Season 1

1. Forgotten Cakes

Join us as we re-create two classic cakes from the 1960s. Christopher Kimball shares tips for error-proof baking, and Jack Bishop reveals which milk chocolate won our taste tests.

2008-09-06 • 25 min

2. Sunday Dinner

2008-09-13 • 25 min

3. Feeding a Crowd, Italian-Style

Everyone loves Italian food. We share the secrets to making extraordinary meatballs and marinara and the perfect “Sunday gravy”—a slow-simmered sauce with several kinds of meat.

2008-09-20 • 25 min

4. Southern Regional Recipes

We share the test kitchen’s method for simplifying Lexington-style pulled pork, and explain how to make the perfect Memphis coleslaw—a barbecue-joint staple.

2008-09-27 • 25 min

5. Autumn Supper

Making pork roast is tricky. Which cut is best and how do you keep the meat moist? Our unique seven-hour recipe will change the way you think about the other white meat.

2008-10-04 • 25 min

6. All-American Picnic

Learn to make super-crunchy fried chicken. Pair it with our classic potato salad, or with the potato chips that won our taste test of top brands.

2008-10-11 • 25 min

7. Easy As Pie

2008-10-18 • 25 min

8. Steakhouse Favorites

Learn the technique for perfectly broiled steaks, and discover the secret to super-stuffed potatoes. Adam Ried tells us which steaks knives make the cut.

2008-10-25 • 25 min

9. Barbecued Chicken

2008-11-01 • 25 min

10. Regional Chops

Learn to grill double-thick chops and how to give them authentic smoke flavor. The test kitchen also perfects a recipe for whiskey-glazed pork chops.

2008-11-08 • 25 min

11. Midwestern Favorites

2008-11-15 • 25 min

12. California Grilling

Bridget Lancaster teaches Christopher Kimball how to cook a garlicky tri-tip roast on the grill. She also prepares California barbecued beans and Santa Maria-style salsa.

2008-11-22 • 25 min

13. Diner Favorites

Enjoy a diner-style brunch at home with impossibly tall and fluffy omelets, crusty, deeply browned home fries, and the best store-bought orange juice as judged by our tasters.

2008-11-29 • 25 min