Happy New Year! (Or: I LOVE Chris Kimball)

I’m not sure if America’s Test Kitchen is on a PBS channel near you, but they are based in Boston, and the show’s curmudgeonly master of ceremonies is from Vermont, so New Englanders are kind of possessive of these folks. It is for these reasons that I consider anything I might make from ATK to be Yankee Food!

You know them as Cook’s Illustrated, I’m sure. Not only am I a loyal subscriber to Cook’s but I also am the proud owner of several grease-smeared, flour-dusted, dogeared copies of their myriad of cookbooks (the Family Cookbook is a favorite). Chris Kimball is the host of their PBS show, and writes a column for every issue of Cook’s. He’s a philosopher farmer and a guy who eats. Frankly, I’m not sure what qualifies him to have such a great job, since he mostly hangs out with the very cool test cooks and eats stuff. I guess maybe just that – he likes to eat? Anyway, since I love all recipes ATK, by default, I find myself also digging Chris Kimball. My latest addition to the collection (a lovely Christmas gift from my husband) is:

The Best of America’s Test Kitchen 2008.  This is a collection of great recipes from all their publications throughout the year. Since it’s from all over, it’s not just a recap of all the Cook’s Illustrated recipes, in fact, there aren’t many from Cook’s at all. The book includes several great do-ahead recipes, from their The Best Make-Ahead Recipe book that I have in mind for high veggie season (like frozen stuffed peppers), and which make me think that might be the next addition to the collection.

But in the spirit of pantry meals, what’s better than using up some of those baking supplies on a great New Year’s Day morning nosh? Specifically, that box of cake flour I have that I bought for tortillas, but that has been sitting there open for several months. So, last night I whipped up this little beauty, which we enjoyed this morning:

(Hey, I took this photo, eh! I discovered the “temperature” and “tint” settings on my photo program. Duh.)

It’s the New York Style Crumb Cake. It’s very, very good. Do not attempt to eat a piece the size of a brownie, unless it is, perhaps, New Year’s Day and you can remain comfortably in your PJs for another hour or two. There’s lots of crumbly, cinnamony top, and the cake itself is moist, tender and rich. The recipe, while fairly easy, includes lots of ATK-style pointers, tips and steps, so I am not going to attempt to recreate it here. If you have the book, it’s on page 305. If you’re a Cook’s subscriber, this is one of the recipes from that magazine, actually. I think it was in the May/June issue.  Check it out there, or go here and subscribe!  I don’t  subscribe to the online stuff myself, it’s a small cloud of darkness in the happy place that ATK is for me.  If I’m a Cook’s subscriber, why can’t I access the stuff online without paying more money?  Whatev..

Have two cups of tea with this one!