Buyer beware. Maybe they've changed their policies, but I'd be very leary of anything that Cooks Illustrated offers.
A couple of years ago, I purchased a paid subscription to their magazine. In addition, I also paid another $25 per year to subscribe to their website. That should have given me access to everything, you would think.
The problem I ran into is that every other time I tried to pull up a recipe on their website, I would get a message that said: "Sorry. This page is for Editors' Choice Cookbook Collection Members Only". And there would be a link to "upgrade" my membership. Really? On top of what I paid, they wanted even more money?
No thanks. My subscriptions have since lapsed, and I won't be signing up again anytime soon. There are plenty of recipe sites on the internet that offer as much, if not more, information than Cooks Illustrated.