This is one cookbook you won't want to put down

On a trip to a local bookstore I stumbled across "The Best Skillet Recipes," the latest volume from the editors at Cook's Illustrated magazine. The concept so strongly resonated with me and fit my pressed-for-time lifestyle (especially the 150 fast weeknight recipes) that I bought a copy and couldn't wait to get home and cook from it.

I didn't grab it with the intention of reviewing it, but I've found myself opening the book so frequently for recipes and buying advice, that I feel compelled to share it with you.

"The Best Skillet Recipes" contains more than 250 kitchen-tested recipes that really work. (Some cookbooks contain recipes that don't work because neither the author nor publisher actually tested them. No foolin'!)

Since Cook's Illustrated stakes its reputation on it, editors publish only recipes that have been tested until perfect. I appreciate that they don't just share the how, but fill me in on the whys. Recipe-testing stories precede each recipe, letting the reader know what happened when they tried cooking or baking that recipe at different temperatures, or with more/less eggs, or more/less sugar, or why they added some brown sugar.

For example, the preamble to skillet hamburgers includes discussion of when to season a hamburger. After testing batches that seasoned meat before shaping, before cooking, after searing each side and just before serving, editors determined the best flavor comes from mixing in the seasoning before forming. Now you know.

"The Best Skillet Recipes" also shares ratings for equipment and ingredients. Testers have determined Rubbermaid makes the best heatproof rubber spatula, Kuhn Rikon has the top garlic press, Penzeys sells the top curry powder, Dunbar's bottles the best roasted red peppers and Chicken of the Sea offers the best tuna.

Illustrations scattered throughout the book teach readers how to cut up a whole chicken, trim and core fennel, grate or mince fresh ginger, use forks to shred chicken, segment an orange and mince garlic to a paste. There's even a full page devoted to brining (soaking meat, poultry or seafood in a saltwater solution to add moisture and tenderize).

Never-fail recipes include: pan-seared sea scallops with citrus sauce, sauteed chicken cutlets, smothered pork chops with cider and apples, Southwestern mini meatloaves, chicken under a brick, penne with chicken and broccoli, beef stroganoff, kung pao-style shrimp with ramen noodles, chicken fajitas, Spanish egg and potato tortilla, German apple pancake and peach crisp.

Originally, I bought the book because it contained instructions on searing and then finishing meats, poultry and fish in the oven, just as restaurants do. It was a technique that eluded me for years, but one I believed would produce excellent results if I understood how. You'll learn how, too.

There's no nutrition information with the recipes, but we all know how to substitute lower fat products and ingredients for high fat ones and those simple changes can make skillet meals not only fast, but healthier, too.

Break out your skillet and find out what a great and versatile tool it can be with this recipe from the book. The recipe called for 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, but I cut it to 11/2 teaspoons without compromising flavor.