No sweat Jeff, first you pass the baton, now you want a book! lol. Here is where the helping hands come in for sure. Steve, can you do some fishing and get us some numbers? I need everybody else to start printing out recipes. We may get a book or we may have to view them online. Everybody loves cookbooks. Let's hope it is feasable. I never did find Steves potato salad that I so wanted to taste. I did not find Jeffs banana pudding either. he he. I could not tell you which banana pudding I tasted that was so rocking as I only spotted one but I did hear angels with the first bite. It would probably be a good idea for everyone to bring two copies of their recipes to the swap, one to be filed for the book and one for folks to look at so no recipes are lost or covered in mud. What do yall think?

I was a bit of a fanatic for a few years when I finally got interested in cooking...I too haunted the library and bookstores for cookbooks. But then I ran across a marvelous book, "Impromptu Cooking" by Glenn Andrews. In it, she describes how she went from a strictly "follow the recipe" cook to one who can wing it. And best of all, encouraged me to try. I reread her book often...(she does include recipes and variations) but mostly for inspiration. First, you have to get all the basics of course, (and a favorite along those lines was, for me, Rene Verdon's "French Cooking for the American Table" for the "why" of things. I've still got quite a few cookbooks, but I've quit acquiring new ones ...or if I do succumb, pass it along after reading. Enjoy the Cooking Forum here and several other sites to get my "reading recipes" kicks nowadays. josh

"If they could they wouldn't buy the book." Uh, yeah. I guess that's what I was saying. I just assume in today's world the pictures are faked so they don't 'inspire' me to anything especially to make a purchase. I read the recipe for inspiration. To me, it borders on false advertising. There should be one of those disclaimers, "Not representative of average results. Your results may vary." lol I'd much rather see a picture of the dish made in a home kitchen by a home cook. Also, I'm paying for recipes not photos. It is, afterall, a cookbook. If I want a coffee table photo book I buy something on Big Sur or the Grand Canyon or, more likely, a garden book. Guess I feel about garden books much like some here feel about cookbooks. I am inspired looking at pictures of successful garden compositions. Food pictures here on the forum are fun because they are taken by home cooks. It's nice to share the successes & offer sympathies for the not so successes alike. I don't much look at the food photo websites unless somebody here has a photo. Then, I'll go look. /tricia

I apologise if I've offended anybody, but it's difficult to escape generalisations when you see so many recipes for things like sweet muffins and pancakes intended for breakfast eating. A few people I know have visited America, and they come back with some amazing stories about the food over there. It does make me wonder at times, whether these Aussie visitors have had their IMPRESSIONS of America's food preferences catered for! I mean, if Americans think that Aussies eat kangaroo all the time, then is that the reason certain places actually serve kangaroo to American visitors? I don't know any Aussies who actually eat the stuff! Not humans, anyway - quite a few dogs have to eat it, and not many of them like it either!!