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Do you know what reeks of authenticity? America’s Test Kitchen. Seriously, Chris Kimball‘s TV show and his magazine, Cook’s Illustrated, are my platonic ideals of what more food magazines and TV should be: scientific, informative, and straight-up focused on the facts, not catch phrases or flashy editing. So last year, when Chris Kimball made a reservation at Dirt Candy it was all I could do not to fling confetti at him every few minutes and blow a horn when he sat down.

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Even their logo is seriously not putting up with any nonsense.

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Even better was the fact that he tweeted about how much he liked his meal. Even way better was the fact that I got a call a couple of weeks later asking me to be on the show. There may be more popular food shows, there may be flashier food shows, there may be food shows where people ride around in more cars and stop at more Umbrian inns and dine on more local produce, but there are no shows that are smarter, more serious, or more committed to really looking at how cooking works. Except for maybe once when I was swarmed by baby pandas and hugged for an incredibly long time, taping an episode of America’s Test Kitchen was the highlight of my young life.

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That’s not me, but that’s what it felt like.

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Dirt Candy has already been on America’s Test Kitchen radio, but now the TV episode is coming up on Sunday, January 27th. It’s Season 13, episode 4, called “Simple and Satisfying Vegetable Mains” and you should check your local listings if you want to watch it and see what a girl who is trying very hard not to jump up and down and clap her hands looks like.

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They are so hardcore! I wanted them to like me so badly!

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