The Complete Autumn and Winter Cookbook: 550+ Recipes for Warming Dinners, Holiday Roasts, Seasonal Desserts, Breads, Food Gifts, and More (The Complete ATK Cookbook Series)

For an organization which dismissed its founder, who then began an competing business, you would think they would not follow along in his footsteps. But it appears that they have, in that they are getting more and more into international flavors and ingredients. That is not a problem, there is nothing wrong with expanding one's palette, learning about the flavors of other countries and cultures, but it feels a bit forced, here.One of the soup recipes calls for chen pi, anise pods, oxtails, raw peanuts, jujubes, and gai coy. My local grocery store, in the suburb of a large city, does not carry any of that. Another required kombu and bonito flakes. Yet, another wants Umbrian lentils. They do say that regular brown lentils will work, but you really need the superior Umbrian variety. Uh-huh. There's the difficult to find fenugreek and za'atar. My big pet peeve is when they call for fresh herbs, and don't you give you the equivalent dried. Except, mysteriously, for the rosemary for the Pan-Roasted Chicken Breasts with Root Vegetables.Some of the directions are very lazy. One of the recipes (we're still in the soups, folks), calls for cooked, peeled chestnuts, with no instructions as to how to do that, or how many you need to buy to produce the required 3 cups. A number of recipes "will only work in an electric pressure cooker". Hogwash. Take the Pressure-Cooker Spiced Chicken Soup with Squash and Chickpeas. They could have so easily said, to make this in a crock pot or on the stove top, saute the onions, add the spices and tomato paste, add the water and chicken breasts, squash and chickpeas and simmer for 90 minutes. The Hoppin' John says to cut the ham into 3/4" planks. I have no idea what they are considering to be a plank. What measurements other than thickness? Each chapter finishes with some recipes that are "extras"-- spice blends and sauces. But some of them are relevant to earlier chapters, making the groupings very odd.The photo of the Chocolate Matcha Tart shows the version in the description, but the one in the directions. Too many of the directions are abbreviated. This just doesn't feel like the usual ATK books. But there is the classic Gravlax recipe and several others that are going to be familiar (it wouldn't be an ATK cookbook if it didn't pilfer from its own library, now would it). I am almost definitely going to keep this, and will cook from it. But there will be a number of recipes I will be skipping over, for a number of reasons, and we'll see how it goes.

I Pre-ordered this book and received it today.. LOVE ATK...their recipes are tested and reliable (most of the time). I appreciate that this cookbook focuses on the recipes and ingredients that make the fourth quarter of the year so cozy. I can already tell the recipes will be good! I gave this book only 4 stars, though, because the pictures are a buzzkill. Total turnoff. Look at the chicken & dumplings on p 32 or the liver pate on p 236 for example. We all know pate turns green as it oxidizes, but a little chopped parsley as garnish to hide it, maybe? Looks like an amateur called the shots using a broken Polaroid and with bathroom lighting. Good thing I believe in your recipes, ATK, cuz of it were all about the food photography alone, this book would definitely go back. (I have a cookbook from 1973, handed down from my Mom, with nicer photography. I own over 40 of their cookbooks so I know ATK could've done better.) So if you're one to judge a recipe or cookbook based on the accompanying photos, this book might make you a bit queasy.Edited 4 days later: I finished reading the book, page by page, this morning and I'm VERY pleased with the layout of this book and how it's divided into sections like "food gifts" and "everything apple" for a nice change. I see several recipes that are unique and will absolutely make, ie, the PB creme brulee, braised cabbage with pancetta, and savory bread pudding for starters. There are repeats from previous publications, but more new or updated recipes. I look forward to cooking through this book! But again, the pictures...

I preordered this book, and I’ve waited so long to arrived. I love Test Kitchen , I have bunch of books by them. But when I revived the book, I wanted to love it but got disappointed because there was a lot of old recipes from their other books which I have. So I decided to return it. Overall it is a beautiful book just isn’t worth keeping for me.

I got my copy yesterday and quickly identified several recipes that I want to try out right away. The book itself is a good quality, the paper is sturdy and there are a lot of big pictures of the recipes. I like how the book is set up, with sections on holiday drinks, pumpkin and apple recipes, and breads, cakes, and other treats. This book is also a really good blend of classic American holiday recipes (turkey and gravy, pumpkin pie, etc.), and creative new autumnal recipes. It would be good for beginner cooks and experienced home-chefs. I'm excited to make something this weekend! I will update this review with pictures later on.Recipes tried:1. Challah (p. 326): This recipe takes nearly all day, but made a delicious challah. The active time is short and then there are two long waiting periods. I used the leftover bread to make Challah French toast, which they should have included a recipe for in the book but don’t.2. Slow-Cooker Creamy Pumpkin-Chai Soup (p. 213): This recipe is very easy with simple ingredients. I used the spices listed in description instead of the Chai bag. I really loved this soup and want to add it to my rotation. Also, this could easily be made on the stovetop if you do not own a slow cooker.3. Pumpkin-Chocolate Chip Snack Cake (p. 220): Again, very easy to put together and delicious results.4. Cheese Lasagna