I cat sit for friends of mine who have a subscription to Cook's Illustrated. I'm always excited to hear that they're going away.

Cook's Illustrated chronicles experiments in cooking. How to make the best layer cake, the best barbequed ribs, or the best apple pie. If you need to get a pepper grinder, they're there testing out ten different grinders and telling you exactly which one does what. The magazine is a rich source of well constructed articles on cooking, baking and the products you use in the kitchen.

It isn't gimmicky or fancy. It just does the job. (via Patty's house)

You can't go wrong with recipes like these. (via Cooks Illustrated)

Only the greatest recipe site ever. Don't miss America's test Kitchen if you can.

An incredible resource for serious cooks. (via Nicole)

Cook's Illustrated's recipes are practical, straightforward and pretty much foolproof.

When I am looking for a recipe that will not fail, I turn to Cook’s Illustrated. It is sensible, frank and reliable, and exudes a certain Puritan minimalism that lets you know it is published in New England without even glancing at the masthead.

Only one page per issue features photographs; all other images are hand-drawn, pen-and-ink illustrations. Two whole pages are dedicated to handy (and sometimes endearingly bizarre) tips submitted by readers, such as how to use a blow-drier to dry off berries (thanks, Phyllis Kirigin of Croton-on-Hudson, N.Y.) and how to employ a serrated knife to pluck test pasta strands from the pot (thanks, Isabelle Wolters of Scituate, Massachusetts). In at least one article, Cook’s staff members present their results and recommendations from a meticulously-designed test of a certain prepared ingredient or piece of kitchenware. For example, it is because of Cook’s that I know Italian-made canned tomatoes have declined in quality since 1989 – the year when manufacturers began evading a new trade tariff by packing their tomatoes in puree rather than juice – and that a specialty tomato knife is a darn near useless piece of kitchen equipment. And, of course, each issue has recipes!

You can subscribe to the online or print version of the magazine.