The Perfect Recipe: Getting it right every time

Which comes first when mashing potatoes--the butter or the milk? How do you roast a turkey so the breast is as moist and juicy as the legs? Is it possible to create a fudgy, cakey, chewy brownie all in one? Pam Anderson, executive editor of the highly successful magazine COOK'S ILLUSTRATED, painstakingly conducted test after test to arrive at not only the best recipe but frequently the most convenient and sensible one.

As the executive editor of Cook's Illustrated magazine, Pam Anderson has been called a culinary detective. A recipe troubleshooter. A perfectionist cook.

Just like a private eye, a culinary detective has to have an insatiable curiosity. Pam Anderson does. Tired of guessing whether a recipe in a magazine or a cookbook would produce a winner or a dud, Anderson set out to crack the secret of the very best ways to prepare our most beloved foods. THE PERFECT RECIPE: Getting It Right Every Time-Making Our Favorite Dishes the Absolute Best They Can Be is the result of her meticulous testing.

Getting there is half the fun, as Anderson narrates the story of her flops and eventual triumphs. From this book, you'll not only get infallible recipes, but you'll learn why they work. Even veteran cooks will learn from Anderson's conclusions:

--For a perfect burger, poke small holes into the surface with your fingertips and use 100 percent ground chuck.
--For great coleslaw, salt the cabbage briefly to wilt it so it absorbs the dressing better.
--For the smoothest, lightest mashed potatoes, add the milk before the butter.
--For the plumpest lobsters at the most reasonable price, buy them between Mother's Day and the Fourth of July.
--For moist, full-flavored corn bread, stir boiling water into part of the cornmeal before adding the remaining ingredients.
--For the juiciest turkey, brine it before roasting.

To get her recipes just right, Anderson consulted other cookbooks, chefs, restaurateurs, caterers, industry authorities, food councils, experts and home cooks.

Anderson lives with her husband and their two daughters in New Hope, Pennsylvania.