There are a few things about me you probably don't know. Like the fact that I get really infatuated with certain celebrities/persons of interest. Like, um, Donny Osmond. Ugh, I know. But that's not what we're here to talk about. If you've been reading WANM for a long time, you've probably noticed I talk about Cook's Illustrated and Chris Kimball quite a bit over the years. I actually wrote about him in one of my very first blog posts! In my eyes, Chris Kimball is a God. Ever since my dad introduced me to Cook's Illustrated and America's Test Kitchen when I was in college, I've held Chris Kimball in incredibly high regard. And when I was in grad school and contacted a random email address on the ATK website to see if I could ask an editor some questions for a paper I was writing... And Kimball himself invited me to call him; I became obsessed. Can you blame me? He gave me a fabulous interview and I got an A on the paper π Kimball is definitely on my favorite person list!
Though America's Test Kitchen is practically in my neighborhood, I've never had the opportunity to visit. Until tonight. We were invited to the launch party for their new cookbook; the one that compiles recipes from the last 20 years of Cook's Illustrated. How exciting!
If you don't know a lot about America's Test Kitchen, I'll let you know that they publish my absolute favorite magazine, Cook's Illustrated. It's the magazine I'm most excited to get every month because, though it's pretty short, it's absolutely packed with quality material. The basic idea behind Cook's illustrated is that the cooks in the test kitchen test each recipe over and over and over until they absolutely perfect it. That can mean making a recipe once with Β½ C sugar and the next time making it exactly the same way except for using ΒΎ C of sugar instead. They want to make every recipe as perfect as possible, while also making sure the recipes are completely accessible for home cooks. They explain everything they do exceptionally well and have a reason for everything. Plus? There are no ads!
Of course, America's Test Kitchen also has an incredibly successful PBS show, tons of cookbooks, and another magazine called Cook's Country. They get A LOT done over here in Brookline, MA!
There was so much incredible food at the party (all dishes from the new cookbook!), but I failed to photograph most of it because there were too many completely fabulous people to talk to… and I do not do well talking, eating, drinking wine, AND photographing.
Chels and I met Steph, Social Media Manager for ATK at TechMunch over the summer. She does an amazing job with social media for the entire brand and one of my favorite things tonight was her Wall of Awesome. When a reader cooks an ATK recipe and posts a picture on Twitter, Steph often prints the photo of their dish out and puts it on the wall. This way, all of the wonderful cooks, who who busy in the kitchen, can see their own dishes that readers are recreating. I love this idea, especially since the ATK cooks don't have a lot of time to leave the kitchen and hang out on the internet. It's like a Twitter stream come to life π
My other favorite thing? America's Test Kitchen is my All-Clad heaven! It's literally EVERYWHERE you look. I contemplated putting a piece in my purse (they'd never notice it was missing! And my purse is HUGE!), but then I realized I wanted to be invited back at some point. Plus my purse was already really heavy. So I just drooled over it, instead π
That's not even the half of it. Oh, and it's a Le Creuset heaven, too!
Need a whisk?
Chris gave a short but very sweet talk, welcoming us to his "home" and thanking us for celebrating their new cookbook with them. He admitted he once didn't quite get blogging and social media, but is now fully supportive of it. Yay!
Before we left (you should know Chelsee and I are always the last people to leave every party… beware if you invite us somewhere!), we headed out into the library, another heaven.
We enjoyed some pecan bars.
And pots de creme.
Of course, we also snapped a photo with Chris and BostonTweet! (Um, please excuse my roots. Whoa!).
I also had the opportunity to talk to Julia Collin Davison from the America's Test Kitchen show, and she was just as nice in person as she is on television. Oh, and we also got to take home the best gift bags ever, including 2 cookbooks- the new one and the Kitchen Menu Cookbook!
Thanks for inviting us into your home, America's Test Kitchen! We already have plans to return for a full-blown tour, and probably to ask everyone in the kitchen a million questions! I might hide in the refrigerator or something this time, so I never have to leave. Just kidding. I promise...
Are you an America's Test Kitchen/Cook's Illustrated fan?
[Sues]
Elizabeth says
I'm still full from eating way too much chocolate mousse. It was really nice catching up with you last night!
Michelle says
I am definitely a CI fan. I wish I could have made this event!
Cya says
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, ATK! I discovered them on PBS one lazy Saturday morning and have loved them ever since! I especially appreciate the demonstration videos on the ATK website.
Megan says
Great to see you both last night. I am most definitely a fan! π
Lena H. says
It was so great to meet you last night! And I LOVE hearing / reading your stories about the ATK / Cook's Illustrated influence π
Erica @ In and Around Town says
Looks like a great night - that kitchen is a dream!!
Christina says
So fun! It looks like a great time. I enjoyed the behind the scenes kitchen pictures. I'd love to have that many pots and pans as long as I had a clean up crew so I didn't have to do dishes.
Kelly says
Looks like a fantastic party. I always love when people who are so successful and accomplished are also incredibly down to earth. I will admit I went through a period of my life when I was debating leaving the advertising industry and going to culinary school and it was all with the intent of going to work there.
Looks like you both had a fantastic time.
Stacey says
How do I get in on this fun?
I've had a ton of fun exploring your blog..great job ladies!
Liz says
Looks like it was a great time! I've never seen so many whisks in my life.
Erin says
What an amazing kitchen! My little 2 pots at home are jealous. π I had no idea that this was in Brookline either. How did I miss this after living there for almost 3 years?!
Jennifer (take the day off) says
Yes! I am a HUGE fan and i would get weak in the knees if I were to meet Chris or Julia. Their recipes are so involved and sometimes crack me up at their particularity, but they are ALWAYS worth the effort! I also find the PBS show somehow soothing to watch, for some reason.
Dawn - She Is Too Fond of Books says
Such fun to meet you both, Chels and Sues! Your recap and photos bring the night right back (I refrained from licking the screen when I scrolled down to the pecan bars - yum!). ATK perfects all they do - from fine-tuning recipes to throwing an awesome launch party.
Shannon says
ha, i felt weird and didn't introduce myself to chris! and i didn't even notice julia was there π nor did i get a chance to chat with you. clearly, the evening was not long enough!! fabulous recap though, and some definitely delicious food π
beth says
Um.... so I know what I want for Christmas!
Sues says
@Shannon- I felt the same way! When the night was over I was like, "Ugh I didn't even get to talk to Shannon!!"
Mark says
No way!!! You are so lucky. How did you get invited? I would have driven the 5 hours to go.
Sues says
@Mark We feel SO lucky! They invited a whole bunch of Boston-area food bloggers and we made the list. It was a blast!