A Report From the Cult

The test recipe, in disguise. 

Back when I was in the downward trajectory of my employment bounce and couldn't yet hear the sproing sound that the bounce would make when it started back up, I was worried I wouldn't have enough activities to occupy my time.

As Bugs Bunny would observe, it is to laugh.

Bugs Bunny Laugh GIF from Bugsbunny GIFs

Being  part of the gig economy means I'm plenty busy with jobs, nearly all of which have found me rather than me having to look for them. But it's also meant I've had time to volunteer for positions that will never pay the rent but which I find absolutely delightful. Maybe my favorite of these is my "job" as a recipe tester for America's Test Kitchen. 

As I've blogged before, I am a fully vested member of the cult of ATK.  I subscribe to their magazine, I read their newsletter, I search their website for recipes, and heaven  forbid I should buy a spatula that hasn't been thoroughly vetted by their equipment testers. Husband has suggested that perhaps I should stop buying the odd spices they suggest (duukah, anyone?) until I've used up enough old spices that the cupboard closes again.

I'm also one of the hundreds of home cooks who try out America's Test Kitchens' unpublished recipes.

Now before you get all googly-eyed with admiration that your very own friend (yes, I consider you my friend even if we're only acquainted through the computer) was actually selected by this prestigious institution to advise them on their recipes, a disclaimer is necessary. It was less a selection process than clicking on a "Hey, want to sign up for this?" link on their website, and I'm pretty sure they were seeking out people like myself who are mediocre-at-best cooks so that they can find the weak spots in recipes real cooks would sail past but which leave us m-a-b's weeping salty tears into batter.

Every few weeks I get an email that contains an as-yet-unpublished recipe. I can either try it then fill out an online evaluation of the results, or I can ignore it and wait for the next one. ATK has explained that at least 80% of their in-home testers must answer positively to the question "I would make this again" to move the recipe to the next stage of development.

The offerings tend to be fairly typical ATK fare--they use every pot and pan I have, are significantly more fiddly than the thrown-together fare I usually serve, and the time investment is significant. And the results have ranged from "That is WAY too much work for a pizza" and "Seriously? I'm going  to chop up an expensive cut of meat and put it in a taco?" to  "Hey! I'm a pretty good cook!" and "Whoa, where did that come from?"

A few weeks ago my inbox held instructions for a dessert that was popular back when I started grade school. That was a long, long time ago, in an era that was best known for Jello "salads" and meatballs made with grape jelly, so I wasn't optimistic. I had been tagged to bring a dessert to a friends' lunch, though, and professional chefs had developed this food, so I pulled out all the pans and measuring cups I owned and got started. Two hours later I flipped the cake seen above onto a vintage Fiesta place.

Friends, this thing was on the far end of the "Whoa, where did  that  come from?" scale. Yummy, yummy, yummy. And even though we recipe testers agree to not disclose what we're testing, I don't think I'll be turned out of the cult for saying that the caramel sauce was one I would drink from a pitcher.

It was a totally unexpected result, and while it may be a stretch to compare this dessert to the hodgepodge of gigs I currently juggle, it is a reminder that some faith and taking a step at a time can result in something so much better than what we expect.

It's a delicious reminder, and it was covered in caramel.