Good Eats 2: The Middle Years

by Alton Brown, 431 p.

This should have been called "Good Eats 2: The Sad Attempt At A Second Book Which Should Have Just Stayed A TV Show," but nobody asked me.

I really love the show, but I just could not love the book for itself.  Alton's demeanor on the show is silly and wonderful with just a touch of mad scientist.  However, Alton's voice in the book comes off as elitist or pompous.  Perhaps it's perceived on my part, but it left me feeling disappointed and a bit depressed.  On the other hand, having his recipes in hand was AMAZING.  I love his stuff (how could you not) and digging through Food Network's website whilst trying to find them is never fun.

Verdict:  if you need an Alton fix and want his recipes, check out the DVDs.

Paula Deen's Cookbook for the Lunch-Box Set

By: Paula Deen with Martha Nesbit and Illustrated by Susan Mitchell, 191 pp

I enjoyed reading this cookbook page for page with my 14 year old daughter. At first, she thought it was silly because she said it looked like it was just for little kids, but then once she really got into reading it with me, I would hear her say, "Oh, I did not know that was how you measure that!" Or, "Wow! It does seem easy to read a recipe now and make something." She had not ever been able to follow a recipe before this book.

Paula Deen has added an index, a glossary, and pictures by all that is needed for kids to prepare meals, desserts, and snacks for themselves and their families.

We enjoyed making the roll-up sandwiches together. It was a lot of fun and delicious too. We also used our own ingredients and just followed Paula's recipe steps and measurements and it still worked!

A delicious book to read and spend time with your kids creating fun!