Season 3

1. Party Foods

We turn soggy nachos and candy-sweet sangria into serious party food.

2003-01-04 • 25 min

2. Hearty Soups

Less is more when it comes to hearty soups.

2003-01-11 • 25 min

3. Dressing Up Vegetables

We rescue two favorite vegetable dishes from the clutches of the cafeteria.

2003-01-18 • 25 min

4. Bistro Basics

A taste of real French cooking—without spending all day in the kitchen.

2003-01-25 • 25 min

5. Steak House Dinners

The perfect steakhouse dinner—salad with creamy blue cheese dressing and seared filet mignon—is often a fantasy. In the real world, the lettuce is limp, the dressing gluey or watery, the steak overcooked or not properly browned, and the sauce characterless. The test kitchen shows you how to solve each of these problems.

2003-02-01 • 25 min

6. Chinese Takeout

Chinese food at home (without a laundry list of hard-to-find ingredients).

2003-02-08 • 25 min

7. Chicken in a Flash

Quick and easy chicken dishes.

2003-02-15 • 25 min

8. Pasta Classics

We return two classic pasta sauces to their original glory.

2003-02-22 • 25 min

9. Pasta Quick and Easy

Simple ingredients are often the basis of special and uncommonly good dishes.

2003-03-01 • 25 min

10. Beef Burgundy

Skip the marinade and don't bother to sauté the aromatic vegetables.

2003-03-08 • 25 min

11. Texas Chili

The best chili: hearty, heavy on the meat, and spicy.

2003-03-15 • 25 min

12. American Casseroles

The secret to great casseroles: keep the ingredients as fresh tasting as possible.

2003-03-22 • 25 min

13. Pork Chops, Two Ways

Finding flavor in today's leaner pork.

2003-03-29 • 25 min

14. Backyard BBQ

Big, juicy, smoky ribs and classic potato salad.

2003-04-05 • 25 min

15. Barbecued Salmon

We prepare an elegant salmon dish . . . on the grill.

2003-04-12 • 25 min

16. Thanksgiving from the Grill

Free up your oven and grill a better tasting bird.

2003-04-19 • 25 min

17. Holiday Dinner

We turn meat and potatoes into something memorable.

2003-04-26 • 25 min

18. Ham Dinners

Spiral-sliced ham and good green bean casserole. (Really!)

2003-05-03 • 25 min

19. Weekend Brunch

Brunch that's worth making, even when company isn't coming.

2003-05-10 • 25 min

20. Quick Breads

It takes more than speed to make the best quick breads.

2003-05-17 • 25 min

21. Rustic Bread at Home

Hearth-quality bread from a home oven.

2003-05-24 • 25 min

22. Cookie Jar Favorites

We take two cookie classics and make them great again.

2003-05-31 • 25 min

23. Lemon Meringue Pie

We solve the problem of soggy crusts and mile-high meringue.

2003-06-07 • 25 min

24. Shortcake and Cobbler

We perfect two classic summer American desserts.

2003-06-14 • 25 min

25. Two Chocolate Cakes

One old-fashioned, moist and homely, the other elegant, dense and ethereal.

2003-06-21 • 25 min

26. New York Cheese Cake

Restraint is key for the perfect New York-style cheesecake.

2003-06-28 • 25 min