America's Test Kitchen

Who doesn't like a plate of good nachos or Buffalo wings? We discover when you can use supermarket products versus when only good, fresh ingredients will do. A simple, sweet-tart sangria finishes our party menu.

On a cold day, few dishes are as comforting as a hearty soup, unless it turns out starchy or gluey. Watch as we make thick and creamy versions of two of our favorites: ham and split pea, and rustic potato-leek.

Our goal was simple: Rescue two favorite fancy vegetable dishes twice-baked potatoes and stuffed bell peppers from the clutches of cafeterias, bad steakhouses, and frozen food manufacturers.

Steak au poivre; creme brulee.

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.

We show you how to prepare fried rice and kung pao shrimp. Our findings about rice cookers and long-grain white rice guarantee perfect rice every time.