Blog Posts by America s Test Kitchen

What better way to top off the Kentucky Derby than with a slice of chocolate-walnut-bourbon pie? None, as long as you rein in the runaway sweetness.

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In the final stretch of any properly hosted Kentucky Derby party--trailing behind the mint juleps, burgoo, and hot browns--comes a slice of gooey, rich, chocolate-nut pie. Although you can find countless recipes for it, the Kern family created the standard-bearer. They began baking it at their inn in Prospect, Kentucky, in 1954 and subsequently trademarked it as "Derby-Pie."

Generically called thoroughbred pie, it's soft and very sweet, and studded with walnuts and chocolate chips; the top of the pie has a sugary, slightly crackly crunch.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS
The majority of Thoroughbred Pie recipes that we prepared were far too sweet. We reduced the amount of sugar to almost half of what was

Skip cocktail hour. Instead, enjoy a slice of this tart icebox cheesecake, with its salty-sweet pretzel crust and gelatin glaze "shot."

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WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS
Cool, creamy icebox cheesecake meets a salty, pucker-inspiring margarita. We bring the best of both worlds to center stage in our Margarita Cake. As the top glaze has the boozy kick of its namesake, this cake is a lively contribution to a grownups-only party.

Margarita Cake

Serves 8 to 10

1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
1 teaspoon grated lime zest plus 1 lime, sliced thin (2 limes)
3 cups pretzels
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
3/4 cup water
4 teaspoons unflavored gelatin
1 (10-ounce) can frozen margarita mix, thawed
1/4 cup tequila
1/4 cup triple sec
1 1/2 cups heavy cream, chilled
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
4 ounces

Welcome to Cooking 101, a fun, weekly series of cooking lessons and hands-on learning from America's Test Kitchen Cooking School. Who are we? Our knowledge and techniques are based on 20 years of test kitchen work creating foolproof recipes for Cook's Illustrated magazine and for our television shows. We believe that everybody, whether novice or advanced, can gain the skills and confidence to become a better cook.

It's hard to think of pizza without tomato sauce. But even in Italy, those tomatoes used to make the sauce are likely to come out of can. Good quality fresh tomatoes are available only a few months out of the year.

RELATED: Is there a right -- or a wrong -- way to add pizza toppings? Watch Bridget Lancaster's video tip on how to do it like a pro.

Since canned tomatoes are processed at the height of freshness, we find that they always deliver better flavor than off-season fresh tomatoes. But with the

Classic bar food, stuffed jalapeños are spicy chiles that are loaded up with cheese before being battered and deep-fried. We wanted to take this ideal game-time snack and make it even better, cutting the calories by half with this quick, easy recipe from our new book Comfort Food Makeovers.

RECIPE MAKEOVER by AMERICA'S TEST KITCHEN
BEFORE*: 220 calories, 15 fat, 6g sat fat
AFTER: 120 calories, 7 fat, 4.5g sat fat
*Numbers based on Cream Cheese Stuffed Jalapeños from T.G.I Friday's; 1 serving = 3 pieces

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS
To make this appetizer more figure-friendly, we replaced the batter with bread crumbs and turned to the oven. A blanket of panko, toasted and sprinkled over the filling, provided so much crunch that tasters didn't even notice that our stuffed jalapeños were coated on the top only. A blend of reduced-fat cheeses delivered the best flavor and texture: Cheddar gave our filling its savory, cheesy flavor, while cream cheese contributed

Welcome to Cooking 101, a fun, weekly series of cooking lessons and hands-on learning from America's Test Kitchen Cooking School. Who are we? Our knowledge and techniques are based on 20 years of test kitchen work creating foolproof recipes for Cook's Illustrated magazine and for our television shows. We believe that everybody, whether novice or advanced, can gain the skills and confidence to become a better cook.

If you can prep your ingredients quickly, then you're well on your way to being faster and more efficient in the kitchen. Crucial to being a speedy prep cook, however, is having the right knives and making sure they are sharp. Here's a quick guide that will set you up with the basics that we think are essential for every good cook. If you're eager to learn more, take your cooking skills to a new level with more than 100 fun, interactive, online courses in our online cooking school.

THE 3 KNIVES YOU REALLY

Shepherd's pie, a meaty filling topped with rich mashed potatoes, can be pub grub at its very best. However, at more than 700 calories and 40 grams of fat per serving, it's decidedly not dainty fare. In our lightened up version, we wanted to retain the heartiness and rib-sticking qualities of this classic Irish dish while streamlining its numbers. Our shepherd's pie is cooked in and served straight from the skillet. An aromatic beef mixture is topped with creamy scallion mashed potatoes, which are piped evenly on top and scored with a fork before a brief finish under the broiler for perfectly golden-crispy ridges. Sláinte!

RECIPE MAKEOVER by AMERICA'S TEST KITCHEN
BEFORE: 710 calories, 40g fat, 19g sat fat
AFTER: 450 calories, 15g fat, 6g sat fat

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS
For a lower-fat shepherd's pie that was still ultra-rich and hearty, we used lean ground beef and handled it gently when cooking so we had big chunks of meat throughout. Tossing the meat with a bit

Welcome to Cooking 101, a fun, weekly series of cooking lessons and hands-on learning from America's Test Kitchen Cooking School. Who are we? Our knowledge and techniques are based on 20 years of test kitchen work creating foolproof recipes for Cook's Illustrated magazine and for our television shows. We believe that everybody, whether novice or advanced, can gain the skills and confidence to become a better cook.

The best chicken soup is built on a soild foundation. Make sure you follow these 5 tips to ensure a stellar soup.

RELATED VIDEO: Watch Bridget Lancaster show you our revolutionary stock making technique. It reduces cooking time to under an hour and delivers the maximum amount of flavor.

1. Sauté Aromatics

The first step in making many soups is sautéing aromatic vegetables such as onion and garlic. Sautéing not only softens their texture so that there is no unwelcome crunch in the

Welcome to Cooking 101, a fun, weekly series of cooking lessons and hands-on learning from America's Test Kitchen Cooking School. Who are we? Our knowledge and techniques are based on 20 years of test kitchen work creating foolproof recipes for Cook's Illustrated magazine and for our television shows. We believe that everybody, whether novice or advanced, can gain the skills and confidence to become a better cook.

How to cook humble dried beans is the source of much argument among cooks. Whether beans must be soaked, quick-soaked, or left unsoaked before simmering and the effects of salt on the beans' tenderness, are topics that have been debated. After cooking batch after batch in the test kitchen, we now know what works and what doesn't.

Brine Your Beans, Not Just Simply Soak, for Tender Skins

Recipes often recommend soaking beans in water overnight before cooking. A quick-soak alternative is to