chinese Takeout

Chicken in a Flash

We return two classic pasta sauces to their original glory.

Pasta Classics

Simple ingredients are often the basis of special and uncommonly good dishes.

Pasta Quick and Easy

Skip the marinade and don't bother to sauté the aromatic vegetables.

Beef Burgundy

The best chili: hearty, heavy on the meat, and spicy.

Texas Chili

The secret to great casseroles: keep the ingredients as fresh tasting as possible.

American Casseroles

Pork Chops, Two Ways

Big, juicy, smoky ribs and classic potato salad.

Backyard BBQ

We prepare an elegant salmon dish . . . on the grill.

Barbecued Salmon

Free up your oven and grill a better tasting bird.

Thanksgiving from the Grill

We turn meat and potatoes into something memorable.

Holiday Dinner

Spiral-sliced ham and good green bean casserole. (Really!)

Ham Dinners

Brunch that's worth making, even when company isn't coming.

Weekend Brunch

It takes more than speed to make the best quick breads.

Quick Breads

Rustic Bread at Home

We take two cookie classics and make them great again.

Cookie Jar Favorites

We solve the problem of soggy crusts and mile-high meringue.

Lemon Meringue Pie

We perfect two classic summer American desserts.

Shortcake and Cobbler

One old-fashioned, moist and homely, the other elegant, dense and ethereal.

Two Chocolate Cakes

Restraint is key for the perfect New York-style cheesecake.

New York Cheese Cake

Equipment reviews, taste tests, and recipes from the test kitchen to the home cook. A team of test cooks that viewers have come to love and trust deconstruct recipes and reveal the test kitchen’s secrets to foolproof cooking at home.

Bistro Basics

Seasons27

Season 3 Episodes26

Cast4

Discussion

Episode Summary