America's Test Kitchen

Many Greek salads are no more than iceberg lettuce topped with an overly acidic dressing and a few crumbs of feta cheese. And spinach salad is also often drowned in an oily, bland dressing and sprinkled with minuscule bacon bits. We set out to create flavorful, fresh-tasting versions of these two salads.

What's the best way to enjoy summer tomatoes? It's hard to argue with a recipe that goes something like this: Slice, salt, and serve. Still, there are times when you want to use tomatoes in more elaborate dishes, and gazpacho and a cheesy tart are two of our favorites.

Chili is probably America's favorite one-pot supper, but this dish can be plagued with problems: tough meat, undercooked beans, and bland flavor. We wanted great chili, but it had to be simple. And while no one thinks of a clambake as a one-pot wonder, we set out to make an indoor version simple enough to prepare even on a busy weeknight.

How many times have you ordered clam chowder in a restaurant only to be served a thin, runny soup, or one so thick that a spoon can stand up in the bowl? And though the recipe should be relatively easy, crab cakes often go wrong when the ingredients are chosen. We go to the test kitchen to get these dishes right.

Watch as we figure out the best recipes for two New Orleans favorites Jambalaya and bananas Foster.

Tomatoes and pasta are a classic (and delicious) pairing, but sometimes you want a change. Vegetable sauces, like the two featured in this episode one with mushrooms and one with broccoli rabe are appealing options.

Some pasta dishes take considerable time to prepare. But others don't have to. We set out to streamline Bolognese and baked four-cheese pasta to make them weeknight dining.

When it comes out right, pot roast is tender, succulent, and richly flavored. When it turns out wrong, the meat is dry, gray, tough, and full of fat and sinew. Good pot roast begins at the market, and we've found that cooking technique matters just as much as the cut.

Pork producers have worked so hard to remove fat from their pigs that most pork roasts have little character. Glazing a pork roast with maple syrup is an attractive way to boost flavor, but all too often the meat becomes sweet and candylike. We wanted to perfect this recipe.

Truckers often know where to find the best home-style cooking. After long days on the road, most would rather tuck into real food, prepared from scratch, than the prefab fast-food fare. And what could be better than chicken-fried steak with cream gravy and real coconut cream pie?

Although chicken dinners are quick to prepare, they can go terribly wrong. Part of the problem is the chicken itself the breast meat has very little fat and becomes dry and chalky if overcooked. The other major source of trouble is improper cooking methods.

French country cooking has a way with chicken in a pot, whether it's the famous chicken with 40 cloves of garlic or the lesser-known chicken Provenial. These dishes take chicken to new heights - or go awry.

Purchase a good steak and cook it properly, and all it needs is salt and pepper - and, of course, a side of spuds. Unfortunately, many of the inexpensive steaks labeled "great for grilling" at the supermarket turn out tough and dry with little flavor. And mashed potatoes are often gluey or runny. We wanted potatoes with perfect texture and big flavor - something unusual to accompany a great steak and a good bottle of wine.

Restaurant steak tips are often tough and weirdly seasoned, and thick steak fries can be pale and soggy. The test kitchen felt confident that we could rescue these dishes and turn them into something you would welcome into your home.

The test kitchen shows you how to prepare two satisfying stir-fries: beef with broccoli and pork with eggplant and onions.

The test kitchen shows you how to make Pad Thai and Sesame Noodles with Shredded Chicken.

Here we demonstrate how to make three Italian classics: Grilled Chicken alla Diavola, Frico, and Strawberries with Balsamic Vinegar.

Preparing favorite French dishes such as cassoulet or tarte Tatin calls for a lot of patience and time. We wondered if we could find ways to simplify these recipes without sacrificing the qualities that make them classics.

In the test kitchen, we think afternoon (or morning) tea is an excellent excuse to whip up a batch of scones or a golden loaf of lemon pound cake. Making these baked goods at home certainly yields better results than what you can buy. We'll show you how.

Some days you don't mind spending the morning preparing eggs or baking muffins. But rubbery omelets and dry, hockey puck muffins can make you wonder why you bothered. These brunch recipes are special enough to make you long for Sunday mornings.

Few recipes deliver so much pleasure for so little work as pancakes. The batter comes together in minutes, and the cooking time is brief. Why, then, do most Americans never make pancakes from scratch?

Although easy to prepare, most cookie recipes are notoriously fickle. A minor ingredient change or fluctuation in oven temperature can yield unexpected results. Our goal was simple: Take two favorite cookies and develop reliable recipes that taste great.

We especially like to use summer berries in a no-bake pie. Unfortunately, most recipes are nothing more than berries suspended in gelatin, with a spray from a can of 'whipped' cream as a garnish. We wanted a no-bake pie that was every bit as appealing as a traditional double-crust pie without all of the work.

A sheet cake is like a two-layer cake with training wheels it's hard to fall off. But sheet cakes are still cakes. They can still turn out dry, sticky, or flavorless, and on occasion they can even sink in the middle. The test kitchen decided to tackle two popular sheet cakes carrot and chocolate and produce simple recipes that would deliver superior results.

Although some would never dare to adulterate plain cheesecake, variations abound - some good, some bad, some ugly. Lemon is the one version that serves a function by cutting through the cloying nature of this rich dessert. We discovered a host of different lemon cheesecake styles, but most of the lemon flavor was either too fleeting or too harsh. We wanted our cheesecake to be both light and creamy, with great lemon flavor.

When entertaining, we like desserts that look more complicated to prepare than they really are. A chocolate mousse cake requires a minimum of ingredients and comes together in minutes, but it is sure to elicit the proper oohs and aahs from guests. And a chilled lemon soufflé is made from basic ingredients that you probably have in your kitchen right now.