I am thinking of an Alton Brown Cookbook for a present. Any recommendations? nm

[dem in texas]

17. He is full of BS

I watched one of his shows and he went on about how you should always crack your egg into a saucer before adding to the batter; won't get shell in the batter, egg may be bad, etc. Then. on his show the next week, he just cracked the egg on the side of the bowl and added it to the batter. He is totally full of it, so prissy with all his little measuring gadgets. I have had five cookbook published and although, I do measure all the recipes that I put in a cookbook, when I am free form cooking as I do most of the time, I don't use exact measurements. A kitchen spoon, a cupped hand and Pyrex measuring cup work fine. And never worry about my egg, even when separating out the white. Just crack it open and hold over bowl and pour egg from shell to shell and let the white drop in the bowl.

Joy of Cooking is my all-time favorite, I wore my first one out and had to get another one. I am not real crazy about most of the newer ones, I did like one by Stephen Pyle, although he usually takes his recipes too over the top for me. But his Heaven and Hell cake is a real show stopper and I simplified his recipe for cinnamon buttermilk ice cream and have made it many times.

I like regional, obscure cookbooks with lots of gossip and food stories. I found an old Mexican cookbook at an estate sale, written in both Spanish and English. One recipe was a "tablecloth stainer" stew, a Mexican classic. The recipe said to start it at 11:00 pm then go to midnight mass to pray for your stew to be a success.